Indian Newslink 1st APRIL 2018 Digital Edition

2018 

The English Fortnightly (Since November 1999) 

Issue 389 | April 1, 2018 | Free 

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In the five minutes that you 

would take to read this story, 

St John would have received 

at least five phone calls for 

help from people nationwide 

and at least four of them would 

have been rushed to the nearby 

Hospital for treatment. 

It takes devotion and sacrifice 

to be aStJohn volunteer just as it 

takes kindness and generosity to 

be aStJohn donor. 

Two years ago, St John asked 

New Zealanders to support its 

‘Annual Appeal’ for fundraising 

and set atarget of $2.2 million. 

New Zealanders were more 

than magnanimous. They donated 

$2.7 million, unprecedented 

in the history of the charitable 

organisation. 

Opportunity to readers 

This year, we have joined hands 

with this great Institution. 

St John Northern Region 

Communication Advisor Jennifer 

Porter writes, “In another first, 

Indian Newslink readers 

have aunique chance to “come 

together” to contribute directly 

towards anew ambulance via the 

newspaper’s novel crowdfunding 

initiative. Readers can help St 

John buy an ambulance for the 

community and help save lives, 

Shyama Sharma 

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National Government blamed for rotting hospitals 

RNZ (Checkpoint) 

Counties Manukau District 

Health Board (CMDHB) was 

reluctant to ask the previous 

government for funding to 

fix mouldy, rotting and unstable 

buildings because of pressure from 

ministers to stay in surplus, its 

acting CEO has said. 

It will cost $1.6 billion to 

remediate the issues in multiple 

buildings, and add new buildings 

to meet demand, and about the 

same to build anew acute hospital 

and facilities. 

CMDHB Chief Executive Dr 

Gloria Johnson told ‘Checkpoint 

with John Campbell, “The reality is 

that we may need both given the 

growth in Auckland.” 

Details of the serious building 

issues were revealed earlier this 

week (Indian Newslink web 

edition dated March 22, 2018) 

Minister wants answers 

Health Minister Dr David Clark 

said that he was demanding 

answers from the DHB because 

he was told that only one building 

had serious mould, but the issue 

was much larger than that. 

There were “serious” cladding 

issues in four buildings, and asbestos 

and seismic issues and deferred 

maintenance in other buildings. 

“And some of our buildings have 

all those problems together; we 

have got lots of problems.” 

The DHB has been aware of 

some of the issues for about four 

to six years but was hesitant to ask 

for any funding to fix them. 

Jonathan Coleman writes 

In aletter titled, ‘Living within 

your means’ dated October 27, 

2016, former Health Minister Dr 

Jonathan Coleman wrote to the 

DHB: “I am pleased to see that your 

DHB is planning asurplus for 2016- 

2017 and the following three years.” 

When asked if the DHB was not 

doing the work required because 

Dr Coleman wanted it to stay in 

surplus, Dr Johnson replied “Yes.” 

“I think the government, the 

whole government, has expected 

the health sector to be able to live 

within its means, and to be able to 

do that we have had to compromise 

on our capital investment programme,” 

she said. 

Following the Christchurch 

earthquakes, DHBs “were given to 

understand” that there was “very 

limited capital available for other 

things,” Dr Johnson said. 

If it had acted to remediate any 

issues, or build any new buildings, 

it would have to spend capital, 

be charged interest and acquire 

depreciation, “that then affects our 

operational budgets and runs the 

risk that we will run into deficit.” 

Reluctant government 

“In general terms, we have 

a problem with areluctance to 

actually identify the scale of the 

problem and therefore the cost and 

the effort that might be required 

to fix the problems. Because of a 

belief in the health sector that we 

will not be able to get the capital 

investment required and that we 

will not be able to afford to engage 

in the work.” 

While the DHB desperately needed 

issues on many of its buildings 

to be remediated, there was amore 

urgent need for additional buildings 

to meet demand from agrowing 

population, Dr Johnson said. 

“We cannot afford to wait until 

we have finished all the remediation 

work before we start investing in 

new capacity because we need new 

capacity as well.” 

Dr Coleman and Health Minister 

Dr David Clark declined to be 

interviewed on this subject. 

Dr Clark has ameeting with Dr 

Johnson later this week. 

In astatement, he said: “The 

previous government neglected 

and underfunded our hospitals. 

This government is committed to a 

well-funded public health service, 

but the reality is that the legacy of 

underfunding will take some years 

to turn around.” 

Indian Newslink has published the 

above Report and Picture under a 

Special Agreement with www.rnz.co.nz 

Join our 

‘Heart of Gold’ appeal 

for St John 

Venkat Raman 

venkat@indiannewslink.co.nz 

simply by donating at www. 

stjohn.org.nz/newslink or sending 

a cheque to St John, Private 

Bag 14902, Panmure, Auckland 

(including your name, address 

and code Newslink),” she said. 

St John Northern Region Fundraising 

&Marketing Manager 

Kristin Cross said that the money 

would be used to add to the St 

John’s fleet. 

Fund an Ambulance 

“One ambulance can attend 

as many as 600 incidents each 

year, potentially saving 600 lives, 

so to get another ambulance in 

the community thanks to Indian 

Newslink readers would mean a 

huge deal to us. We look forward 

to seeing how this crowdfunding 

initiative unfolds and as always, 

we appreciate any donations, big 

or small.” 

Donations towards the ‘Heart of 

Gold’ appeal can be made in any 

ASB branch across New Zealand, 

online at www.heartofgold.org. 

nz, by calling 0800 ST JOHN, or to 

St John &ASB volunteer collectors 

throughout New Zealand. 

Please read the full story under 

Communitylink 

IMPROVEHEALTH, WEALTH &HAPPINESS 

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Like us on “Facebook” 

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APRIL 1, 2018 

02 Homelink 

Some Early Childcare Centres can be dangerous places 

Here are some horror stories 

John Gerritsen (RNZ) 

Nearly every child now 

attends some form of 

early education before 

they start school. 

But cracks are starting to show 

in the system and children could 

be at risk. 

Many Early Childhood Centres 

are struggling to make ends meet 

and teachers say that some are 

deliberately cutting corners that 

leave children in the care of too 

few adults. 

Overall government funding 

has increased as enrolments rise, 

but the amount paid per child 

has been frozen at times and has 

not increased in real terms for 

nearly 10 years. 

Dangerous practices 

Now, whistle-blowers warn 

that dangerous practices are 

putting children’s safety and 

emotional well-being at risk. 

Teachers have told RNZ News 

that some Early Childhood 

Centres often operate with fewer 

teachers than the legally required 

minimum, and some provide 

poor supervision of large groups 

of children. 

Organisations representing 

Early Childhood services 

acknowledge that poor practice 

is happening and say cracks 

are appearing in the sector 

because of years of government 

under-funding. 

Standfirst: 

We are not 

scaremongering 

but if you have a 

child attending an 

Early Childhood 

Centre, you should 

ensure your child’s 

safety; more 

important, report 

anything amiss. 

Over-Crowded Rooms 

One teacher who spoke to 

RNZ News on condition of 

anonymity said that she worked 

with children under the age of 

two in a large Early Childhood 

Centre, which often failed to meet 

the minimum requirement of one 

teacher for every five children. 

“More often than not we would 

be running at 35 children in a 

room that was licensed for 30, 

with five teachers,” she said. 

The woman said that the Centre’s 

managers would count its 

van driver and cook as teaching 

staff, even though they were not 

in the room looking after the 

children. 

She said the situation was not 

safe. 

Children are at risk at some Centres Tools and Toys: A deadly combination Susan Bates from the Teachers’ Advocacy Group 

Pictures by John Gerritsen (RNZ Insight) 

Totally unsafe 

“Often you would look over and 

the teachers were not watching 

the children. There were ropes 

going around children’s necks, 

there were children breaking 

bones, there were children 

receiving head injuries and a lot 

of the time these things weren’t 

being documented by staff. It was 

really horrific to watch.” 

The teacher said that when she 

complained about the situation, 

she was forced out of her job. 

Unfair practices 

Another woman who agreed 

to talk to Insight on condition 

of anonymity said she too was 

forced from her job when she 

complained about a teacher who 

was abusing children. 

“They are grabbing children to 

take them to the toilet, they are 

not respecting them, they are 

holding them down while they 

are sleeping, they are humiliating 

them,” she said. 

The woman said that the children 

at the Centre were clearly 

upset by the mistreatment. 

“There was one child especially 

(who) would come to me and ask 

where this particular teacher was, 

and she would avoid her. You 

have children who were just wetting 

themselves because they did 

not want this particular teacher 

to take them to the bathroom or 

to take them for a nap,” she said. 

Teachers’ Advocacy Group 

The organiser of the Teachers’ 

Advocacy Group, a support network 

for early childhood teachers 

Susan Bates said that such stories 

were not uncommon, but most 

teachers were too scared to speak 

out or lodge formal complaints. 

Poor Management 

Education Review Office figures 

indicated there had been a slump 

in quality in recent years. 

Chief Review Officer Nicholas 

Pole said that common problems 

in badly performing services 

included poor leadership and 

management, poor teaching, and 

poor appraisal and development 

of staff. 

“ERO’s greatest concerns in 

terms of ownership structures are 

with single operator services and 

those operating a small number 

of services, where approximately 

one in five have been identified as 

being of concern,” Mr Pole said. 

Funding Issue 

Education Minister Chris 

Hipkins said he was still taking 

stock of the sector. 

A lack of government funding 

and rapid increases in enrolments 

had put early childhood services 

under strain and there was wide 

variation in quality. 

Mr Hipkins said that the 

Education Review Office and the 

Education Ministry were good at 

identifying problems, but they 

needed new ways of intervening 

in poor-quality services. 

“The ability to intervene at 

that top level, at the governance 

management level is much more 

difficult in early childhood than it 

is in school sector,” he said. 

John Gerritsen is Education 

Correspondent of Radio New 

Zealand. Indian Newslink has 

published the above Report 

and Picture under a Special 

Agreement with www.rnz.co.nz 

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Politics, Social Media and Parenthood 

Venkat Raman 

The Powhiri 


Ngati Whatua Orakei’s 

powhiri, or traditional 

Maori welcome, began 

Prime Minister Jacinda 

Ardern said it was a 

with the blowing of the 

privilege to officially 

welcome former US 

conch and akaranga. 

A warrior then performed 

atraditional wero 

President Barack Obama to 

New Zealand. 

and placed ataki or rakau 

The pair met for about an 

on the ground in front of 

hour at Government House in 

Mr Obama. 

Auckland on Thursday, March Jacinda Ardern with Barack Obama at the The former president 

22, 2018, following apowhiri Government House in Auckland on Thursday, 

March 22, 2018 (Picture Supplied to was escorted through the 

to welcome Mr Obama. 

RNZ) 

powhiri by Piri Sciascia, 

Ms Ardern said that their 

Barack Obama being escorted through the powhiri by 

“I’m sure his insights would Cultural Advisor to 

discussions were wide-ranging, 

but mainly focused on the 

Piri Sciascia, Cultural Advisor to Governor General of New 

be the same as what any parent Governor-General Dame Zealand (RNZ Picture by Dan Cook) 

would have.” 

Patsy Reddy. 

future of progressive politics, 

Advice on Leadership 

Ms Ardern and her 

and how to keep the younger 

generations engaged and 

Ms Ardern also sought his advice 

on leadership, saying she were part of the group 

Partner Clarke Gayford 

involved. 

wanted to get asense of his approach 

to leadership. 

to Government House. 

that welcomed Mr Obama 

“We talked about pressing 

issues like climate change and 

The pair did talk about the The Ceremony 

a little about our agenda here 

state of political leadership internationally, 

but she said it was ditional korowai and sat ● First Home 

She was wearing atra- 

in New Zealand,” she said. 

Advice on Parenthood 

a general discussion about the on the side of the tangata 

whenua during the mi- 

The pair also discussed 

● Investment Property 

future of politics, rather than 

parenthood and Mr Obama 

● Residential or Commercial 

domestic politics. 

himihi. After the haka 

shared some tips, Ms Ardern 

● Building / Extending / Renovating 

She and Mr Obama also powhiri, those gathered 

said. 

talked about the impact of social 

media on politics, and the or himene and said that 

in the tent sang ahymn ● Re-Finance/ Restructure 

“It was aconversation Ifeel 

extremely lucky to have had,” 

need to maintain face to face a karakia before the mihimihi 

started to welcome 

Ms Ardern said. 

dialogue. 

In terms of the parenting 

Ms Ardern said that Mr Mr Obama. 

advice, Ms Ardern said the 

Obama was particularly appreciative 

of the taonga he was gift- 

Ngati Whatua Orakei be- 

Taiaha Hawke from 

question she asked him was, 

“How do you deal with guilt?” 

ed by Ngati Whatua during the gan the speeches. 

“Because Ihave no doubt I 

powhiri. 

Mr Obama was later 

am going to experience some 

She said that Mr Obama had presented with two whale 

of that in the future as ijuggle 

the roles that Ihave,” she 

felt alot of warmth during his tooth pendants from Ngāti 

time in New Zealand. 

Whātua Orakei member, 

said. 

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03 

Ngarimu Blair. One for himself and 

one for his wife, Michelle. 

He appeared happy and relaxed and 

wore his gift over his suit. 

Mr Obama also spoke at an invite-only 

event organised by the New Zealand 

United States Council. 

About 800 people attended -including 

members of the business and 

Māori communities and young leaders. 

Earlier in the day, Mr Obama teed 

off at the exclusive Tara Iti golf course, 

south of Whangarei. 

He spent the night in luxury at the 

exclusive property, The Landing, in the 

Bay of Islands. 

Indian Newslink has published the 

above Report and Pictures under a 

Special Agreement with www.rnz.co.nz 

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04 Homelink 

Moderation builds political bridges with dignity 

Simon Bridges with Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi at Indian Newslink office on March 22, 2018 

Venkat Raman 


When Simon Bridges 

was elected as Leader 

of the National Party 

on February 27, 2018, 

he told the Nation that he would 

hold the government to account by 

being firm but fair. 

Last fortnight, visiting our offices 

s p a c e 

for the first time, he began his conversation 

saying that the Labourled 

Government deserves achance 

and that he would support on issues 

of national and international 

interest and be aresponsible 

Leader of the Opposition. 

Some Positives 

Mr Bridges has anumber of factors 

working for him. 

Firstly, he inherited astrong, 

rather the largest Party in 

Parliament, although there have 

been rumblings among its ranks. 

Secondly, as an elected MP, he 

knows the hardships of pleasing 

an electorate and remaining ahead 

of the race. Thirdly, his youthful 

designers ltd 

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our strengths 

member of ADNZ - recognised professional body 

well equipped & established with good reputation 

overall personal service 

technical competency & professional experience. 

exuberance –perhaps he is the 

youngest leader that National 

Party has had in decades –and 

his humane approach will keep 

him in good stead. Lastly, for the 

time being at least, the National 

Party caucus appears united 

and hence its Leader could concentrate 

on issues at hand. 

Mr Bridges did not seem to 

mind that the fight for the post 

of the Leader was intense and at 

times bitter. He does not seem 

to have any misgivings, when he 

said, “The race was respectful 

and even ‘friendly’ at times.” 

Worst Job in the world 

Besides becoming the 

Leader of the biggest opposition 

party, with ashoal of minnows 

splashing far behind, Mr 

Bridges argued that National 

Party, after nine years on the 

Treasury benches, left the legacy 

of astrong economy with 

robust growth against such serious 

challenges as the Global 

Financial Crisis, Earthquakes 

and other odds. 

John Key did not like the 

idea of being the Leader of 

the Opposition (“I would rather 

resign,” he had said) and Bill 

English tried but his hand was 

forced, making him adisappointed 

Leader. 

On that scale, Mr Bridges 

would score. He has patience 

and time. 

Does aLabour-led government 

spell disaster, as some 

National MPs have been saying 

in tones of condemnation? 

Mr Bridges does not believe 

so. “Let them have afair chance 

to govern. We will watch, applaud 

where we should and 

question them where warranted,” 

he said. 

Business-friendly 

He is aware that as the oldest 

and largest circulated Indian 

newspaper in New Zealand, 

Indian Newslink has been playing 

its part in the country’s polity, 

economy and society. 

“I respect your newspaper,” 

he said in his Opening 

Statement as we sat down for 

a chat at our offices (on March 

22, 2018). Your Business Awards 

are amazing. Indian businesses 

have so done well and have 

much more to offer. We must 

harness their potential,” he said. 

Like leaders on either side of 

the House, Mr Bridges is aware 

of the need to keep pace with 

businesses and understand their 

aspirations and assess their 

needs. 

Mr Key began his term in 

2008 with fanfare, meeting businesses 

but soon that enthusiasm 

faded; Mr English had little 

time for interaction during his 

brief stint as the Leader; but Mr 

Bridges would have abundant 

opportunities. 

Business Visits 

As he declared, “Business 

visits have been high on my 

agenda. It is great to have the 

opportunity to get their feedback 

on what’s working and 

what is not. As predicted, changes 

to Labour Law are causing a 

lot of nervousness. Ithank businesses 

that have opened their 

doors to me and for their honest 

feedback. We are highly energised 

and are getting out and 

about, talking and of course listening, 

to New Zealanders.” 

