Opinion

LETTER: Collaborate on customary law

Dear Editor, Kia Orana e te tangata ma’ata o te Nuti Peapa. Inangaro au i te ‘ōronga atu i toku manako no runga i tēia tumu manako pu’apinga i runga nei tei tātā’ia i roto i tā au nūti peapa o te Ru’itoru rā 28 no Tītema. Te turu nei au i te manako e […]

RUTA MAVE: Yesterday is gone, tomorrow never comes, today is a gift because it’s the present

As children we make impressions of the world from how we saw it or interpreted it growing up. As adults we have the ability to make decisions about life different from what we experienced, writes Ruta Mave.

LETTER: Get set for financial blessings

Dear Editor, Kia orana! I, Pastor Temu Ngarima George, managing director of Tevaka Nui Mission, would like to share the blessing that the good Lord brought to my attention for the next 10 years for this paradise called Cook Islands.

Sheraton sign please!

Dear Editor, If I had a dollar for every time a visitor to the Cook Islands has asked me what the story is behind the old Sheraton Hotel complex, I’d be a wealthy man and maybe have a castle in Poland.

LETTER: ‘Monsters on the loose’

Dear Editor, It appears to me that there are at least two monsters on the loose in Rarotonga right now. The first is the father of a five-year-old who beat his child (Child slapped, thrown to the ground in ‘serious’ assault, Cook Islands News, December 22). In no way can anyone justify beating a five-year-old, let alone with such brutality. Cook Islands News said the child was “slapped”. But it appears to me that much more violence and force may have been used than was reported.

Healthcare at your doorstep

Premium nursing and health services are now available to provide unwell and vulnerable people in the community with the best possible care and support they need in the comfort of their own homes.

RUTA MAVE: Thoughts on the life journey of Jesus

Christmas marks the birth of a son. A journey that starts with a family as diverse and interesting as any family around the world, writes Ruta Mave.

LETTER: Collaborate on customary law in 2023

Dear Editor, Two matters of concern stood out when members of the Koutu Nui reviewed the past year at their end-of-year function.

Scholarship issue clarified

Dear Editor, I write in response to the letter to the editor, “Scholarship woes upset our students”, which appeared on December 21, 2022. Thank you for the opportunity to respond. Te Reinga Akataunga’anga, the Cook Islands Government Tertiary and Study Support Programme, offers a range of scholarship and study grant options for Cook Islanders wishing to access formal tertiary education. The programme has allowed many Cook Islanders access to initial tertiary studies both domestically and abroad, whether supported with a full scholarship or a study grant for those who are privately funded, or undertaking studies while working full-time.

LETTER TO EDITOR: Scholarship woes upset our students

Dear Editor, I wanted to share this with you as I am really upset with the outcome from the Ministry of Education - myself along with many other local students currently studying in New Zealand who have received the same treatment or similar.

What is a Cook Islander?

Dear Editor, A bit harsh to say that your identity will depend on one knowing the language (Cook Islands people need to value their language: Turua, Cook Islands News, December 6, 2022).

RUTA MAVE: Attitude of gratitude

The Christmas lights came on around the island this past weekend. The simple coloured lights strung across from pole-to-pole zig zagging around the Are Tapu. It is magical to drive home from work at night and have them shine in the night sky. They remind me of our tree lights made to look like flowers, they always heralded the anticipation of the arrival of Santa.

LETTER TO EDITOR: Tricky side to cannabis legislation

Dear Editor: Te Marae Ora mainly buys therapeutic products from New Zealand and Australia. These generally fall under three categories: medicine - including prescriptions, over-the counter medicines, and complimentary medicines, such as paracetamol.

LETTER TO EDITOR: Traditional vs contemporary

Dear Editor, Totally agree with you on that (Authenticity of culture promoted in tourism industry questioned, Cook Islands News, December 5). It’s a global trait, culture is becoming an entertainment commodity, to win hearts, tourists etc. Sadly, there’s little that can be done to reverse this evolution.

LETTER TO EDITOR: Educate yourself about cannabis use

Dear Editor, Although every part of the marijuana plant can be used, it’s primarily the buds that are cured and used in which way you prefer. I stand with legalisation, but I feel that education is so very important in order to prevent abuse of the plant.

‘We have earned our NZ citizenship’

Dear Editor, Why do we live in a situation where our closest constitutional partner says no, it will cost you our deepest part of connection, and a no when balanced against the threat of losing our New Zealand citizenship (when bidding for UN membership).

LETTER: UN Membership bid: NZ behaving ‘like a coloniser’

Dear Editor, If the Cooks wanted to become a sovereign nation, it needed its own citizenship. Cook Islanders would remain New Zealand citizens but “if they want to change it, they can”. Then Prime Minister Helen Clark said in June 2001. “If they want to exert full independence, New Zealand will not stand in their way.”

Kata: Cook Islands law

Kata: Private security

RUTA MAVE: ‘This is the cultural issue that needs attention’

There has been a lot of talk about culture lately and what constitutes how it defines us, as a society. If we accept culture is the ideas, customs and social behavior of a particular people, then we accept wearing ei katus and the giving of eis at the airport and award ceremonies as one of our more lovely cultural practices. If social behaviour defines us, then eating and drinking is foremost our larger problem of culture as we battle a health crisis of obesity and NCDs. Domestic violence and abuse are cultural too.