Intimidating strength 

The sheer strength of National 

Party in Parliament (56 members) 

makes the role of the 

Leader of the Opposition so 

necessary, and potentially for 

Labour, so dangerous. Two parties 

are in coalition with Labour, 

leading National with amonopoly 

on mainstream opposition. 

The coalition is embarking on 

several programmes that will 

entail public-spending. 

There will also be plentiful 

opportunities for demagogic 

exploitation of measures 

that, while painful, are needed, 

and as National says, not 

least because of Labour’s own 

profligacy in office, but because 

the government must be 

accountable. 

Some of his caucus colleagues 

seem too inclined towards the 

damaging form of opposition. 

Simon Bridges has won the 

battle for national and international 

recognition. He should 

not lose the peace that follows it. 

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Education agents score low with INZ 

John Gerritsen 

Immigration New 

Zealand (INZ) refused 

most of the study visa 

applications from some 

education agents in India, 

Vietnam and the Philippines 

last year. 

Latest figures showed 

the approval rates for 

applications decided by 

Immigration’s Indian office 

in 2017 ranged from 9% to 

98% for agents who made at 

least 10 applications. 

Immigration made decisions 

on 9117 applications 

from that group of agents 

last year and approved 70%, 

up from around 50% in 

previous years. 

Low approval rate 

The figures showed 34 

agents had approval rates 

below 50%. 

For the first time, INZ 

also published figures for 

applications by agents to Immigration 

offices in Vietnam 

and the Philippines. 

It approved 77% of the 

1494 study visas decided on 

last year in the Philippines, 

and 78% of the 1232 applications 

it decided in Vietnam. 

In both countries, some 

agents had approval rates as 

low as 40% 

The company Immigration 

Matters had a 30% success 

rate for its ten to 20 study 

visa applications decided 

by Immigration’s Mumbai 

office last year. 

Its Director, Jagjeet Sidhu, 

said Immigration’s Mumbai 

staff were failing people 

over small details during 

visa interviews. 

Difficult officials 

“It is really, really hard to 

deal with Mumbai staff and 

sometimes they do decline 

student visas on very minor 

mistakes,” he said. 

For example, Immigration 

staff might refuse a visa applicant 

for a cookery course 

if they could not describe 

how to make a hamburger, 

Mr Sidhu said. 

“They just trying to put 

them down on any little 

point.” 

Mr Sidhu said his company 

had a very high approval 

rate for visa applications 

lodged in New Zealand, but 

that was not published. 

He said publishing the 

offshore figures was having 

a negative impact on his 

business and so too was 

Immigration’s tougher line 

on study visa applications 

from Indians. 

“In the first year when 

I start my business, 2014, 

probably we have done 

about 50 applications and 

that actually has slowed 

down over the years. So, last 

year I would say, we have 

done five or six applications 

from India, and this year 

now we have done nothing,” 

he said. 

Publication helpful 

IDP, another company, had 

high approval rates in India, 

Vietnam and the Philippines 

last year and had more than 

200 study visa applications 

decided in India. 

Its Senior Education Consultant 

in Auckland, Ridhi 

Julka, said that publishing 

the rates helped students. 

“It just helps students 

to identify who is a good 

agent and who is not. It is 

very easy for the offshore 

agents to give information 

to students which is not 

correct and when we have 

something that students 

can look up to in terms of 

the numbers in terms of 

approvals I think this data 

definitely helps students to 

identify which agent would 

be better for them,” she said. 

INZ said that publishing 

figures provided an incentive 

for agents to improve 

and it had included the 

Philippines and Vietnam 

at the request of education 

institutions. 

It said that a common reason 

for study visa refusals in 

all three markets was doubt 

about students’ finances. 

John Gerritsen is Education 

Correspondent at 

Radio New Zealand. Indian 

Newslink has published 

the above Report and 

Picture under a Special 

Agreement with www.rnz. 

co.nz 

Homelink 

05


06 Educationlink 

Engineering Degree Apprenticeship coming 

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Did you pre-pay Immigration 

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Staff Reporter 

Staff Reporter 

info@indiannewslink.co.nz 

Engineering Education to 

Employment (Engineering 

e2e) of the Tertiary Education 

Commission (TEC) is currently 

working with WelTec, Otago Polytechnic 

and the Institute of Public Works 

Engineers Australasia to implement a 

Level 7Engineering Degree Apprenticeship 

qualification. 

The qualification will be called, 

‘BEngTech.’ 

Based on the Degree Standard 

developed by New Zealand employers, 

the proposed qualification will 

be awork-based degree integrating 

academic learning with on-the-job 

practical training. 

A TEC notification said that the 

model is operating successfully in the 

UK with Manchester Metropolitan 

University (MMU), the largest provider 

of apprenticeship degrees in 

Britain. 

“They have partnered with over 

130 employers to deliver digital 

technology, management, leadership 

and law degree apprenticeships, 

including Masters Programmes.” 

Massey University Professor Jane 

Goodyer supported the proposed 

viability of the apprenticeship model in 

New Zealand in 2015. 

Tripartite Relationship 

She proposed that the curriculum 

development process should be a 

three-way relationship between 

employers, policymakers and tertiary 

institutions. 

Following an investigation of the 

effectiveness of Degree Apprenticeship 

models offered in the UK, she 

commenced work in New Zealand on 

a pilot basis. 

The UK model has been adapted 

for use in New Zealand, taking into 

account the lessons learnt in that 

country. 

During the first phase of the New 

Zealand pilot, Professor Goodyer 

worked with the New Zealand Division 

of the Institution of Public Works 

Engineering Australasia. 

Guiding employers 

The Institute represents people 

employed in engineering in councils 

around New Zealand. 

Professor Goodyer guided this 

group of employers as they developed 

a standard for adegree apprenticeship 

focused on asset management. 

The programme of full-time work 

and part-time study (learn and 

earn) would be open to new applicants 

or existing employees. It is 

likely to be offered as day or block 

courses with business focused 

projects and assessments. 

The Second Phase 

WelTec and Otago Polytechnic 

submitted aproposal to Engineering 

E2E (the TEC) for the pilot’s 

second phase –implementation of 

the degree. 

The proposal was reviewed 

favourably by MMU, which noted 

that it aligned with the UK experience, 

demonstrated the need 

for employer-led programmes to 

ensure success. 

During discussions, Professor 

Julia Clarke from MMU offered 

to visit New Zealand and present 

MMU’s approach to Degree 

Apprenticeships and the costs 

and benefits to the institution, 

employers and learners. 

She outlined anumber of benefits 

to consider for inclusion in a 

New Zealand engineering degree 

apprenticeship for learners, 

employers and ITPs. 

The TEC is currently negotiating 

a contract with WelTec and Otago 

Polytechnic for Phase 2ofthe 

implementation of the Degree 

Apprenticeship. 

This phase will involve the 

expansion of the apprenticeship 

standard developed in Phase 1 

into a‘ready to implement’ curriculum, 

complete with programme 

design and end point assessments.


The Government has made 

its first move in fulfilling 

its election promise of 

building houses to combat 

the housing crisis by acquiring 

29 hectares of land at the Mt 

Albert Campus of Unitec Institute 

of Technology. 

The Unitec property accounts 

for 55 hectares, more of than 

half of which is available for development 

and the land deal will 

also allow the Institute to proceed 

with its own development 

and expansion plans. 

However, the development 

would require the consent of the 

Iwi of the Nga Mana Whenua o 

Tamaki Makaurau collective, in 

terms of the Treaty of Waitangi. 

Historic Land 

Announcing the move this on 

Sunday, March 25, 2018, Housing 

and Urban Development 

Minister Phil Twyford said that 

the government would construct 

between 3000 to 4000 homes as a 

part of its KiwiBuild Programme. 

The purchased land will be 

transferred to the Crown. 

Mr Twyford said that acute 

shortage of houses in Auckland 

has forced many families with 

children to live in cramped and 

overcrowded homes and cars. 

He described the Unitec property 

as a ‘beautiful and historic 

piece of land with natural features 

such as the Oakley Stream 

running through it.’ 

“The property is close to education, 

employment and public 

transport. This will be a new 

community. This new community 

will have open spaces, new 

parks and shops,” he said. 

Mr Twyford said that the government 

was keen to create a 

place for people to work, live, 

learn and enjoy for several 

generations. 

“We want to create a place for 

people to put down roots and to 

live, work, learn and play, for 

generations to come. There will 

be a mix of affordable KiwiBuild 

homes for first homebuyers, 

public housing and open market 

houses,” he said. 

Mr Twyford was also confident 

of working with the Iwi 

successfully. 

Unitec development 

Unitec Chairman Dr Lee 

Mathias said that construction 

of new homes would create a vibrant 

space around the Mt Albert 

Campus and that Unitec would 

be able to fund its development. 

“We have enjoyed this stunning 

campus for 30 years and 

it will be fantastic to open the 

space up to others who will 

make it their home, grow businesses, 

and create a community. 

All proceeds of this sale will support 

the delivery of our teaching 

and learning programmes,” 

he said. 

Some Unitec Facts 

29.3 hectares of land in Mt 

Albert, Auckland, within nine 

kilometres of the Auckland CBD. 

It is a mix of developed and 

undeveloped land, suitable for 

a master-planned, significant 

development. 

The site is zoned as residential 

(Mixed Housing Urban 

and Terraced Housing and 

Apartment Building), business 

(Mixed Use) and Special Purpose 

– Tertiary Education. 

The Crown has purchased 

the land from Unitec at market 

value. 

The site is subject to a right of 

first refusal and development 

protocol under the Nga Mana 

Whenua o Tamaki Makaurau 

Redress Act 2014. 

Unitec has already conducted 

comprehensive due diligence 

on the site’s housing potential, 

which suggests it is suitable for 

a large scale residential development 

approaching 3000 houses. 

The transfer of the land from 

Unitec to the Crown represents 

an opportunity to help address 

the Auckland housing crisis, 

through delivering a significant 

number of high quality, affordable 

houses for first home 

buyers under the Government’s 

KiwiBuild programme. 

Some KiwiBuild Facts 

Construction of KiwiBuild 

homes will be financed by an initial 

$2 billion capital injection, 

Educationlink 

Government to build 4000 homes on Unitec property 

Purchase of 29 hectares of land the first step 

Venkat Raman 


Unitec Topography Survey (Supplied) 

07 

which will be recycled as the 

houses are sold. 

KiwiBuild will deliver 100,000 

quality, affordable homes using 

four primary tools undertaking 

major urban redevelopment 

projects in partnership with iwi, 

councils and the private sector 

(this will deliver the bulk of 

KiwiBuild homes) 

Converting existing Crown 

land and purchasing additional 

land from the private market, 

which will be on-sold to development 

partners who commit to 

delivering KiwiBuild homes 

Purchasing or underwriting 

new affordable homes off the 

plans, to de-risk suitable developments 

led by the private sector 

and others, in exchange for 

accelerating a greater number of 

homes at KiwiBuild price points 

Identifying and leveraging opportunities 

to procure KiwiBuild 

homes through existing 

Government-led housing initiatives, 

such as those being undertaken 

by Housing New Zealand. 

Editor’s Note: Prime Minister 

Jacinda Arden (who is the elected 

MP from Mt Albert), Mr 

Twyford and others attended 

a ceremony at the Te Noho 

Kotahitanga Marae in Unitec on 

Sunday, March 25, 2018 to mark 

the announcement.


08 Fijilink 

Auckland Cardiologist gets to the hearts of Fijians 

Venkat Raman 


Pilots and cabin crew on 

airlines flying to and Fiji 

are no longer surprised 

to see Auckland-based 

Interventional Cardiologist Dr 

Seif El-Jack and his team on board 

every Friday and again on every 

Sunday on flights returning home. 

They must now be aware 

that the expert Interventional 

Cardiologist has been undertaking 

this weekly mission to the South 

Pacific country since October 2017 

to examine scores of patients, determine 

their heart condition and 

perform angiograms and angioplasty 

when necessary at Heart 

International clinic located at 12 

Commercial Street in Nadi. 

What they may not be aware 

is that his team’s presence in Fiji 

has helped hundreds of Fijians to 

get timely attention at affordable 

costs. 

Increasing victims 

An increasing number of people, 

including those as young as 30 suffer 

from cardiovascular diseases 

in Fiji and are at the risk of losing 

their lives since the country does 

not have resident heart surgeons 

and Interventional Cardiologists to 

perform prescribed procedures. 

Statistics on mortality rates 

due to heart attacks and related 

problems are sparse and vary. 

According to ‘Health Grove,’ a 

Cost-effective 

Weekend 

Clinics a boon 

Dr Seif El-Jack (Picture Supplied) 

health website, even youngsters 

are susceptible to cardiovascular 

diseases. 

“The peak mortality rate due 

to heart-related diseases is 

7131.9 deaths among women 

and 6952.5 deaths among men 

per 100,000 population,” it said. 

Expensive alternatives 

Rich Fijians, able to afford 

surgery and angioplasty and 

stenting procedures travel to 

Australia and New Zealand for 

treatment. 

India offers a cheaper alternative 

but lengthy travel and 

accommodation for patients 

and their accompanying families 

could be offsetting factors. 

Unfortunately, therefore, the 

poor in Fiji suffer and succumb 

to diseases of the heart. 

The Best Option 

The best option therefore is 

to train doctors and nurses in 

Fiji to treat patients without 

delay. 

Teams of doctors from New 

Zealand and Australia visit 

four or five times a year and 

stay up to a week to treat patients, 

often free of cost. 

This however, does not answer 

the long-term issue of self-sufficiency 

in treatment. 

Dr El-Jack and a few others are 

keen to promote local expertise. 

As well as examining and 

treating many patients every 

weekend, he is training locals to 

examine patients, determine the 

need for angiogram and perform 

angioplasty. 

While an angioplasty procedure 

in Auckland could 

cost up to NZ$ 30,000 Heart 

International is able to offer the 

same procedures at a fraction of 

the cost in Fiji. 

“A normal angioplasty requiring 

one stent would cost F$ 

12,000 (about N$ 8100). We have 

capped the cost of multiple stents 

to a total of F$ 15,000 (about NZ$ 

10,100),” he said. 

About Dr Seif El-Jack 

Commencing his career 

in the UK, Dr Seif El-Jack (of 

Sudanese origin), completed his 

General Cardiology training at 

the Greenlane and Auckland 

City Hospitals. Thereafter, he 

undertook an Interventional 

Cardiovascular Fellowship at 

the William Beaumont Hospital, 

Michigan, USA. 

He is currently a General and 

Interventional Cardiologist at 

the North Shore Hospital and 

Director, Cardiovascular Unit at 

the Waitemata District Health 

Board. 

Dr El-Jack is a Fellow of 

the College of Physicians 

of Edinburgh, the Royal 

Australasian College of 

Physicians, the Cardiac Society 

of Australia and New Zealand, 

The American College of 

Cardiology and the Society for 

Cardiovascular Angiography and 

Interventions (USA). 

He evinces keen interest in 

Academic Cardiology and leads 

a busy Interventional Cardiology 

Research Programme at North 

Shore Hospital, which actively 

participates in international and 

local research with several relevant 

publications in the field. 

Dr El-Jack’s first contact with 

Fiji occurred in 2011 when he 

visited Suva to perform stenting 

procedures at the Colonial 

War Memorial Hospital. Since 

then he has been undertaking 

annual visits with the support 

of the ‘Friends of Fiji Heart 

Foundation,’ until October 2017, 

when he commenced his weekly 

clinics in Nadi. 

About Heart International 

The Nadi Clinic operates with 

the support of an Aucklandbased 

team with Cardiologists 

visiting weekly. It is a dedicated 

clinic performing heart screening 

to assess the risk of heart 

problems, it undertakes several 

procedures including Blood 

tests, Heart Rhythm Tracing 

(ECG), Exercise or Stress tests to 

assess for blood vessel blockages 

in the heart, Ultrasound scans 

to check heart function (echo 

test), Angiography, a gold standard 

procedure to accurately diagnose 

blockages in blood vessels 

and Angioplasty (stenting) procedures 

to treat and open up 

blocked vessels. 

Next Issue: More about Heart 

International and success 

stories. 

Bringing NewZealand HeartSpecialists to Fiji 

● Specialist Consultations ● Exercise Treadmill Test 

● Echocardiography (Echo) ● Angiography 

● Electrocardiogram (ECG) ● Angioplasty (Stenting) 

12 Commercial Street, Namaka, Nadi


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10 Fijiink 

Ron’s visit marks a milestone in Fiji relations 

Rosi Doviverata 

New Zealand’s Minister 

of Defence Ron Mark 

is the first Minister in 

the Jacinda Arden-led 

Labour Government to visit Fiji. 

The former New Zealand 

army officer arrived at Nausori 

International Airport on March 

22, 2018, saying that he was privileged 

to be in Fiji. 

The following day, he joined 

Prime Minister Josiah Voreqe 

Bainimarama in unveiling a 

monument marking the Royal 

New Zealand Air Force service 

in Fiji, when it had a flying boat 

base at Laucala Bay in Suva. 

They also attended a presentation 

by New Zealand author Bee 

Dawson of her book, ‘Laucala 

Bay – the story of the Royal New 

Zealand Air Force in Fiji 1940 to 

1967’, at University of the South 

Pacific, Laucala Bay. 

Mr Mark and his delegation 

flew to Nadi on a Royal New 

Zealand Airforce Boeing 757 

plane. 

The Kiwis brought a P3K2 

Orion for a demonstration flight 

over Fiji. 

Back in time 

Mr Mark’s first visited Fiji in 

1978 to trek the steep and tough 

Wainadoi terrain while undergoing 

his jungle warfare training as 

an officer cadet. 

As a young Non-Commissioned 

Officer and later as an officer, Mr 

Mark worked with many Fijians. 

Ron Mark with Air Vice-Marshal Kevin Short and New Zealand’s High Commissioner to Fiji Jonathan 

Curr in Fiji on March 22, 2018. (Picture by Rosi Doviverata for Fiji Sun) 

Before Fijian soldiers were 

sent to Sinai to serve under the 

umbrella of the Multinational 

Force and Observers (MFO), Mr 

Mark was part of the advance element 

of New Zealand army officers 

to assist in setting up the 

operation in 1982. 

Mr Mark was there in his capacity 

as a mechanical engineer. 

He also served in Sinai for 13 

months and later in Oman with 

the Sultan of Oman’s military as 

a major. 

Military background useful 

He believes that his military 

background has nurtured values 

and skills valuable to his role as 

Minister of Defence. 

“We tend to be quite firm, 

quite rigid, we like things done 

and it does not matter whether 

it’s a man or military woman, 

army, navy or air force, we are 

actually shaped into a mould. 

During the time of war, in times 

of disaster, in times of emergency, 

when all about them are 

losing their head – you can guarantee 

that the military won’t and 

that is the strength that the military 

brings to society,” he said. 

Unchanged values 

But the 64-year-old understands 

that society determines 

the direction it wants to go. 

“When I became a member 

of Parliament, I stepped out of 

the uniform and I became a private 

citizen and my duties and 

responsibilities shifted – but my 

values have not changed. That is 

the strength that former service 

personnel who end up in positions 

such as mine bring.” 

With a shift in policy for 

the region spearheaded by 

New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs 

Minister Winston Peters, Mr 

Mark reiterated similar sentiments 

yesterday. 

“We are on a good footing now, 

but that is only going to deepen, 

I am looking forward to New 

Zealand and Fiji getting back to 

where we always were as friends 

and family. We have stood by 

each other, for each other since 

World War II and its fitting and 

appropriate that we are here at 

this time to remember and commemorate 

the operations of the 

Number 5 Squadron who operated 

out of here from 1940 all the 

way through to 1967,” Mr Mark 

said. 

He said that it was about recognising 

that we have shared interests, 

shared security interests 

and shared security concerns. 

“It is not about us telling Fiji 

how to do their job, it is about 

us assisting where it is appropriate 

where Fiji wants us to assist. 

From there, it is really about 

how we can enhance the security 

of Fiji and of ourselves and 

the Pacific as a whole and how 

we can work together to protect 

all of our people, Fijians and 

New Zealanders,” he said. 

Mr Mark also commended the 

efforts of Fiji service men and 

women in their peacekeeping efforts 

around the globe. 

He met his Fijian counterpart 

Inoke Kubuabola while the 

Vice Chief-of-Defence Air Vice 

Marshal Kevin Short met with 

the RFMF Commander Rear 

Admiral Viliame Naupoto. 

Indian Newslink has published 

the above Report and Picture 

under a Special Agreement 

with Fiji Sun. 

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Businesslink 

New Zealand CEOs take a dim view of global economy 

Venkat Raman 


New Zealand may be 

one of the best countries 

in the world to 

establish and run businesses, 

but its Chief Executive 

Officers (CEOs) are among the 

most pessimistic people in the 

world, according to the latest 

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) 

Survey. 

The Survey, released on March 

15, 2018, said that only 32% of 

New Zealand CEOs expect the 

global economy to improve this 

year. This contrasts with 59% of 

CEOS in other countries expressing 

optimism. China recorded 

the highest, with 70% of its corporate 

bosses optimistic of the 

world economic growth. 

Local confidence high 

However, New Zealand CEOs 

were more confident about the 

growth of their own companies, 

with 89% of the local respondents 

saying that they were making 

plans accordingly. 

PwC New Zealand Chief 

Executive and Senior Partner 

Mark Averill said that local CEOs 

were also looking at what they 

can control, through cost-cutting 

and building resilience into their 

supply chain. 

“The findings come at atime 

when businesses are coming to 

grips with achange in government, 

aheightened focus on reg- 

Mark Averill 

ulation and the broader social 

and environmental challenges 

that could affect their growth,” 

he said. 

Uncertain start 

According to Mr Averill, New 

Zealand CEOs faced an uncertain 

start to 2018, following the general 

election on September 23, 

2017, which coincided with the 

PwC Survey and avolatile equity 

markets this year. 

“It is no surprise that CEOs 

here are feeling more cautious. 

While it might seem like CEOs 

are pessimistic, our local respondents 

are bullish about their 

own growth prospects. They are 

looking at what they can control; 

their supply chains and expenses, 

to get fit for the future,” 

he said. 

The risk factors 

Terrorism and cyber-attacks 

were among the top ten risks 

that keeps CEOs awake at night, 

the Survey found. 

“CEOs are clearly getting up to 

speed on digital and technology, 

but the fact that cyber- attacks 

are the top risk to growth shows 

the vulnerability of New Zealand 

organisations. All businesses are 

now looking at the people and 

capabilities that they will need to 

transform their business models. 

Digital and cyber security skills 

are just the beginning; we have 

to build diverse teams that can 

cut across traditional business silos,” 

Mr Averill said. 

Among the other facts which 

CEOs consider as ‘threats’ are 

over-regulation, climate change 

and populism. 

“Dealing with uncertainty has 

to be part of business planning 

for 2018. We have to partner 

across industries and between 

government and business to address 

social issues like cyber security 

and climate change. This 

means becoming nimbler and 

developing a2018 agenda that is 

agile enough to handle anything 

that is thrown their way,” Mr 

Averill said. 

The Global Scene 

However, the PwC Global 

CEO Survey showed adifferent 

picture. 

Despite highly publicised 

handwringing over geopolitical 

uncertainty, corporate misbehaviour 

and the job-killing potential 

of Artificial Intelligence, 

Chief Executives were optimistic 

of the economic and business 

environment, at least over the 

next 12 months. 

The Survey accounted for 1293 

interviews in 85 countries. 

The PwC sample was weighted 

by national GDP to ensure 

that CEOs’ views were fairly 

represented across all major 

countries. About 11% of the 

interviews were conducted by 

telephone, 77% online, and 12% 

by post or face-to-face. All quantitative 

interviews were conducted 

on aconfidential basis. 

The lower threshold for all companies 

included in the top 10 

countries (by GDP) was 500 employees 

or revenues of more 

than US$ 50 million. The threshold 

for companies included in 

11 

the next 20 countries was more 

than 100 employees or revenues 

of more than US$ 10 million. 

The Best Year- 2017 

According to the Survey, 2017 

will turn out to be the best year 

that the global economy has 

seen since 2010. 

“This rising tide is not just an 

overall macroeconomic phenomenon; 

it is balanced across 

regions. Most of the world’s major 

economies are experiencing 

positive growth in contrast 

to the situation just afew years 

ago. In 2015, Russia and Brazil 

were in recessions brought on 

by plummeting commodity prices 

and political unrest,” it said. 

The southern countries in the 

Eurozone, notably Greece, were 

on the brink of default, or in default 

on their debt and threatening 

to bring down the Euro. 

“China’s surging growth had 

taken ahit from the Shanghai 

market crash. Now, global commodity 

prices seem to have stabilised 

at amoderate level. 

Russia and Brazil have returned 

to modest growth; China is doing 

well, and the Eurozone has 

mounted asteady recovery that 

looks set to continue in 2018. 

Even the UK economy, while 

slowing this past year, has not 

yet been severely impacted by 

Brexit,” the Survey said. 

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12 Viewlink 

The English Fortnightly (Since November 1999) 

ISSUE 389 | APRIL 1, 2018 

The menace of Moneylaundering 

must be stopped 

Were you surprised to 

read our report that 

Money-laundering 

is active in New Zealand and 

more than $135 billion is 

generated through the domestic 

criminal proceeds every year? 

A National Risk Assessment 

Report has said that New Zealand 

is not immune to terrorists 

and fraudsters and that despite 

being asafe country, crime 

flourishes through money laundering 

and terrorism financing 

and harm communities. 

Dizzying fines 

The United Nations Office on 

Drugs and Crime reckons that 

every year crooks launder between 

US$800 billion and US$2 

trillion that they have made 

from trafficking, prostitution, 

corruption and other misdeeds. 

Governments keen to crack 

down on money-laundering are 

increasingly slapping financial 

firms with dizzying fines 

for failing to spot suspicious 

transactions or for overlooking 

anti-money-laundering (AML) 

regulations. These rules are 

multiplying. 

According to the Economist, 

the European Union’s fourth 

AML directive introduced a 

book’s worth of fresh regulations, 

and the next batch is 

Staff underpayment must 

be criminalised 

Our Report in our Web 

Edition (March 16) and 

under Homelink here 

about the owner of the 

Shamiana Chain of Restaurants 

being fined for underpaying 

his staff and exploitation of his 

workforce arguably angered 

our readers, with many of them 

calling for tougher punishment 

to such offenders. 

It is asad and bad reflection 

on acountry known for its 

integrity and honesty. 

It is embarrassing and 

distressing that an increasing 

number of employers of Indian 

origin are being investigated 

for perpetrating such unhealthy 

practices. 

Frustrating trend 

It is unforgivable that there 

are employers who misuse and 

abuse workers, while enriching 

their coffers. It is even more 

frustrating that the long arm 

of the law does not reach 

them- not to the extent that our 

readers would have wanted in 

the first place. 

New Zealand has awell-structured 

minimum wage structure, 

which incidentally goes up to 

$16.50 (from $15.75) from today 

(April 1). 

It can be argued that afair 

wage can be deduced from 

already being drafted. 

AML software 

“To avoid falling foul of 

these new directions, financial 

firms are spending heavily on 

software that can detect transactions 

that should be blocked 

or flagged for human investigation. 

The software looks for 

attributes that have historically 

been linked to laundering, 

such as unusual transactional 

patterns. Cash deposits to an 

account via distant branches 

are suspect. So are jumps in 

transaction size or frequency,” 

the publication said. 

AML software also hunts for 

transactions that may involve 

an entity or person on any 

of hundreds of watchlists, 

including lengthy ones of 

officials worldwide who might 

have enough power to peddle 

influence. 

Last year software developed 

by SAS, an American firm, 

began to look for words and 

imagery on social media to 

identify, among other things, 

people with suspiciously lavish 

lifestyles. 

SAS says rather more than 

half of transactions flagged 

result in the filing of a 

“suspicious-activity report” to 

authorities. 

economic principles. If workers 

are paid awage that is less than 

their marginal productivity, 

they are being exploited. 

Tougher punishment 

Some sceptics regard it 

as obvious that third-world 

workers are being paid less 

than this. Their reasoning is 

that such workers are about as 

productive as their rich-country 

counterparts, and yet are paid 

only asmall fraction of what 

rich-country workers receive. 

Employers who exploit 

vulnerable workers by paying 

them less than the prescribe 

wages and those making them 

pay premiums in exchange 

for ajob and breach the New 

Zealand law should not be 

tolerated. 

This practice takes advantage 

of migrants who may not be 

aware of all their rights and 

entitlements in New Zealand or 

may not feel like they have any 

other option. 

We understand it can be 

difficult for employees to come 

forward and raise concerns 

about the way they are being 

treated by an employer but the 

government has assured that 

perpetrators would be brought 

to justice. 

Indian Newslink is published by Indian Newslink Limited from its offices located at Level 

1, Number 166, Harris Road, East Tamaki, Auckland 2013 and printed at Horton Media 

Limited, Auckland. All material appearing here and on our web editions are the copyright 

of Indian Newslink and reproduction in full or part in any medium is prohibited. Indian 

Newslink and its management and staff do not accept any responsibility for the claims 

made in advertisements. 

Managing Director & Publisher: Jacob Mannothra; Editor & General Manager: Venkat 

Raman; Marketing & Sales Manager: Ronny Kumaran; Production Manager: Mahes 

Perera; Assistant Editor: Ratna Venkat; Financial Controller: Uma Venkatram CA; 

Phone: (09) 5336377 Email: info@indiannewslink.co.nz 

Websites: www.indiannewslink.co.nz; www.inliba.com; www.inlisa.com 

Regulating Facebook won’t 

prevent data breach 

Professor 

William H Dutton 

After revelations that political 

consulting firm Cambridge 

Analytica allegedly 

appropriated Facebook user 

data to advise Donald Trump’s 2016 

U.S. presidential campaign, many 

are calling for greater regulation 

of social media networks, saying a 

“massive data breach” has occurred. 

The idea that governments can 

regulate their way into protecting 

citizen privacy is appealing, but I 

believe it misses the mark. 

What happened with Cambridge 

Analytica was not abreach or aleak. 

Wild Violation 

It was awild violation of academic 

research ethics. 

The story is still developing, 

but acollege researcher has now 

acknowledged that he harvested 

Facebook users’ data and gave it to 

another company. 

A scholar and his company failed 

to protect sensitive research data. 

A university did not do enough to 

stop him. Regulating Facebook won’t 

solve these problems. 

What Kogan did wrong 

I am aprofessor of media and 

information policy at the Quello 

Center at Michigan State University, 

and Iwas one of the first academics 

to study the internet. 

The quality and integrity of digital 

research is of great concern to me. 

I think the Cambridge Analytica-Facebook 

incident is atotal 

disaster. 

I just don’t think it’s agovernment 

regulatory failure. 

Here’s the story, at least what the 

media has confirmed so far. 

The Story 

Aleksandr Kogan is aCambridge 

University Data Scientist and 

Psychology Department Lecturer. 

Outside of the university, Kogan also 

collected and analysed Facebook 

user data, presumably with the 

knowledge of Facebook, for his 

company Global Science Research. 

Through online surveys, he was 

reportedly able to gather sensitive 

personal information on tens of 

millions of American Facebook 

users, including demographic data, 

private messages, information about 

their friends and possibly even 

information about the friends of 

their friends. 

Kogan then provided this data to a 

political consulting firm, Cambridge 

Analytica. According to New York 

Times, the company analysed 

that information, aiming to help 

shape the 2016 Trump campaign’s 

messages and identify potential 

Trump voters. 

That was never his intent, Kogan 

said in aMarch 21 BBC radio interview. 

He reports being “stunned” 

that his “perfectly legal” research 

on the happiness and well-being of 

Facebook users was deployed as a 

political tool. 

What Facebook did wrong 

So, did Facebook do something 

wrong, then? 

In my opinion, not really. 

Facebook already has strict 

guidelines outlining what can and 

can’t be done with user data, which 

the researcher appears to have 

violated by passing the personal data 

he collected to Cambridge Analytica. 

When Facebook launched in 2004, 

it quickly became agoldmine for 

social researchers. Suddenly, studies 

that previously relied only on survey 

data to gather information about 

individuals could directly observe 

how people connected to one 

another, what they liked, and what 

bound groups together. 

In the early years, the company 

took an open and experimental 

attitude toward this kind of 

data mining, even teaming up with 

researchers to study how tweaking 

certain features of individual’s Facebook 

pages affected voter turnout, 

say, or impacted their moods. 

Those studies, conducted 

without the informed consent of its 

participants –Facebook users –were 

widely criticised by social science 

researchers. 

In 2014, Facebook strengthened its 

existing guidelines on how user data 

can be gathered, analysed and used. 

Extensive Internal Review 

Today, the company requires an 

extensive internal review of every 

request to extract personal data 

from users for research purposes. 

In other words, Facebook self-regulated. 

It may have been lax in enforcing 

its guidelines, though. The company 

says that once it learned that Cambridge 

Analytica had used Kogan’s 

data set for unauthorized purposes, 

it insisted that the data be deleted. 

According to current press reports, 

Cambridge Analytica did not comply. 

For awhile, it seems, Facebook did 

nothing to punish the company. 

I believe the fallout from this 

scandal –including aFederal Trade 

Commission investigation –will 

push Facebook to take enforcement 

much more seriously. 

After all, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg 

said in aMarch 21 Facebook post, 

the company “made mistakes” and 

it “has aresponsibility to protect” its 

users. 

Account suspended 

Cambridge Analytica’s Facebook 

account has now been suspended. 

And under both US and UK law, 

individuals or firms accused of 

unauthorised disclosure of personal 

information can face prosecution. 

What academia does wrong 

For me, what the Cambridge 

Analytica fiasco exposes is that 

university ethical review processes 

are not yet equipped for the digital 

age. 

University researchers are bound 

by strict ethical guidelines. 

Across the world, particularly 

in the UK, with its strong social 

research traditions, academics who 

want to study the attitudes or behaviour 

of private individuals must 

first pass astringent review process. 

They must also obtain explicit, 

informed consent from those who 

participate in their research. 

It is impossible for me to imagine 

that an ethics board at the University 

of Cambridge would have ever 

approved of Kogan sharing his data 

with Cambridge Analytica. 

Universities around the globe 

actually encourage faculty to develop 

entrepreneurial companies, as 

Kogan did. That helps their research 

reach beyond campus to foster 

innovation in business, industry and 

government. 

But the norms and rules that 

protect participants in academic 

research, such as not sharing identifiable 

personal data, do not stop at 

the door of the university. 

Conflict of interest 

Kogan’s exploits show that professors’ 

outside jobs may raise conflicts 

of interest and may have escaped 

the reach of institutional review. 

This is an area of academic workfor-hire 

that universities need to 

review with an eye toward updating 

how they enforce research ethics. 

I have briefed institutional review 

boards at anumber of universities, 

and Ican attest that members often 

do not understand how the internet 

has been transforming the way data 

is created, gathered, analysed and 

shared on the internet and social 

media networks. 

Frequently, authorities who grant 

professors and students permission 

to conduct their studies are anchored 

in the standards of medical 

research, not modern social science. 

Many schools fail to understand 

how cutting-edge some academic 

fields have become. Data and 

computational analytics is one of 

the most innovative scientific fields 

today. 

Legitimate, company-approved 

access to social media user data 

allows researchers to study some 

of the most urgent issues of the 21st 

century, including fake news, political 

echo chambers and technological 

trends. 

So, it is not surprising that political 

campaigns would want to appropriate 

these research practices. Until 

they come up with new rules, Ifear 

universities’ lack of digital savvy will 

remain athreat to online privacy. 

William H Dutton is Professor of 

Media and Information Policy, 

Michigan State University (MSU), 

USA. A Disclosure Statement said 

that he has received funding from 

Merit, Rocket Fiber, Google, UK’s 

Economic and Research Council 

and the Insitute for Public Policy 

at MSU. He has never been funded 

by Facebook. The above article, 

which appeared under ‘The Conversation’ 

(Australia) on March 

23, 2018, has been reproduced 

here under ‘Creative Commons 

Licence.’


Do you want to join the Conservation Boards? 

Nominations are now open until April 30 

Eugenie Sage 

Nominations for Conservation 

Boards have 

been reopened to ensure 

they reflect the diverse 

communities they serve. 

The Department of Conservation 

reopened the nomination 

process for recruiting abroader 

cross-section of members from 

the different communities each 

board represents on the Minister’s 

recommendation. 

The Nomination Process 

The nomination process for the 

2018 appointments was undertaken 

late last year and may have been 

affected by the Christmas holidays. 

The Department received 143 nominations 

for atotal of 45 positions 

on 15 Conservation Boards. 

Conservation Boards are an 

important way for people to have 

their say and influence how public 

conservation lands and waters 

are managed. Their voice and 

role really matter. Membership 

of the boards should reflect the 

strong and diverse public interest 

in conservation and protecting 

New Zealand’s natural and historic 

resources. 

I want to cast the net wider, using 

online and media channels, to ensure 

a wide range of people know about 

the roles and how to apply. 

The new process opens today 

with nominations closing on 

Saturday, April 14, 2018. 

I will consider nominations and 

decide appointments by 30 June. 

People who already put their 

names forward will still be 

considered. 

Knowledgeable people 

Anyone in the community who 

is passionate and knowledgeable 

about conservation should put their 

hands up. 

Think about who you know with 

knowledge of nature conservation, 

natural earth and marine sciences, 

cultural heritage, recreation, 

tourism, the local community and a 

Maori perspective. 

On any one board there may 

be students, teachers, farmers, 

fishers, scientists, builders, tourism 

operators, home makers and 

retired people.’ 

About the Conservation Boards 

The functions of Boards are set 

out in Section 6M of the Conservation 

Act 1987 and in the National 

Parks and Reserves Acts. 

The Boards focus on planning 

and strategic direction, not the 

day-to-day operational details of the 

Department’s work. 

The Board work includes (a) 

overseeing the Conservation Management 

Strategy for its region (b) 

developing and reviewing national 

park and other management plans 

for lands administered by the Department 

(c) advising on proposals 

for marine reserves (d) considering 

the impact of concessions for 

tourism and other activities on 

conservation land (e) looking at the 

range of recreational opportunities 

in the region (f) advising on proposals 

to change the protective status 

or classification of areas of national 

or international importance. 

About the Board Members 

An interest in conservation and 

enough capacity to do the work. 

Most Boards meet four-five times 

a year and meetings take afull day, 

sometimes longer particularly if 

inspection visits are needed. 

There will also be committee 

meetings, time required for 

researching issues and working on 

reports or submissions, preparation 

time spent reading briefing material 

before meetings, and time for 

liaison and public consultation. 

Payment to Members 

Conservation Boards members 

are paid $180 per day for meetings 

and fieldtrips. 

They can also claim for 

preparation time, and for fair 

and reasonable expenses (such as 

petrol and mileage if they use their 

personal vehicle for fieldtrips, car 

parking and so on). 

For further information please 

see the Departments Conservation 

Board pages. 

For more information, please 

visit www.doc.govt.nz 

Eugenie Sage is Conservation 

Minister of New Zealand. 

Businesslink 

Money-laundering active in New Zealand 

The country faces real terrorists risks too 

Venkat Raman 


Money-laundering is active in 

New Zealand and more than 

$135 billion is generated 

through the domestic criminal 

proceeds every year, the National 

Risk Assessment Report has said. 

The New Zealand Police Financial 

Intelligent Unit (FIU), which released 

the Report said that the updated assessment 

indicated existence of real money-laundering 

and terrorism risks. 

Crime flourishes 

FIU Manager Andrew Hill said that 

New Zealand is not immune to these 

criminals and that despite being asafe 

country, crime flourishes through money 

laundering and terrorism financing 

and harm communities. 

“Overseas criminals seeking to mask 

their illicit funds are also attracted by 

New Zealand’s reputation as asafe and 

non-corrupt country,” he said. 

This Report describes the vulnerabilities 

of the New Zealand financial system 

to money laundering and terrorism financing 

and provides an awareness to 

more successfully prevent and detect illicit 

financial activity. 

Anonymity of offenders 

The channels that currently offer opportunities 

to money launderers in New 

Zealand are financial, legal, accounting, 

real estate, and retail or dealer services 

that keep offenders anonymous. 

These channels, used for moving 

large values and volumes of legitimate 

funds and which provide ascreen for 

illicit transactions are widely available 

internationally and also have poor 

AML/CFT controls internationally, and / 

or are cash intensive. 

These are used to disguise drugs 

13 

proceeds. 

Mr Hill said that the FIU Report highlights 

the high potential economic and 

reputational cost associated with money 

laundering and financing of terrorism. 

Transparency imperative 

Transparency International New 

Zealand Chair Suzanne Snively said that 

this Report further supports the need 

for complete transparency of ownership 

of New Zealand companies and 

trusts. We know of trusts set up In New 

Zealand used as instruments of crime 

for corrupt people and regimes overseas. 

This may well include terrorists,” 

she said. 

New Zealand not immune 

Ms Snively said that New Zealand 

should not consider itself immune from 

being used by organisations like ISAL. 

“Opacity of ownership under current 

law encourages these activities and obscures 

our ability to prevent them,” she 

said. 

While the new requirement under 

the Anti-Money Laundering and 

Counter Terrorism Act to be implemented 

in July will further assist the prevention 

of money laundering for terrorist 

and other criminal purposes, financial 

transactions are not the only identifier 

of criminal intent. 

“The Government should pass with 

urgency the bill that will identify beneficial 

ownership of trusts followed quickly 

with an amendment to cover all legal 

entities used by overseas sources and 

with the register fully transparent,” Ms 

Snively said. 

Read our Leader, ‘The menace of 

Money Laundering must be stopped’ 

under Viewlink. 

Services 

We Provide 

22 Clark St, 35E New Mclaughlins Lynn Auckland Rd Wiri Auckland 0600, New 2104 

Zealand.


14 Women in Banking 

ARPITACHANDRA 

Relationship Manager 

Westpac Highland Park 

Arpita has workedfor 

Westpac for eight years in a 

number of important roles 

including Wealth specialist, Banking 

Consultant,and Relationship 

Manager. 

Arpita immigrated to New 

Zealand in 2003 as atrained economist, 

havingstudied the subject at 

Hansraj College, Delhi University. 

In 2006, she completed aMaster 

degreeinInternational Business 

from MasseyUniversity,and has 

since been able to translate her 

strong educational background into 

an equally strong performance 

in the bankingsector. 

High-Profile Clients 

As aRelationship Manager, Arpita 

manages agrowing portfolio 

of high-profile clientrelationships. 

On aday-to-daybasis, she finds 

herself recommending best-fit 

banking products that meet her 

clients’ needs and financial goals. 

Her ability forbuilding and 

maintaining enduringclient 

relationships comes from her 

passion for helping people achieve 

their full financial potential,and a 

genuine needtogothe extramile 

in her chosen vocation. 

ProfessionalDevelopment 

At Westpac,Arpita has 

benefittedfrom advice from 

excellent mentors and asystematic 

professional developmentprogramme. 

These provisions have 

helped withasteady growth in 

her management, sales, finance 

and investment skills,leading to 

sustained highlevelsofpersonal 

satisfaction and servicetoWestpac 

customers. 

Since moving to NewZealand, 

Arpita has been aregular volunteer 

in the Auckland Indian Community,performing 

at concerts, 

community events, andmentoring 

budding musicians, thanks to her 

training in Indian classical music. 

She is alsoakeenartist andloves 

to travel. She is happily married 

and is aproud mum of two. 

CHHAVI SHARMA 

Bank Manager 

Westpac Highland Park 

Chhavi has been working with 

Westpac for just under a 

decade in Auckland. 

Currently holding the position of 

Westpac BankManager, Highland 

ParkBranch, shehas extensive 

experience in customer services, 

having worked as Customer Support 

Officer, Banking Consultant 

and Personal Manager. 

Helping People 

Chhavi has apassion for helping 

people around her for their growth, 

individually andprofessionally,in 

their fields. 

Elegantlymanaging the branch 

business, she takes pride in leading 

the team withthe aim to help the 

clients by goinganadditional mile 

to maketheir dreams happen by 

providing tailor made solutions. 

She believes and supports the 

Westpac policytoprovide excellent 

and fully dedicated service to its 

individual and business clients 

at the same time promoting the 

interests of the community. 

Serving communities 

By supporting the local communities, 

she has had the opportunity 

to be partofvarious eventsinvolving 

programmes specially designed 

for ‘Financial Literacy’, ‘Managing 

your money workshops’ and helping 

new immigrants by Westpac. 

She endorses high-level of 

regards to her mentorsand 

colleagues who have always been 

very supportive and helpful in her 

successful efforts to deliverhigh 

quality services to the bank’s clients 

and the community. 

ChhaviSharma 

Bank Manager 

Phone: 09 5350637 

Mobile: 021 712087 

Westpac HighlandParkBranch 

505Pakuranga Road, 

Highland Park,Auckland 

RAJMITA CHAND 

BusinessDevelopment&Initiatives Manager, 

Auckland South &Asian Retail &BusinessBanking ANZ NewZealand 

Rajmita Chand has come 

along way sincemoving 

to New Zealand with her 

husband atage 19. 

AFijian-born Indian, Rajmita’s 

first job onarrival was asaparttimeteller 

with ANZ. Today, 

she’s responsible for building 

ANZ’sbrand in the key Auckland 

South andAsian markets. 

Her success has been recognised 

by winning ANZ’s National 

Leadership Award for fourconsecutive 

years, including aCEO 

Recognition Award. 

Influence in community 

In hercurrent role, Rajmita 

workswithANZ’sretail and business 

bankingleaders to achieve 

ANZ’smission of ‘helping people 

and communities thrive.’ 

“ANZ has abig influence in our 

communities and I’m proud to 

be apart of that,” saysRajmita. 

“In my two decades with ANZ, 

Ihave workedwithmanyfemale 

leaders who have been stellar 

role models and mybiggest inspiration. 

Ihave also been able 

to takemytwo children along on 

my journey, thanks to ANZ’sgenerousparental 

leaveand flexible 

working policies. 

Dream Big 

“I have had alot of help and 

support in my career,” says 

Rajmita, “butIalso believe very 

stronglythat no-one canhelp 

you until you help yourself. 

“My advice is simple. Believe 

in yourabilities. Empower the 

women around you. Seek out opportunities 

and don’t be afraidto 

take them. And mostimportantly 

–Dream Big!” 

BHAKTI MEHTA 

PrivateBanker ANZ NewZealand 

Awillingness toembrace 

change, combined with 

apositive attitude, has 

seen Bhakti Mehta build 

anew life –and anew career -in 

New Zealand. 

India-born Bhakti moved to 

New Zealand withher husband 

in2001 and workedinthe naturalhealthindustry 

until the recession 

hit in 2009. 

Passionfor Service 

“The Bank gave me an opportunity 

in the call centre, which 

Iamverygrateful for. Ididn’t 

know much about banking -but 

Idid have agenuine passion to 

help customers.” 

That passion saw Bhakti quickly 

promoted.Adesiretolearn 

about other parts of the bank 

saw her movetothe Private 

Banking team, where she also 

excelled. 

In her current role as aPrivate 

Banker, Bhaktilooksafter banking 

and mortgages for the top 

3% of the Bank’shigh value 

customers. 

“I have beenlucky tohavea 

lot of support along the way,” 

says Bhakti. 

“ANZ has been fantastic –particularly 

when Iwas studying for 

my Authorised Financial Adviser 

qualification. 

Family Support 

“The support of my husband 

and son, over more than ayear 

of combining full time work 

and study, has also made itall 

possible. 

“I think the key to success is 

having a‘can-do’ attitude.Ifyou 

aregenuinely interested in helping 

people, you canmake areal 

difference –toyour customers’ 

lives and your own!”


Businesslink 

15 

Mortgage Broker wins top industry award 

Venkat Raman 


Dev Dingra, Director of 

the Auckland-based 

mortgage and insurance 

brokerage firm 

‘The Fund Master,’ has won the 

‘Home Loan Adviser of the Year 

Award.’ 

He received the industry-coveted 

Award given by the New 

Zealand Financial Services 

Group (NZFSG) at abrief, informal 

ceremony held recently in 

Auckland. 

High Achiever 

The Award comes as recognition 

for the highly-rated performance 

of Mr Dhingra, whose 

ability to assess the needs of his 

customers and coordinate with 

lending institutions to obtain 

mortgage loans. In that process, 

he has not only put together a 

team of well-motivated professionals 

but also raised the level 

of customer service. 

The Fund Master is reported to 

have won in all three major categories 

of the NZFSG Awards, the 

first company to do so. 

People of Indian origin are becoming 

more active partners in 

New Zealand’s economic development 

and social progress, a 

process which involves their participation 

in the property and 

real estate market. 

Lending institutions, including 

Dev Dhingra receiving the Home Lone Adviser of the Year Award from NZFSG Sales Manager 

Mike Allen at his Office 

NZFSG Sales Manager Mike Allen with Dev Dhingra and his Fund Master Team (Pictures Supplied) 

commercial banks are obliged 

to reduce their market exposure, 

driven by astricter regime 

of the Reserve Bank of New 

Zealand and other financial authorities 

and as such, the expertise 

of firms like The Fund 

Master are becoming increasingly 

imperative. 

Experience and Expertise 

With his experience in banking 

and ability to understand the 

needs of borrowers- first home 

buyers and investors in residential 

and commercial property –Mr 

Dhingra has been at the forefront 

of his young company’s success, 


CALLING FOR 

ENTRIES &NOMINATIONS 

Forms can be downloaded from 

www.inliba.com 

since its inception in 2012. 

A press note said, “Being amigrant 

himself, Mr Dhingra has 

been through the daunting process 

of purchasing a first home 

as well as setting up abusiness 

first hand. He has extensive 

knowledge of the inner working 

and complexities of the loan 

market and real world experience 

and awide network of industry 

contacts. His talent, skill 

and dedication have been recognised 

with many awards, including 

the NZFSG, the most 

prestigious awards in the 

industry.” 

Kanwaljit Singh 

Bakshi 

National ListMPbased 

in Manukau East 

Contact 

A 

P 

F 

E 

1/131 Kolmar Road, Papatoetoe, Auckland 

09 278 9302 

09 278 2143 

Bakshi.mp@parliament.govt.nz 

facebook.com/Bakshiks 

@bakshiks 

bakshi.co.nz 

Funded by the Parliamentary Service. 

Authorised by Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi MP, 

1/131 Kolmar Road, Papatoetoe.


16 Businesslink 

What happened in Vietnam is unforgivable and unforgettable 

“American boys behaved like Nazis” 

Note: This Story has some graphic details. 

Reader discretion advised. 

Robert Hodierne, USA 

Sa Thi Quy was 43 years old 

on the morning of March 

16, 1968, when Americans 

came to her hamlet near 

the coast of the South China Sea 

in what was then South Vietnam. 

“The first time the Americans 

came, the children followed 

them. They gave the children 

sweets to eat. Then they smiled 

and left. We don’t know their 

language – they smiled and said 

OK and so we learned the word 

OK. The second time they came, 

we poured them water to drink. 

They didn’t say anything. The 

third time they killed everyone.” 

The name of her hamlet was 

My Lai. 

Horrific crime 

If Americans remember that 

name at all, they most likely remember 

that something dark 

and awful happened there. They 

are probably fuzzy on the details. 

Maybe they remember 

some grainy color photographs 

of Vietnamese bodies piled in a 

ditch. 

Or a Lieutenant named 

William Calley. 

But on this 50th anniversary 

of what happened in that 

Vietnamese hamlet, it is worth 

recalling the grotesque details, in 

the hope that doing so will help 

prevent a future My Lai. 

It is still an unsettled question 

about what, exactly, the troops of 

the Americal Division were ordered 

to do and who, exactly, issued 

the orders. What is settled 

is that for four hours that morning, 

American young men went 

on a rampage of killing and rape. 

Grotesque details 

When they finally broke for 

lunch, the Americans had butchered 

504 Vietnamese old men, 

women, children and babies. No 

military-aged men were killed. 

Only one weapon belonging to 

the Vietnamese was found. 

Sometimes, the soldiers 

shot Vietnamese one at a 

time. Sometimes they herded 

them into ditches and machine-gunned 

them down in 

groups. 

Sometimes it seemed as if the 

Americans were making a sport 

out of it. 

One soldier threw a wounded 

elderly man down a well then 

dropped a grenade in after him. 

A soldier bayoneted an old man 

to death. 

Another soldier was armed 

with an M-79 grenade launcher. 

Other soldiers testified at Army 

Lt. William S. Calley, shown on Nov. 21, 1969, with newsmen at Ft. Benning, Georgia, where he was charged with 

premeditated murder of approximately 100 Vietnamese civilians. (Photo Courtesy: AP) 

hearings that the man was frustrated 

that he had not been able 

to use his weapon, so he herded 

some women and children 

together, backed off and fired 

several explosive rounds into 

them. Other soldiers with pistols 

killed those who were only 

wounded. 

In a better-disciplined outfit, 

the officers in the field would 

have stopped such violence. 

But in this outfit, officers took 

part in the killing. 

William Calley’s massacres 

According to testimony from 

his men, one company commander, 

Captain Ernest Medina, 

shot and killed a wounded and 

helpless woman. Lt William 

Calley grabbed one woman by 

the hair and blew her brains 

out with his .45-caliber pistol. 

Then he shot to death an infant 

she had been carrying. In total, 

Calley is thought to have killed 

or ordered killed more than 100 

civilians. 

It is worth noting that the massacre 

may never have come to 

light if it were not for a soldier 

who was an aspiring journalist. 

Ronald Ridenhour served in the 

Americal Division in Vietnam at 

the time of the massacre but was 

not present at My Lai. 

Ridenhour got wind of it, interviewed 

men who had been there 

and wrote his findings in a letter 

to 30 members of Congress and 

the Pentagon. 

As the story started to break 

– mostly due to the efforts of 

young investigative reporter 

Seymour Hersh – another soldier 

who had been in My Lai published 

the colour photos that are 

the best documentation of the 

horror at My Lai. 

I covered Vietnam for two 

years as a photojournalist and 

was in Vietnam when the My Lai 

story broke. I remember that I 

was stunned. I had seen villages 

burned and Vietnamese pushed 

around, but nothing even approaching 

My Lai. 

In the wake of all that bad 

publicity, the Army appointed 

a highly decorated and well regarded 

three-star General Lt Gen 

William R Peers, to investigate 

the cover-up. 

Over four months, he and his 

staff took sworn testimony from 

about 400 witnesses. 

The transcript runs to 20,000 

pages. 

BBC Radio Documentary 

Ten years ago, a sharp producer 

in London, Celina Dunlop, 

found out that the testimony had 

been tape-recorded. I worked on 

a two-part BBC radio documenta- 

Continued on page 15


Businesslink 

17 

Continued from page 14 

ry about My Lai, using those 

tapes. It was the first time 

I’d heard the voices of the 

men who took part, describing 

what they had done and 

seen. 

Their voices haunt me. 

I used voices to write a 

play about the massacre – 

called simply enough, “My 

Lai” – and in doing so, read 

all 20,000 pages of their 

testimony. 

No writer could do better 

than their simple, direct description 

of the horror they 

let loose on that village. 

Heroes amid the carnage 

There were really only 

three Americans who behaved 

heroically that day. 

Warrant Officer Hugh 

Thompson was flying a small 

scout helicopter with two 

crewmen, Glenn Andreotti 

and Lawrence Colburn. 

They witnessed the massacre 

from above. When they 

saw American troops advancing 

toward a group of 

old men, women and children, 

Thompson landed his 

helicopter between the soldiers 

and the civilians and 

ordered his crewmen to 

shoot the Americans if they 

opened fire on the civilians. 

He called other choppers to 

evacuate the civilians. For 

that, Thompson was shunned 

by fellow officers for years 

afterward. 

What is not usually written 

about at My Lai are the rapes. 

Unreadable incidents 

While the exact number 

may never be known, the 

Americans raped at least several 

dozen women and girls, 

some as young as 12. And 

then murdered and mutilated 

many of them. 

One soldier, Dennis 

Bunning of Raymond, 

California, testified that a sergeant 

“took one girl there, 

and drug her into a compartment, 

like in a hootch there, 

you know, and hootches 

don’t have doors or nothing, 

and you could see, and he 

raped one girl inside there. 

And then there was three 

other guys and one girl all at 

one time. … A guy would just 

grab one of the girls there 

and in one or two incidents 

they shot the girls when they 

got done.” 

Pham Thi Tuan, who lived 

in My Lai, told a documentary 

filmmaker, “Over there 

a naked woman who had 

been raped and a virgin girl 

with her vagina slit open. 

We don’t know why they behaved 

liked that.” 

‘Failure of leadership’ 

And that, finally, is the 

question that is most vexing. 

How could American boys 

behave like that? 

How could they behave like 

Nazi and Japanese soldiers in 

World War II? 

One excuse frequently offered 

is that the unit had 

been hard hit and was in 

some sort of shock. In fact, 

the unit had only been in 

Vietnam for three months 

and had never been in a firefight. 

Before My Lai, only 

five men from the unit had 

been killed, all by mines 

or snipers, at a time when 

Americans were losing 15-20 

men per day. 

Another excuse is that the 

men were subpar, draftees, 

the bottom of a rapidly emptying 

barrel. But that is not 

true either, according to an 

Army investigation. 

By every measure – intelligence, 

education, physical 

fitness – they were typical of 

the hundreds of thousands of 

soldiers who never engaged 

in such behaviour. 

In the end, Peers, who 

headed the investigation, 

concluded that the massacre 

was a failure of leadership, 

from the commanding 

General on down. He concluded 

that 28 officers and 

enlisted men had committed 

war crimes – murder and 

rape – or conspired to cover 

up the crimes. 

Culley gets it light 

But in the end, only 14 officers 

were charged. And 

only Calley was convicted. 

President Richard Nixon, 

bowing to public pressure 

from those who believed 

Calley was a scapegoat, commuted 

his life sentence. He 

spent three and half years 

confined, most of that time 

under house arrest. 

Nixon would not even 

allow Peers to call it a 

massacre. 

The massacre became, instead, 

“a tragedy of major 

proportions.” 

The darkest side of 

American exceptionalism is 

the belief that somehow, we 

are more moral than others 

and that our troops would 

never slaughter innocent 

civilians. 

Americans need to understand 

that in every war in 

the history of humankind, 

soldiers commit hideous 

acts. Even our troops. It is 

inevitable. 

Americans need to be prepared 

to share the moral responsibility 

for those crimes 

when we send our young 

men and women off to fight 

wars on our behalf. 

Robert Hodierne is Chair 

and Professor of Journalism, 

University of Richmond. He 

does not work for, consult, own 

shares in or receive funding 

from any company or organisation 

that would benefit from this 

article, and has disclosed no relevant 

affiliations beyond their 

academic appointment. The 

above article, updated to correct 

producer Celina Dunlop’s name 

and work title, appeared under 

‘The Conversation’ (UK) on 

March 18, 2018 and has been reproduced 

here under ‘Creative 

Commons Licence.’ 

Excess cigarette imports light 

up serious consequences 

Anne Marie Taggart 

Growth in abandoned and seized tobacco at 

international airports and sent from overseas 

has prompted Customs to remind travellers and 

friends or family to be aware of the limits and help 

spread the word. 

There has been a noticeable increase in the amount 

of tobacco being abandoned by travellers and this may 

be because they are unaware of the limits. 

Maximum quantity admissible 

The current duty-free allowance is 50 cigarettes, or 

50 grams of cigarettes, cigars or tobacco. Duty will be 

applied to any cigarettes, cigars or tobacco over this 

limit. 

Not declaring or hiding excess tobacco is a criminal 

offence – this tobacco will be seized and there could be 

serious consequences. 

There has also been growth in the amount of 

tobacco abandoned or seized that has been sent from 

overseas, and in particular from the Asian region, 

through international mail or by freight. 

There is no gift or duty-free allowance and whoever 

the tobacco is addressed to, is considered to be the 

‘importer’ and is liable for the taxes. 

Huge numbers intercepted 

In 2017, more than three million cigarettes and 

cigars and around half a tonne of loose tobacco was 

intercepted by Customs, with more than 2.5 tonnes of 

tobacco abandoned as people did not want to pay the 

extra charges. 

Customs will shortly be running a campaign to raise 

awareness about the limits and the duty that must be 

paid for excess tobacco. 

Public support 

Everyone can play a part in this by making sure 

their friends and family are aware of the allowances. 

We want people to be aware of the additional costs 

that will be incurred before they travel, or send from 

overseas, to avoid having their tobacco abandoned or 

seized. 

Any tobacco that is intercepted or abandoned will 

be destroyed. 

Anne Marie Taggart is Group Manager, Border 

Operations at New Zealand Customs. 

Services 

We Provide 

35E Mclaughlins Rd Wiri Auckland 2104


18 Businesslink 

Gail Costa joins Cigna as Chief Executive 

Supplied Content 

Cigna New Zealand 

has appointed Gail 

Costa as its new 

Chief Executive 

Officer. 

She will take charge on 

April 1, 2018. 

Ms Costa brings 

significant international 

leadership experience 

and insurance knowledge 

to the role, which will 

be of benefit to Cigna’s 

partners and customers. 

She had previously 

led Cigna’s operations 

in New Zealand for 10 

years and returns at a 

time of significant growth 

for the company, which 

serves more than 250,000 

customers. 

Cigna has operated in 

New Zealand for nearly 

a century and provides 

a range of life, health, 

accident and travel 

products and services 

under the Cigna brand. It 

also works with partner 

companies who retail 

Cigna products under 

their own names. 

Innovative approach 


is known for being an 

innovator as it seeks to 

support the health and 

well-being of the people it 

serves. It has accelerated 

its digital transformation 

in customer care, and 

acquired Grownups, New 

Zealand’s leading lifestyle 

website and social community 

for those over 50 

years of age, an important 

customer group for Cigna. 


Chairman Steven Fyfe 

said, “Gail has extensive 

understanding of Cigna 

New Zealand and the 

New Zealand insurance 

market. We are delighted 

to have someone of her 

calibre lead the business, 

and her appointment 

makes for aseamless 

transition. We are excited 

about the contribution she 

will make to Cigna New 

Zealand’s already strong 

performance, culture, 

brand and desire for 

growth.” 

About Gail Costa 

Ms Costa has served on 

the Cigna New Zealand 

Board since 2012 and 

returns after successful 

assignments in Asia and 

Turkey. She is currently 

Chief Executive of Cigna’s 

Joint Venture business with 

QNB Finansbank in Turkey, 

a role that she took up in 

2015. 

“Cigna has grown in the 

past five years. However, 

at its heart, it remains a 

business committed to 

improving the health, 

well-being and sense of 

security of its customers. I 

look forward to sharing my 

international, distribution 

and marketing experience 

with the New Zealand team 

and our community of 

business partners. Cigna 

New Zealand is committed 

to growth and continuing 

to provide great products 

and services to its customers, 

so I’m thrilled to re-join 

this exceptional business,” 

she said. 

Please visit www.cigna. 

co.nz for more information 

and follow on 

Facebook and Twitter. 

Liberalism has destroyed 

everything that came with it 

Kieran Madden 

In the early nineties, political 

theorist Francis Fukuyama 

famously proclaimed the “End 

of History” was upon us—that 

Western Liberal Democracy was 

the “endpoint of mankind’s ideological 

evolution…the final form of 

human government.” 

The Berlin Wall had just fallen— 

Communism, and Fascism before it, 

defeated. 

The Liberal Order, based on the 

idea of choice-making, rights-bearing 

individuals seeking their own 

conceptions of the good was here 

to stay. 

Stirred, but not shaken 

But the past few decades have 

seen the post-1989 liberal consensus 

of opening everything up—from 

markets to morality—stirred, if not 

significantly shaken. 

Trump’s rise in the US and 

Britain’s exit are signs of abroader 

discontent with the way things are, 

people have had enough of feeling 

powerless. 

There are now even murmurings 

of Cold War 2.0. 

Is it the beginning of the end of 

Liberalism? 

Famous opinions 

Professor of Political Science at 

Notre Dame, Patrick Deneen thinks 

so, and outlines why in his recently-released 

and provocatively-titled 

book, “Why Liberalism Failed.” 

The contradictions of liberalism 

have taken hold, he claims, and 

tinkering at the edges won’t do. 

The whole project is beyond 

redemption. 

Columnist David Brooks summarises 

these contradictions well; 

“Liberal Democracy has betrayed 

its promises. It was supposed to 

foster equality, but it has led to great 

inequality and anew aristocracy. 

It was supposed to give average 

people control over government, 

but average people feel alienated 

from government. It was supposed 

to foster liberty, but it creates a 

degraded popular culture in which 

consumers become slave to their 

appetites.” 

Fall of Family 

The story goes that the rise of 

the individual precipitated the 

fall of the family, the neighbour, 

the community—the traditional 

virtue-making institutions. 

Cultures, defined as “a set of 

generational customs, practices, 

and rituals that are grounded in 

local and particular settings,” have 

been weakened, with Deneen 

going so far as to call Liberalism 

“anticulture.” 

We have become alienated, he 

says, from one another, our past, 

and our place. 

As these bonds deteriorate, 

ever-growing markets to meet 

our desires and burgeoning governments 

to guarantee our rights 

emerge in their place. 

Liberalism has therefore “drawn 

down” on its inheritance—it has 

destroyed the conditions which 

enabled it to flourish; and doesn’t 

have the means to recreate it. 

Developing practices 

And there’s no easy fix. Rather 

than replacing one flawed ideology 

with another, Deneen recommends 

we focus on “developing practices 

that foster new forms of culture, 

household economics, and polis 

life” where a“abetter theory of 

politics and society might ultimately 

emerge.” 

While this DIY approach is agood 

and necessary corrective, it doesn’t 

have the teeth to solve national and 

global political problems we face 

today. 

An eye-opener 

While Deneen’s proposed solution 

doesn’t go far enough, Ithink 

his diagnosis of the problem should 

open our eyes. 

Liberalism underpins policy 

on both the left and right—it is 

the social and political air that we 

breathe. It has in many senses 

delivered the goods—the relative 

peace and prosperity of the modern 

period has been astounding—but 

we can’t continue to ignore the 

costs. 

Kieran Madden is a Researcher 

at Maxim Institute based in 

Auckland.


Shamiana owner fined 

for staff underpay 

(Pictures Sourced) 

An Indian restaurant 

chain has been fined 

more than $40,000 in 

penalties after several 

breaches to employment 

law, despite having paid more 

than $24,000 to staff in arrears 

previously. 

Shamiana Limited and 

Shamiana Enterprises Limited, 

with Satish Shetty as the sole director 

and shareholder, have 

been fined $41,000 in penalties 

after several breaches to employment 

law. 

Cheating employees 

Following complaints received 

by the Labour Inspectorate, it’s 

been found that Mr Shetty failed 

to pay staff minimum wage and 

holiday pay, as well as keep correct 

employment agreements. 

Labour Inspectorate Regional 

Manager David Milne said, “The 

companies collectively employ 

120 staff across 22 restaurants 

throughout the country, and we 

have had several complaints dating 

back to August 2015 of Mr 

Shetty not upholding his staff’s 

basic employment rights.” 

Despite arrears previously being 

paid to employees and corrective 

action taken to adhere 

to the Inspectorate’s improvement 

notice, breaches continued 

to occur. 

Continuous breaches 

“The continuous nature of 

these breaches, despite remediation 

at the time, shows that Mr 

Shetty wasn’t taking his obligations 

as an employer of 120 staff 

seriously.” 

“It was surprising that even 

after several complaints to the 

Inspectorate, Mr Shetty was not 

deterred from underpaying his 

staff. One of the breaches uncovered 

was for unpaid work trials 

for staff – a practice that’s illegal 

under New Zealand employment 

law,” says Mr Milne. 

These repeat breaches of the 

law meant that Shamiana Limited 

was ordered to pay $33,000 and 

similarly, Shamiana Enterprises 

Limited was ordered to pay 

$18,000. 

Warning to companies 

“Employers should understand 

that the Inspectorate follows up 

earlier non-compliance with a zero-tolerance 

approach. Additional 

strong penalties will be sought 

where any ongoing non-compliance 

is found. 

“Not only is underpayment and 

mistreatment at the detriment 

of employees, it also gives companies 

an unfair commercial advantage 

over their law-abiding 

competitors. 

“On top of this, reputations are 

left tarnished and the National 

Consumer Survey 2016, conducted 

by Consumer Protection found 

that knowing a business treats 

its workers fairly regularly affects 

consumers’ purchasing decisions,” 

Mr Milne said. 

Anyone concerned about their 

employment situation, or the situation 

of someone they know, 

should call 0800-209020 to report 

in a safe environment. 

Source: Ministry of Business, 

Innovation and Employment. 

Please read our Leader, ‘Staff 

underpayment must be decriminalised’ 

under Viewlink. 

While visiting a family 

in Samoa recently, 


Ardern said, “There 

is nowhere more sacred than your 

home.” 

Welcoming visitors is one thing, 

opening it up to complete strangers 

is another situation entirely. 

When you are selling a property, 

you get to decide how the Open 

Home process is run. 

If you are working with a real 

estate agent, this will be part of the 

Marketing Plan that you agree with 

them before signing the Agency 

Agreement. 

The real estate agent will advise 

you on the timing and frequency of 

open homes, or any other viewings. 

If there is anything you are uncertain 

about, talk to the agent and 

make your feelings clear. 

There is no law that compels you 

to have open homes – you may 

decide that you would rather have 

viewings by appointment only. 

Viewing homes for sale 

Real Estate Authority (REA) Chief 

Executive Kevin Lampen-Smith said 

that people must see a home that is 

for sale. 

“You may have to be flexible on 

when viewings are held, even if 

they are not particularly convenient, 

he said. 

If you are selling privately, you 

have full responsibility for running 

any viewings. 

This can be time-consuming and 

has the potential to be distressing 

if you are not braced to hear other 

people’s criticisms of your property. 

Businesslink 

Invite buyers to Open Home, not trouble 

Lucy Corry 

19 

Some private sellers get a friend 

to help out for this reason. 

Mr Lampen-Smith said that when 

it comes to the marketing and selling 

process of your home, it would 

be a good idea to look at things 

from the perspective of the real 

estate agent and any prospective 

purchaser. 

Record of interest 

“Open homes often attract people 

who are just browsing to see what 

is around, or neighbours who have 

always wanted to see what ‘that 

house at number 10’ is like. The 

agent will report to you after the 

Open Home event the level of interest 

– if they have kept an electronic 

or paper record of visitors, it will 

give you an indication of how many 

visitors were sticky beaks from 

down the street,” he said. 

Some Don’ts please 

Do not shove things into cupboards 

or wardrobes – prospective 

buyers will be keen to gauge storage 

capacity. Remember that families 

with small children could be going 

through your property and delicate 

ornaments or family heirlooms 

might be better out of harm’s way. 

Selling a property can be a stressful 

time, but you will make it much 

easier on yourself if you work out a 

Plan, including getting the advice of 

professionals. 

“Present your home well and it is 

more likely to attract another set of 

owners,” Mr Lampen-Smith said. 

Lucy Corry is Media Communications 

Manager at the Real 

Estate Agents Authority based 

in Wellington. For independent 

advice, please visit www.settled. 

govt.nz.


20 EasterSpecial 

Easterdenotes charity, introspection and service 

Wenceslaus Anthony 

New Zealand, like the 

rest of theChristian 

world will observe 

Easter (Sunday)on 

April 1, 2018, with the preceding 

two days and the succeedingday 

spent in churches, congregations 

and otherreligious pursuits. 

Signifying the Resurrectionof 

Jesus Christ and His Sacrifice for 

thegood ofhumanity, Easter denotes 

introspection, charity and 

service to the community. 

Forall thefestive and commercial 

clamour surrounding 

Christmas, Easter is the much 

moresignificant occasion on the 

Christiancalendar. 

Sombre and Joyous 

Forbelievers, the event, which 

embraces Christ’s death, burial 

and resurrection, is both 

the most sombre and the most 

joyous of their year, and special 

foods for theoccasion have 

evolved in anyculture where the 

tradition ishonoured. 

In the Northern Hemisphere, 

from Pagantimes,the Spring 

Equinoxcelebrated the end 

of Winter, and thepractice of 

transposing Christian festivals 

ontothe older Pagan calendar as 

Easter. 

In the Southern Hemisphere, 

the seasonal significance of 

Easter andthe four-day holiday 

that traditionallyattends 

it,tends tocentre on it being 

the last great opportunity for a 

long-weekend away before the 

onset ofWinter. As we are reminded 

every year, more of us 

travel at Easter than at any other 

time of the year. 

TheHoly Week 

Most Christians refer to the 

week before Easter as ‘Holy 

Week,’ sinceitaccounts for the 

days of the Easter Triduum, includingMaundy 

Thursday, commemorating 

theMaundy,the 

‘Last Supper’and Good Friday, 

commemorating the crucifixion 

and death ofJesus. 

In Western Christianity, 

Eastertide, orthe Easter Season, 

begins onEaster Sunday and 

lasts seven weeks, ending with 

the comingofthe Fiftieth Day, 

known as‘Pentecost Sunday.’ 

In Eastern Christianity, the season 

ofPascha begins on Pascha 

and ends with the coming of 

the FortiethDay, the Feastofthe 

Ascension. 

Moveable Feats 

Easter and theholidays that 

are related toitare ‘moveable 

feasts,’ which do not fall ona 

fixeddate in the Gregorian or 

Juliancalendars,which follow 

only the cycle of the Sun. 

Jesus Christ, Our Father and Our Saviour 

Its date is determined 

on aLunisolar Calendar 

likethe Hebrew 

calendar. 

The First Council of 

Nicaea (325) established 

two rules, independence 

of the Jewish calendar 

and worldwide uniformity, 

which were the 

only rules for Easter explicitly 

laid downbythe 

Council. 

No details for the 

computation were specified; 

these were worked 

out in practice, aprocessthat 

took centuries 

and generated several 

controversies. 

It hascome to be the 

first Sunday afterthe 

Ecclesiastical Full Moon 

that occurs on or soonest 

after March 21, but 

calculationsvary. 

Easter eggs, special 

cakes and hotcross 

buns are among 

the special foods of 

Easter, with roast lamb, 

the dish of the Jewish 

Passover(which often 

coincides with the 

Christian festival) the 

traditional meat of the 

celebratory Sunday 

lunch. 

The Power of the 

Lord,His Grace and 

Mercy are the most 

significant aspects of 

Easter, which must be 

told time and again, to 

remind us mortals that 

we are merely instruments 

of His Destiny. 

Jesus Christ said, “My 

blood is shed for many 

for theforgiveness of 

sins.” 

His blood redeems us 

fromsin and gives us 

righteousness andeternal 

life. 

His sacrifice par 

excellence the Old 

Testament sacrificial 

system because Jesus 

reconciles the believers 

and restores the relationshipthat 

was broken 

byAdam’s sin. 

Wenceslaus Anthony 

(Picture by Ashok 

Kochhar) wrotethe 

above articlewhich 

appeared in our April 

1, 2017 Easter Special. 

He passed away suddenly 

in Chennai on 

July 23, 2017.Inreproducing 

this article, 

we alsopay tribute to 

the memory of adear 

friend and Indian 

Newslink columnist. 

Mr Anthonywas the 

Chairperson ofthe 

Divine Retreat Centre 

Movement in New 

Zealand and Advisor 

to theVailankanni 

Committee to celebrate 

the feast of the 

Birthday of Mother 

Mary(on September 

8) and Director of 

Conquest Club, which 

aims to shapethe 

character and personality 

ofyoung boys in 

the 8-14 age group.


Get to the World Prayer Convention in Jerusalem 

Venkat Raman 


If you believe in the power 

of prayer and can take 

some time off, you had better 

book your space at the 

World Prayer Convention scheduled 

in Jerusalem from May 22 to 

24, 2018. 

The event will include speeches, 

prayers and ‘healing time.’ 

Dr Paul Dhinakaran of Tamil 

Nadu will deliver the keynote address 

and lead the Convention. 

Among the other speakers would 

be Pastor Benny Hinn, a popular 

Evangelist based in Israel. 

Dr Dhinakaran said that the 

Lord has been impressing upon 

his heart to gather all His chosen 

people in Jerusalem for a time of 

Prophetic Prayer and Anointing. 

Divine Intervention 

“It is during this time that God 

wants to pour out His Prophetic 

anointing on all His Chosen ones 

to strengthen them and prepare 

them spiritually,” he said. 

He said that among the highlights 

of the Convention would 

be a Special Prayer for the Peace 

of Israel and to declare the 

‘Prophetic Word of God to all 

Nations.’ 

“This event will be like none 

other. Many Leading Speakers 

and Worship Leaders of Christian 

Ministries have consented to participate 

with us in prayer. We will 

also visit few of the Blessed and 

Anointed Prayer Sites around 

Undertake a 

Land Tour of 

the Holy Land 

next month 

Jerusalem, including Jacob’s Rock, 

Shiloh, Ephrata’s River, Western 

Wall, Garden Tomb, Gethsemane 

and Mount of Olives, and plead 

the Lord to pour out His Spirit 

of Grace and Supplication in 

an overflowing measure,” Dr 

Dhinakaran said. 

Israel Platinum Jubilee 

The global event will also commemorate 

the Fifth Anniversary 

of the ‘Jesus Calls Israel Prayer 

Tower,’ which coincides with the 

70th Anniversary of the State of 

Israel. 

Jason Prasad, who leads the 

‘Jesus Calls Prayer Tower’ in 

Auckland with his wife Sunila, 

said that the Israel Prayer Tower 

has been serving the people of 

Israel and the world. 

“The Prayer Tower hosts Prayer 

Intercessors from all over the 

world who pray and prophesise 

round-the-clock for the peace of 

Israel and the World. This Prayer 

Tower, dedicated to the Lord, was 

established in August 2013, obeying 

the voice of God. The Lord 

has since enabled me to be able 

to pray and prophesy for Kings, 

Nations and people,” he said. 

Global Ministry 

Describing the Global Ministry 

as unique, Mr Prasad said that 

as the Co-Founder, 

Dr Dhinakaran and 

his family bring solace, 

cure and peace 

of mind to people all 

over the world, regardless 

of their nationality, 

ethnicity or 

socio-economic status. 

“Among them are 

men, women, young 

people, children, the 

poor and needy, as 

well as all the partners 

and donors of the 

ministry. This happens 

through large Prayer 

Festivals or through 

Prayer Towers. As 

they pray for the 

needs of the people, 

God wipes away people’s 

tears and turns it 

into joy with his loving 

and healing presence,” 

Mr Prasad said. 

Prayer Towers are 

a place of refuge to 

many around the 

world as the Jesus 

Calls intercessors cry 

out to God for the 

blessings and miracles 

on behalf of those 

who walk in, call or 

write their needs to 

the ministry. 

Prayer Tower in 

Auckland 

‘Jesus Calls,’ is a 

Ministry that attracts 

millions of people 

around the world to 

pray for someone in 

distress, not just out of 

physical ailment but 

out of mental agony, 

marital incompatibility, 

physical deficiencies, 

other problems, 

complaints and hopeless 

situations. 

Hundreds of priests, 

prayer-leaders, volunteers 

and community 

workers engage themselves 

in prayer and 

community service, 

seeking God’s Mercy, 

almost always for people 

who they neither 

know nor met. 

And almost always 

Prayer 

works. Believing is 

everything. 

Jesus Calls New 

Zealand Prayer Tower 

started functioning on 

November 17, 2012. It 

is located at 1/80 Carr 

Road, Mt Roskill and is 

open from Monday to 

Friday (9 am to 6 pm) 

to offer prayers for 

those who call or visit. 

After hour prayers 

are offered through at 

all times. Please call 

0800-537872. 

Healing Blessing 

Meetings are held 

every Tuesday from 

7 pm at the Prayer 

Tower, with a different 

person ministering the 

Word of God each week. 

Mr Prasad said that a 

team will represent ‘Jesus 

Calls New Zealand’ at the 

World Convention and 

participate in the accompanying 

tours. 

For more information, 

please call him or Sunila 

Easter Special 

21 

on (09) 6207160; Mobile: 

027-4772937; Email: admin@jesuscalls.org.nz; 

website: www.jesuscalls. 

org 

Indian Newslink will 

publish more about the 

World Convention and 

Jesus Calls in the ensuing 

issues. 

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22 Communitylink 

Meditation eliminates spiritual ignorance for better life 

Swami Tadananda 

Editor’s Note: Swami 

Tadananda is President 

of Ramakrishna Mission 

in Fiji. He will conduct 

Meditation Sessions from 

Friday, April 13, 2018 to Sunday, 

April 15, 2018 at the Waitetuna 

Retreat Centre, 391, Cofswell 

Road, RD 1, Raglan 3295. The 

Centre is about 20 minutes 

from Hamilton and about twoand-half-hours 

drive from 

Auckland. There would be 25 

reserved seats at $150 per person 

for two nights. 

Further information can 

be obtained from Kumaran 

Ramakrishnan on 021-973663 

Email: kumaran.ramakrishnan@googlemail.com; 

or 

from Javahir Lal (Jailal on 021- 

02635162 javahirlal@yahoo. 

com 

This article is apreliminary 

presentation of meditation for 

beginners as atool for the development 

of the vast and untapped 

subjective or inner 

spiritual dimensions of human 

beings. 

The aim is to teach meditation 

as aproven scientific technique 

to strengthen and purify the 

mind, comprising of our inner 

mental, intellectual, emotional, 

moral and ethical aspects of being, 

by systematically harnessing 

the power of the inner Pure 

Consciousness within us all. 

As the concentration of the 

mind and will-power develops, 

the mind becomes abetter 

channel for the flow of the 

inner knowledge, bliss, power, 

beauty and strength. 

Divine birthright 

These powers potential in us 

are our divine birthright. 

An impure and untrained 

mind is like ahigh impedance 

to the expression of the inner 

powers. Deprived of the inner 

power, we become weak and 

suffer physically, mentally, emotionally 

and so on. 

The same mind, when purified 

and concentrated through 

meditation and other Yogas, can 

ultimately become asuper-conductor 

for the spiritual current. 

Then the infinite power of 

the spirit shines through in 

all its glory, transforming our 

thoughts, words and deeds. 

Nourished by the spiritual 

power the strengthened mind 

easily overcomes all challenges 

that the external world can 

throw at us. 

Having identified the primary 

cause of all our ailments such 

as anxiety, stress, depression 

etc. we now also have the remedy 

thereof. 

Training of the mind 

Therefore, education 

in its true sense ought 

to be the training of the 

mind to make it abetter 

instrument through 

which we can connect 

to our core Pure 

Consciousness and avail 

its powers to creatively 

and easily overcome the 

various challenges we 

face in our internal and 

external lives. 

Swami Vivekananda 

said, “The training by 

which the current and 

expression of will are 

brought under control 

and become fruitful 

is called education… 

Perfecting the instrument 

and getting complete 

mastery of my 

own mind is the ideal 

of education. We 

must have life-building, 

man-making, character-making 

assimilation 

of ideas.” 

Moreover, meditation 

not only self-empowers 

us to live a 

better life, it is apowerful 

tool for totally destroying 

the darkness of 

spiritual ignorance and 

bestowing the supreme 

gift of freedom and enlightenment. 

Life in its 

spiritual perspective. 

World as a gym 

This world is the great 

gymnasium where we 

come to do exercises to 

make ourselves strong. 

The various challenges 

in life are the exercises 

which help in the 

manifestation of our inherent 

strength –physically, 

emotionally, 

intellectually, morally 

and ethically and spiritually. 

We should not 

run away from them 

but face them boldly 

with the faith that within 

us are all strength 

needed for success. 

Life in general is a 

constant struggle between 

forces of external 

nature and internal 

man. 

We are products of 

the experiences of these 

struggles. 

Most societies develop 

aformal system of 

education to empower 

us with knowledge and 

skills to fight the battle 

of life better. 

Therefore, it makes 

sense that agood education 

should teach us 

both about the external 

world we live in as well 

as about the various dimensions 

of our inner 

nature. 

Unfortunately, such is 

not the case. 

Most of the attention 

of the education system 

is on the study of 

the external world –the 

macrocosm; very little 

attention is given to the 

microcosm –the training 

and development 

of the mind -the internal 

instrument upon 

which depends much of 

our happiness and suffering, 

knowledge and 

ignorance, success and 

failure, and so on. 

The above article is 

a highly edited version. 

For full text, 

please visit www.indiannewslink.co.nz 

(Picture of Swami 

Tadananda from FBC 

Fiji).


Communitylink 

23 

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● LED lighting 

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Diaspora urged to represent Rising India here 

A Correspondent 

As India takes significant 

strides in various sectors 

of its fast-developing 

economy, the Indian 

Diaspora in New Zealand, especially 

former residents and 

citizens of India, should be its ambassadors 

and promoters, a visiting 

orator has said. 

Ashoke Pandit, known for 

his inspiring oratory, was in 

Auckland last week to participate 

in the first in a series of ‘Indi 

Talks’ (an acronym for India New 

Zealand Diversity) organised by 

the Indian Association of New 

Zealand (IANZ), formerly known 

as Manukau Indian Association. 

The event, held at the Vodafone 

Events Centre in Manukau on 

Sunday, March 18, 2018, also witnessed 

a panel discussion and 

a Sufi music concert by Neerja 

Pandit. 

Paradigm Shift 

IANZ Vice-President 

Ram Lingam described the 

Programme as a ‘Red Letter 

Day’ for the Association since “it 

marked a marked a change in the 

thought paradigm for the Indian 

community.” 

“The Indian community is 

known for its business acumen, 

for its resilience, work ethos 

and education. But the reality is 

that we want to be recognised as 

thought leaders. Real empowerment 

lies in thought leadership,” 

Ashoke Pandit speaking at the Indi Talk Series 

he said. 

He said that as a social activist, 

Mr Pandit’s views on the ‘New 

India’ was thought-provoking. 

Speaking about the rapid 

transformation of India under 

the leadership of Prime Minister 

Narendra Modi, he extolled the 

achievements of his government. 

His address was followed 

by a panel discussion chaired 

by Veer Khar, the Chair of the 

‘Diversity Centre (of IANZ), 

Communications Manager Roy 

Kaunds and Mr Lingam. 

The Panel discussed how a 

change in narrative is happening 

at the macro level by the Indian 

government and how we could 

rise up at a ground-up community 

level. 

Eclectic Mix 

“IANZ continues to be a trailblazer 

in thought leadership; and the 

‘India Rising’ event was one those 

pioneering activities that defines 

the Association,” Mr Lingam said. 

IANZ President Suresh Ramji 

Panel Discussion with (from left) Roy Kaunds, Veer Khar, Ashoke Pandit and Ram Lingam 

Neera Pandit in Concert with (from left) Navneel Prasad, Manjit Singh and Hemant Thaker 

(Pictures Supplied) 

said that as a part of the ‘Indi 

Talks Series,’ the Association 

will invite thought leaders, who 

have an opinion and a viewpoint, 

to share it with the wider 

community. 

“This, we hope, will spark debate 

and discussion on topics 

that affect the community and 

which in turn will empower the 

community,” he said. 

According to Mr Khar, the 

Indian diaspora in New Zealand 

is an eclectic mix, and hence 

cannot be slotted into pre-defined 

political, social or economic 

groupings. 

“Due to this diversity of opinion, 

we need a consensus and a 

collegial approach to confront issues 

that affect us. The ‘Indi Talk 

Series’ is one of those efforts to 

bring various viewpoints on a 

common platform,” he said. 

Mr Kaunds said, “India is a 

Continent disguised as a Nation 

and our Association represents 

the largest number of the various 

cultures that are called by 

the generic term ‘Indian’. In the 

last five years, we have broadbased 

our membership and welcomed 

younger and talented 

professionals to join our team.” 

Diversity Centre 

The ‘Indi Talk Series’ compliments 

the ‘Diversity Centre,’ currently 

under construction in 

the South Auckland suburb of 

Papatoetoe. 

The $5 million initiative of 

IANZ, the multi-storey edifice to 

diversity is in its final stages of 

completion and is expected to 

become operational by the end 

of the year. 

“The Diversity Centre will be 

the cauldron in which the rich 

ethos of Indian values will meld 

with the diversity of Aotearoa,” 

Mr Lingam said. 

Stating that IANZ has moved 

on from the ‘migrant’ mindset, 

he said that Indians are well represented 

in business, industry, 

academia, research, finance, the 

public sector, politics, spirituality 

and other areas. 

“We make up a little over 4% 

of the New Zealand population 

but we contribute 8% to the 

country’s GDP. While only 7% of 

all New Zealanders have a university 

degree, 50% of Indians 

have a tertiary degree,” he said. 

The music concert by Neerja 

was supported by Manjit Singh 

on Tabla, Navneel Prasad on 

Dholak and Hemant Thaker on 

Keyboard. 

Neerja’s rendition of the Sufi 

songs using classical ragas and 

popular songs took the mood of 

the audience to a sublime level. 

-With Reporting by Ram 

Lingam


Communitylink 

Every Ambulance saves a life and every dollar runs an Ambulance 

Kiwis become Saints with St John Annual Appeal and Indian Newslink launches first crowdfunding initiative 

25 

Jennifer Porter 

St John is hoping to raise 

eyebrows as well as money 

this year, introducing a 

fun, new online fundraising 

campaign asking Kiwis to 

“Be a Saint” and donate to its annual 

appeal. 

The New Zealand ambulance 

service says that the move is a 

playful take on the way Kiwis refer 

to a helpful person who goes 

the extra mile: “What a Saint.” 

Building on last year’s ‘Heart 

of Gold’ appeal, St John is encouraging 

New Zealanders to 

“Be a Saint and Donate” at www. 

heartofgold.org.nz 

Exclusive Halo Graphic 

Donors who give through the 

website will receive access to an 

exclusive St John ‘Halo.’ 

graphic frame to sit on top of 

their existing social media profiles 

to help spread the message. 

High profile New Zealanders 

including World Heavyweight 

Boxing Champion Joseph Parker, 

Silver Fern Kayla Cullen and 

All Black Liam Messam have already 

become saints themselves, 

changing their profile pictures 

and encouraging other Kiwis to 

do the same. 

St John Chief Executive 

Peter Bradley said that the 

Organisation hopes to raise 

more than $2.2 million from its 

annual appeal in April, to help 

pay for much needed ambulances 

and lifesaving equipment. 

Fun Digital Campaign 

“Many New Zealanders still do 

not know that St John is a charity 

and that we need to raise 

more than 25% or $70 million 

of our annual operating budget 

every year. 

“This year we aim to increase 

that awareness through this fun 

digital campaign, which tries 

to encourage Kiwis to come together 

and donate enough money 

online for a new ambulance. 

Everyone who donates $25 or 

more will get their name on the 

side of the ambulance – this is a 

first, traditionally reserved only 

for those who donate an entire 

ambulance. 

“We believe that all our people 

are saints in some way, helping 

to deliver little miracles 

around New Zealand every day. 

This year, we encourage New 

Zealanders young and old to be 

a saint too,” he said. 

A single ambulance costs 

$225,000, and the lifesaving 

equipment that St John is fundraising 

for means its ambulance 

officers can treat people more 

effectively in the wide variety of 

scenarios they encounter across 

the country. 

Unique to Indian Newslink 

In another first, Indian 

Newslink readers have a unique 

chance to “come together” to 

contribute directly towards a 

new ambulance via the newspaper’s 

novel crowd funding initiative. 

Readers can help St John 

buy an ambulance for the community 

and help save lives, simply 

by donating at www.stjohn. 

org.nz/newslink or sending a 

cheque to St John, Private Bag 

14902, Panmure, Auckland (including 

your name, address and 

code Newslink). 

St John Northern Region 

Fundraising & Marketing 

Manager Kristin Cross said that 

the charity is grateful to Indian 

Newslink for running such an 

innovative fundraiser. 

“One ambulance can attend 

as many as 600 incidents each 

year, potentially saving 600 

lives, so to get another ambulance 

in the community thanks 

to Indian Newslink readers 

would mean a huge deal to us. 

We really look forward to seeing 

how this crowd funding initiative 

unfolds and as always, we 

appreciate any donations, big or 

small.” 

Donations towards the ‘Heart 

of Gold’ appeal can be made 

in any ASB branch across New 

Zealand, online at www.heartofgold.org.nz, 

by calling 0800 ST 

JOHN, or to St John & ASB volunteer 

collectors throughout New 

Zealand. 

St John facts: 

St John Heart of Gold Annual 

Appeal runs from April 2 to 

April 8, 2018, with street collections 

nationwide on Friday 

April 6, 2018. 

Online campaigning will run 

for the month of April. 

St John treated and/or transported 

469,850 patients last year 

Community and commercial 

programmes run by St John 

range from first aid training, 

health shuttle services, ASB St 

John in Schools, Friends of the 

Emergency Department, Caring 

Caller telephone service, monitored 

Medical Alarms, Outreach 

Therapy Pets and a St John 

Youth Programme 

St John is made up of a mix 

of full-time paid employees and 

volunteer staff 

For the fourth year in a row, St 

John was voted ‘New Zealand’s 

Most Trusted Charity’ in 

the ‘Readers Digest Most 

Trusted Brands Awards 2017’ 

It costs $225,000 for afully-equipped 

new generation 

ambulance 

St John trained over 82,000 

people in first aid last year. 

Jennifer Porter is Regional 

Communications Advisor, 

Northern Region of St John. 

She lives in Auckland. 

Let’s fund an 

Ambulance together 

St John operates 24 hours aday,seven days aweek.Our 

ambulanceservicetreatsand transports about 400,000 

people everyyear.This can be the differencebetween life 

and death forpeople. 

Anew ambulance costs over $200,000* to build and kit out. 

St John is acharity so donations are the only way to make 

this new ambulance happen. 

Readers: As agroup, will you help St John buy an 

ambulancefor the communityand help save lives? 

To donate,please visit stjohn.org.nz/newslink,oryou 

can send acheque to St John, PrivateBag 14902, Panmure, 

Auckland.Please include your name,address and code 

Newslink. 

*costsaccurateasatMarch 2018.


26 Communtylink 

Telugu communitycelebrateits NewYear 

NZTA also marks its 20th Anniversary 

Supplied Content(Edited) 

‘Ill-disciplined’ government 

says National MP 

More than 800 men, 

womenand children 

attended Ugadi 

celebrations organisedbythe 

New Zealand Telugu 

Association atAvondale College 

in Auckland onMarch 11, 2018. 

The event thisyear acquired 

special significance on three 

counts. 

Significant milestone 

Firstly, it marked the 20th 

Anniversary of NZTA. 

From its humble beginnings, 

the Association has grown to offer 

services tothe community 

and its members based on their 

evolving needs. Literary, cultural 

and entertainment programmes 

areheld to sustain the interest 

of the Telugu-speaking people in 

Auckland. 

Secondly, NZTAcreated history 

by electing Aruna Bhoompelli as 

its first Woman-President. 

“Times are changingand NZTA 

has shown the way for more 

women toundertakesuch responsibilities 

and lead in social, 

cultural and literary activities. 

Aruna has been ashining example 

ofeffective leadership and 

thusfar organised festivals such 

asShankaranthi, Holi and now 

Ugadi,” amember said. 

Single family 

“Although Telugu-speaking 

peopleinIndia todaybelong 

Cultural dancers at the NZTAevent 

Young and old performed at the Ugadi Festival (Pictures supplied) 

to twodifferent States namely 

Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, 

we are one big family in New 

Zealand,” she added. 

The Ugadi event started with 

the ‘Ugadi Pachchadi, comprising 

coconut, banana, raw mango,jaggery, 

neem flower, salt and 

redchilly powertosymbolise 

that life bringswithissues that 

arehard, ripe, soft, sour,sweet, 

bitter, salineand spicy. 

Padma Govardhan honoured 

Sangeetha Bharathi School of 

Music Director and Principal Dr 

Padma Govardhan wasfelicitated 

on her achievement of obtainingadoctorate 

(PhD) in Carnatic 

Music (Indian Newslink March 

1, 2016 issue). 

Shanti Niwas Charitable 

Trust Project Manager Nilima 

Venkat andTelangana Jagruthi 

New Zealand PresidentAruna 

JyothiMallikarjun Reddywere 

also recognisedand honoured 

for their servicestothe community 

through their respective 

organisations. 

Kanwaljit 

Singh Bakshi 

With each passing 

day, the 

Government is left 

fighting tocontain 

the damage caused either by 

membersofits Coalitionparties 

or its own Ministers. 

The unnecessary anduncalled 

for attack on Air NewZealand is 

an example of what little control 

the Prime Minister hasover her 

Cabinet ministers. 

While Shane Jones wastrying 

to be the champion of the 

regions by attacking acommercial 

operation, Winston Peters 

wascausing embarrassment by 

suggesting New Zealand pursue 

afree trade agreement with 

Russia atthe same timeasthe 

restofthe world was condemning 

thecountry sighted as the 

culprit behind the nerve agent 

attack in Britain. 

New ZealandFirst 

It appears that NewZealand 

First doesn’t feelthat itsrole in 

Government is of governance 

but, rather, aself-interested road 

triparound the regions from 

which its MPshail. 

The latestembarrassment 

for thePrime Minister is her 

Broadcasting Minister’s cover 

ups and back tracks around 

meetings thattook placewith 

Radio New Zealand that has led 

to the resignationofasenior 

employee. 

Followingthe 2017 election the 

Coalition Government inherited 

astrong, growing economy. 

Our leadership governed New 

Zealand in amanner that delivered 

positive results on all fronts 

for all New Zealanders. 

We got through theglobal 

financial crisis as well as the 

Christchurch and Kaikoura 

earthquakes because of the exemplaryleadership 

that our 

team provided duringthose 

times. 

Unachievable promises 

On the other hand, the 

Labour-led Coalition has made 

unachievable and impractical 

promises to the people of this 

country. Andinstead of fulfilling 

their promises, all we have seen 

are announcements of reviews, 

working groups and committees 

or infighting and ill-discipline 

amongst the Coalition. 

This leaves very little time and 

energy forNew Zealand’sgovernanceand 

Iamquite sure 

New Zealanders expect better. 

Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi is 

Member ofParliament on 

NationalList. 

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Entertainmentlink 

Model of the Fortnight 

Listening to the inner voice fosters human endeavour 

Diffidence is the most formidable 

obstacle to human 

progress but those able to 

listen to their inner voice and 

gain self-assertion will become 

good achievers in life. 

That is the belief of Poonam 

Shashi, our Model of the 

Fortnight. 

“Strong willpower, self-confidence 

and ability to listen to myself 

have been motivating factors 

in my life and career. I believe 

that I am successful because I 

have been able to counter many 

challenges in life,” she said. 

Pursuit of Passion 

A mother to a five-year-old 

daughter, Poonam says that a 

woman’s passion in life and career 

need not be restricted after 

child birth. 

“In fact, the arrival of a child 

motivates a mother to become 

a role-model and inspire the 

younger generation. I have a lot 

to achieve in life,” she said. 

Poonam said that she had 

dreamt of being a model for a 

long time but did not have an opportunity 

but hopes that being 

our Model of the Fortnight would 

open the doors to showbusiness 

and modeling industry. 

Born and raised in Suva, Fiji, 

Poonam says that she was a doted 

child, being the youngest in 

a family of five, including her 

brother and sister. But the family 

also taught her to be passionate 

about cultural and religious 

values, which have molded her 

personality and character. 

“I grew up as a polite, hardworking 

and cheerful girl. My 

main aim has been to ensure the 

welfare and happiness of my 

parents. I followed the career 

path chosen by my family and I 

have no regrets,” she said. 

Awards and Citations 

She obtained her Masters 

in Health Science (First Class 

Honours) and is employed as 

Infection Control Specialist at a 

major hospital in Auckland. 

Poonam has been a recipient 

of Scholarships, Citations 

and Awards and represents her 

Hospital at overseas seminars 

and conferences. 

“I enjoy reading evidence-based 

randomised controlled 

trial, gazing at the Stars, 

walking along the beach, dining 

out and shopping, not to forget 

my recently developed interest 

in belly-dancing,” she said. 

Pooja is a contestant at the 

Pageants of India New Zealand 

to be held in Papakura, Auckland 

on Sunday, May 27, 2018. 

-Venkat Raman 

If you wish to be featured as 

our Model of the Fortnight, 

please write to editor@indiannewslink.co.nz 

27 

OLD SCHOOL | FADES | LINE UPS | HAIRCUTS 

1268 DOMINION ROAD, MOUNT ROSKILL



Project to feed hungry children impacts New Zealanders 

Venkat Raman 


‘Eat for a 

Good Cause’ 

shows 

the way 

When Smita 

Kanwar, Channel 

and Business 

Development 

Manager (International and 

Migrant Banking) at ANZ learnt 

from the print and social media 

that thousands of New Zealand 

children attend school either undernourished 

or unnourished, she 

decided to do something decisive. 

“After all,” she told herself, “I 

would not want my four-year 

daughter Krisha attend school as a 

hungry child; why should any other 

child?” 

Supportive ANZ 

Encouraged by her Bank’s supportive 

attitude towards staff 

volunteering to help community 

groups, she contacted Brijesh 

Sethi, Director of the Kingsland 

based ‘Zing Restaurant’ (located at 

where Ms Kanwar and her team 

had dined recently. 

She asked Mr Sethi if he would 

support the ‘Eat for a Good Cause’ 

Project. 

The idea was simple: Sell lunch 

boxes to ANZ staff at $16 and donate 

50% ($8) to ‘KidsCan’ (which 

this newspaper has been supporting 

for the past several years). A 

bonus was that every purchaser 

would go into a draw, with the 

winner getting a $50 voucher to 

dine at ‘Zing.’ 

Ms Kanwar enlisted three senior 

bankers at ANZ, namely Mark 

Hill-Rennie (Regional Manager, 

Auckland East), Jack Hou (Head 

of Migrant Banking and Auckland 

Asian Banking) and Padmini 

Vikash (Regional Manager, 

Auckland South) with their ready 

support. 

This team has the support of 

ANZ management and staff, some 

of the latter including Lynnette 

Carruthers, Bhakti Mehta, Miki 

Lee, Lin Zeng, Sam Lee, Bandhana 

Singh, Julie Tan, Tyerell Moodley 

and Shaun Carruthers. 

Brijesh Sethi Passion 

Mr Sethi, who has been involved 

in the education sector for the past 

15 years, owns the New Zealand 

School of Education and Advanced 

Training Centres in West, South, 

Central Auckland, North Shore and 

Hamilton. He agreed instantly to 

the proposal. 

“I am passionate about the children 

and youth of our country and 

hence the Project was appealing. 

Smita was keen to support KidsCan 

The team that feeds: (from left) Smita Kanwar, Brijesh Sethi, Jack Hou, Padmini Vikash and Mark Hill-Rennie 

and also provide quality food to 

her team at ANZ. ‘Zing’ is a restaurant, 

not a takeaway, and hence 

we had to subsidise the cost to 

make this initiative more effective,” 

he said. 

“We work hard for the success 

of our students, who cannot focus 

on empty stomach. We do our best 

to ensure that our students do not 

go hungry. Food is almost always 

available for students at some 

of our campuses. NZSE provides 

bread and butter, while our team 

approaches food companies to donate 

cereals, arrange food parcels 

and even cook for students,” Mr 

Sethi added. 

Staff Volunteers 

That sentiment matches well 

with ANZ, whose stated purpose 

is “to help shape the world where 

people and communities thrive.” 

ANZ staff are encouraged to donate 

one working day each year 

to offer help within the community 

and spend collectively 15,000 

working hours. 

A Chef at Zing Restaurant prepares lunch 

(Pictures Supplied)


Entertainmentlink 

Tribute to Sachin Dev Burman brings back the Golden Age 

Venkat Raman 


The Golden Age of Hindi 

film music with Sachin 

Dev Burman will return, 

at least for an evening, as 

a musical programme gets under 

way in Auckland in May. 

Organised by the Auckland 

based Swar Sadhana Academy 

of Indian Music and Ravi Shetty 

Concepts, the Programme will 

put together some of the finest 

songs of Sachin Dev Burman, 

paying tribute to the late 

maestro. 

Called ‘Sunehri Yaadein,’ the 

event will be held on Saturday, 

May 26, 2018 from 630 pm 

at Dorothy Winston Centre, 

Auckland Girls Grammar 

School located at Howe Street in 

Auckland Central. 

Tickets, priced at $20 per person 

are now on sale. 

Hohepa Auckland 

Third in the annual ‘Sunehri 

Yaadein’ annual series, the programme 

this year is being held 

in aid of ‘Hohepa Auckland,’ a 

charitable organisation that provides 

people with intellectual 

disabilities to live, learn and 

work with others of all abilities. 

About S D Burman 

Born on October 1, 1906, 

Sachin Dev Burman in Comilla 

(Bangladesh) to Raj Kumari 

Nirmala Devi, the Royal 

Princess of Manipur and 

Nabadwipchandra Dev Burman, 

Annual 

Swar Sadhana 

event in aid 

of Hohepa 

Charity 

Maharaja of Tripura (1849- 

1862), Sachin Dev Burman was 

the youngest of the five sons in 

a family of nine children. His 

mother died when he was just 

two years of age. 

He started as a musician in the 

Calcutta Radio Station in 1920. 

He began composing songs 

for Bengali films in 1937 and later 

become one of the most successful 

Bollywood film music 

composers. 

With more than 100 films to 

his credit, his songs were known 

for their light semi-classical 

and folk style of Bengal. His son 

Rahul Dev Burman was also a 

celebrated music composer in 

the Indian film industry. 

Almost all leading singers from 

1950 to 1970, including Lata 

Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi, 

Geeta Dutt, Manna Dey, Kishore 

Kumar, Hemant Kumar, Asha 

Bhosle and Shamshad Begum. 

Mukesh and Talat Mahmood 

have songs composed by 

Burman. He also rendered about 

14 Hindi and 13 Bengali film 

songs. 

Partnership with Dev 

Anand 

Burman joined Dev 

Anand to compose songs 

for ‘Afsar’ (1950), the 

first movie of the latter’s 

company Navketan 

International Films 

Private Limited. The success 

of their second film 

‘Baazi’ (1951) elevated 

Burman to the top of 

the Hindi film industry 

music. 

The jazzy musical score 

in ‘Baazi’ revealed a new 

facet of singer Geeta Dutt, 

who was mainly known 

for melancholy songs 

and bhajans. While every 

song in the film was a 

hit, ‘Tadbir Se Bigdi Hui 

Taqdeer,’ a ghazal that 

was occidentalised into 

a seductive song became 

famous. 

The ‘Jaal’ song ‘Yeh 

Raat, Yeh Chandni’ by 

Hemant Kumar is an alltime 

great classic. 

The song, ‘Thandi 

Hawain’ from ‘Naujawan’ 

(1951) sung by Lata 

Mangeshkar was one 

of his first major hits. 

It made Lata very famous 

as also poet Sahir 

Ludhianvi. 

The songs sung by 

Mohammed Rafi and 

Kishore Kumar became 

popular. 

Guru Dutt and others 

He also wrote music 

for the Guru Dutt classics 

such as ‘Pyaasa’ 

(1957) and ‘Kaagaz Ke 

Phool’ (1959). Among his 

other hits of that decade 

were ‘House No. 44’ 

(1955), ‘Funtoosh’ (1956) 

and ‘Solva Saal’ (1958). 

In 1959 came Sujata, a 

masterpiece by Bimal 

Roy, and Burman created 

magic again with ‘Jalte 

Hai Jiske Liye’ by Talat 

Mahmood. 

Asha Bhosle promoted 

In 1957, Burman 

fell out with Lata 

Mangeshkar and adopted 

her younger sister Asha 

Bhosle as his lead female 

singer. The team of 

Burman, Kishore Kumar, 

Asha Bhosle and lyricist 

Majrooh Sultanpuri became 

popular for their 

duet songs. 

Thus, he was responsible, 

along with O P 

Nayyar for shaping Asha 

Bhosle as a singer of repute, 

who became his 

daughter-in-law after 

she married Rahul Dev 

Burman. 

Rise of Kishore 

In 1958, Burman composed 

music for Kishore 

Kumar’s house production 

‘Chalti Ka Naam 

Gaadi,’ the same year in 

29 

which he was awarded the ‘Sangeet Natak 

Akademi Award.’ 

He remains the only music director to 

have won the prestigious award. 

He often took inspiration from Folk, 

Hindustani Classical Music as well as day-today 

sounds of life. 

During an interview with Filmfare, he explained 

how he had composed the ‘Kaala 

Pani’ tune for ‘Hum Bekhudi Mein Tum,’ a 

song written by Majrooh Sultanpuri, rendered 

by Mohammed Rafi and picturised on 

Dev Anand. 

He said that he was inspired by 

Hindustani Classical ‘Raag Chayyanat’ and 

Muslim Muezzin’s call for prayers that one 

hears daily near a Mosque to compose the 

song. 

More on Sachin Dev Burman and Sunehri 

Yaadein will appear in our next issue.


30 Classifiedlink/Entertainmentlink 

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Holi in Parliament adds to cultural plurality 

Venkat Raman 



Ardern called it ‘A Vibrant 

Celebration that brings 

together so many of us,’ 

Indian High Commissioner 

Sanjiv Kohli described it as ‘A 

Festival that reflects India’s rich 

cultural heritage and colourful 

customs offering the best to 

the world,’ while more than 200 

people enjoyed the speeches, 

music and dances. 

That was how it was at 

the first-ever Holi celebrations 

held at the Banquet Hall 

of Parliament Buildings in 

Wellington on Tuesday, March 

20, 2018. 

This may not be an annual 

event, since ‘Holi’ is not an 

indoor event; but it served to 

compensate for the absence of 

‘Diwali in Parliament’ last year. 

Spirit of Oneness 

The spirit of oneness, joy and 

goodwill ran across the event, 

which witnessed dance items, 

demonstrating the emerging local 

talent. 

Ethnic Communities Minister 

Jenny Salesa, who hosted the 

event, said that Holi brings together 

friends, families, and 

communities and described it as 

‘A Festival shared by everyone 

regardless of status, gender, social 

or professional standing.’ 

“Most, if not everyone, will 

know that one of the key characteristics 

of Holi festivities 

is when people throw coloured 

powder at each other while 

Prime Minister Jacinda Arden speaking at the Holi Festival 

getting drenched in water. 

However, as we are holding our 

celebration in the Banquet Hall 

(in Parliament), we needed to improvise 

while trying to retain the 

essence of Holi,” she said. 

Distinctive Feature 

Ms Salesa said that smearing 

of bright colours is adistinctive 

feature of Holi, and 

although aHindu spring Festival, 

it is celebrated widely by other 

communities. 

“Its message resonates with 

many New Zealanders. Holi in 

Parliament showcases Hindu culture 

and heritage, allowing us to 

share in the beauty of the culture 

and its message. This is an important 

part of building aharmonious 

and strong New Zealand,” 

she said. 

“As many of you will know, 

I migrated from Tonga to New 

Zealand with my parents when I 

Ethnic Communities Minister Jenny Salesa on 

the significance of Holi 

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern with (from left Priyanca Radhakrishnan, Jenny Salesa, Sanji v 

Kohli and Paul Patel 

was 16. Ihave had first-hand experience 

of what it means to be 

a migrant in this country. Like 

most of you here, Ican relate to 

the opportunities and challenges 

that come with this experience. 

It also means Iknow how important 

it is for culture and traditions 

to be remembered and 

celebrated in this country which 

I now call home. Iunderstand 

how important it is to maintain a 

connection with one’s roots and 

heritage,” she added. 

Other Highlights 

Vanisa Dhiru, President, New 

Zealand National Council of 

Women was the Master of 

Ceremonies at the Festival, which 

included aBharata Natyam number 

by Radha Raman (a student 

of Natraj School of Dance) and 

a Hindi film song and dance sequence 

by alocal group.


Sportslink 

31 

Study reveals value of sports to New Zealanders 

And we need more participation by women 

Grant Robertson 

Ihave launched anew study 

by Sport NZ which explores 

the value of sport to New Zealanders, 

their communities 

and our country. 

There is no question that sport 

is at the heart of our national 

identity, but what this study tells 

us is that being physically active 

also creates happier, healthier 

people, and better- connected 

communities. 

‘The Value of Sport’ surveyed 

around 2000 New Zealanders and 

reviewed previous studies from 

here and around the world. 

Building confidence 

This study shows that Kiwis 

believe sport and physical activity 

bring people together and create 

a sense of belonging. 

Other key findings from the 

Value of Sport include (a) 88% 

of people believe that sport 

and other physical activities 

provide them with opportunities 

to achieve and help build 

confidence (b) Three-quarters 

of Kiwis say sport and physical 

activity help build vibrant and 

stimulating communities and (c) 

The sport and active recreation 

Images and Infographics from ‘The Value of Sports Survey 

sector employs more than 53,000 

New Zealanders. 

Community support 

The report was launched on 

Saturday, March 17, 2018 at 

Wellington’s ASB Centre as part of 

a visit to local club netball trials 

and asecondary school volleyball 

tournament. 

It is fantastic to see athletes of 

all ages and skill levels, and the 

volunteers and whanau who 

support them, coming together 

under one roof. 

It just goes to show the power 

of sport to bring people together 

and create asense of belonging. 

Grant Robertson is Sport and 

Recreation Minister of New 

Zealand 

Following is aReport by Radio 

New Zealand, published by 

Indian Newslink under aSpecial 

Agreement with www.rnz.co.nz 

We need more women in Sports 

Sport and Recreation Minister 

Grant Robertson said that he 

is committed to getting more 

women into sport. 

Mr Robertson released astudy 

on March 18, 2018 by Sport 

New Zealand, which highlights 

the importance of sport to New 

Zealanders, and how it benefits 

individuals and communities. 

The report canvassed 1500 

people including many in the 

sport and recreation sector. 

It found almost three quarters 

of adults participated in sport 

over the past week, compared to 

nine out of 10 young people. 

Just one in five adults belonged 

to asports club and 9% had gym 

memberships. 

The report also found that 51% 

of young people were part of a 

school sports team. 

Issue on priority 

However, the report said that 

60% of boys were participating 

in club sport, compared to 49% 

of girls. 

Mr Robertson said that he had 

made it his priority as Minister 

of Sport to see agreater role for 

women and girls in sport. 

“It is also the role modelling 

question, we want role models to 

be celebrated. I’m really excited 

with some of the developments 

in women’s sport that we are 

starting to see across the codes, 

but there’s awhole lot more to 

do,” he said. 

Grassroots changes 

Mr Robertson said that he 

wanted to see changes at a 

grassroots level. 

“It is actually about the 

priorities that we put on that -encouraging 

and supporting clubs, 

for instance, to have development 

officers who focus on women. 

And Iknow anumber of the 

codes around New Zealand are 

now doing that -their development 

officers are not just males 

but they’re also females,” he said. 

Former Silver Ferns’ Coach, and 

Head Coach at Wellington Netball 

Club PIC Wai Taumaunu attended 

the launch and said that her Club 

provided positive role models to 

younger women. 

“I was fortunate enough that 

having started sport quite young, 

I was then exposed to awide 

range of wonderful female role 

models in positions of authority,” 

she said. 

Ms Taumaunu said that she 

strongly believed that her netball 

club made apositive impact on 

her community.


32 Sportslink 

IPL 2018 brings challenges, excitement and plenty of money 

Apurv Shukla 

The Indian Premium 

League (IPL), the biggest 

T20 Cricket League in the 

world will begin its 11th 

season in Mumbai on April 7, 

2018. 

Defending Champions 

‘Mumbai Indians’ will be looking 

to win their Fourth IPL 

Championship, warding off challenges 

from seven other franchisees, 

including the returning 

‘Rajasthan Royals’ and ‘Chennai 

Super Kings. 

IPL was the brainchild of businessman 

and former Indian 

Cricket Board official Lalit Modi. 

Now disgraced and embroiled 

in ahost of controversies, Modi 

set up IPL to counter the rising 

popularity of the now defunct 

Indian Cricket League (ICL). 

Little did anyone know that the 

event would turn out to be aphenomenon 

and acquire aglobal 

status. 

Auction of Players 

The start of IPL 2018 was 

preceded by aplayer’s auction 

held in late January this year. 

Purists of the game despised 

this process. But clearly, the market 

forces like the auction and 

players like Ben Stokes, who was 

the most expensive buy of the 

auction (NZ$ 3.1 million) have no 

reason to complain. 

This draft led to alot of new 

team combinations now at play in 

IPL 2018. 

Kolkata Knight Riders 

‘Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR), 

owned by film star Shahrukh 

Khan, has anew captain in 

Dinesh Karthik, anew entrant 

to the team, although an experienced 

IPL campaigner. 

KKR have invested heavily in 

young players. 

Stars of India’s victory at this 

year’s U-19 World Cup in New 

Zealand like Shubham Gill and 

Shivam Mani find aplace in this 

squad. These youngsters are untested 

at domestic and international 

level and hence KKR may 

find the going tough at this IPL. 

Gautam Gambhir returns to 

Delhi as their captain. 

Other Teams 

‘Delhi Daredevils’ (DD), the perennial 

underachievers at IPL, 

have anew coach in former 

Australian captain Ricky Ponting. 

The team hopes that their expensive 

buys like Glen Maxwell 

and South Africa pace sensation 

Kagiso Rabada will help them win 

their first IPL. 

Kings 11 Punjab, finalists in 

2014, will bank on new captain 

Ravi Ashwin to turn their fortunes 

around. Coach Virender 

Sehwag was instrumental in getting 

players like Chris Gayle and 

Yuvraj Singh into the fold. He 

will now be hoping these players, 

branded by some as past their 

prime, help Punjab win games 

and also make them an attractive 

proposition for crowds and sponsors 

alike. 

Chennai and Rajasthan make 

their comeback at IPL after aban 

of two years. 

Both franchisees will be looking 

to put off the field matters behind 

them and let their cricket make 

headlines. 

Rajasthan shunned their approach 

of previous years in investing 

on young players priced 

economically, to spend big on 

marquee signings. 

Alongside Stokes, they spent a 

large amount of money on left 

arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat and 

wicketkeeper Sanju Samson. 

Shane Warne, their winning 

captain of 2008, returns to the 

franchisee as the Head Coach. 

The IPL Advantage 

IPL has given Indian domestic 

players achance to rub shoulders 

with the greats of the game. 

These players now have an opportunity 

to showcase their talents 

to the world. 

Since IPL is adomestic tournament 

of the Indian Cricket Board, 

a lot of money is being pumped 

back into domestic cricket. 

This improves its visibility 

and the pay scales for everyone 

involved. 

A clear by-product of corporate 

involvement in the game is the 

visible improvement of in-stadia 

infrastructure and facilities used 

by players and fans. 

There is no doubt that IPL is 

here to stay. 

It is an excellent product and 

has attracted new legion of fans 

to the game. 

Eight weeks of excellent Cricket 

await cricket fans. 


CALLING FOR 

ENTRIES & 

NOMINATIONS 

CATEGORIES: 

1. Business Excellence in Retail Trade 

2. Business Excellence in Innovation 

3. Business Excellence in Marketing 

4. Business Excellence in Customer Service 

5. Best Employer of Choice 

6. Best Small Business 

7. Best Medium Sized Business 

8. Best Large Business 

9. Business Excellence in Health &Safety (NEW) 

10. Business Excellence in International Trade with India* 

11. Best Accountant of the Year 

12. Best Young Entrepreneur of the Year 

13. Best Businesswoman of the Year 

14. Best Financial Advisor (Mortgage) of the Year 

15. Best Financial Advisor (Insurance) of the Year 

Supreme Business of the Year Award 

(All entries will be entered for this category) 

For details contact 

P OBox 82338 Highland Park, Manukau 2143 

Phone (09) 5336377 

Email: venkat@indiannewslink.co.nz 

editor@indiannewslink.co.nz 

info@indiannewslink.co.nz 

www.indiannewslink.co.nz • www.inliba.com 

Conditions of Entry: 

Entries and Nominations must be in electronic format sent by email. Those sent by post, fax or other means will not be accepted. The decision of the judges would be final and no correspondence will be entertained in this connection. The management and staff of Indian Newslink and the 

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* this category is open to all businesses registered in New Zealand, importing or exporting a 

product or service from and to India or engaged in enrolling international students from India

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