Indian Newslink October 1 2018 Digital Edition

Supported by 

Fifth Annual Indian Newslink 

Sports & Community Awards 2018 Gala Dinner 

Monday, October 8, 2018 at Alexandra Park, Greenlane, Auckland 

The English Fortnightly (Since November 1999) 

Issue 401 | OCTOBER 1, 2018 | Free 

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Indian Newslink 

Indian Business Awards 2017 

Winner 

Best Employer of Choice 

Best Medium-Sized Business 

Raj Pardeep Singh 

Shyama Sharma 

Specialists in Sale and Purchase of Property & Business, Leases, 

Principal 

Partner 

Barrister and Solicitor 

Employment Law, Criminal Law, Family Law, Wills & Trusts, Immigration LLB/BA (Hons.) 

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Ph: (09) 2799439 | Level-1, 31 East Tamaki Road, Papatoetoe, Auckland 2025 | PO Box 23445 Hunters Corner, Papatoetoe, Auckland 2155 

Jenny Salesa, Minister of Ethnic 

Communities 

Sponsors add value to our Business Awards 

Venkat Raman 

venkat@indiannewslink.co.nz 

Business Awards motivate 

companies and individuals 

to improve their performance 

and have in place 

proper business plans and market 

strategies. 

Indian Newslink Indian 

Business Awards, which are 

now in their eleventh year, have 

grown in stature, attracting multinationals 

and major corporates to 

sponsor various categories. 

These were Aamong the 

comments made by Ethnic Communities 

Minister Jenny Salesa 

and National Party Deputy Leader 

Paula Bennett at the Sponsors’ 

Dinner held on Monday, September 

24, 2018 at Pullman Hotel. 

Earlier, in their special video 

messages, Prime Minister Jacinda 

Ardern and Opposition Leader 

Simon Bridges underscored the 

strength that Sponsors bring 

to the Indian Newslink Indian 

Business Awards. 

“The Indian Newslink Indian 

Paula Bennett, Deputy Leader of the 

National Party 

A section of our guests 

Business Awards Programme has 

been growing year after year, 

thanks to the support of its Sponsors 

and their continued interest 

in encouraging businesses to file 

their entries. These Awards have 

for eleven years demonstrated 

the contributions of the Indian 

community to the progress of the 

New Zealand economy,” they said. 

The Categories 

There are 15 categories in this 

year’s Awards Scheme. These 

include Business Excellence in Retail 

Trade, Business Excellence in 

Innovation, Business Excellence 

in Marketing, Business Excellence 

Our Sponsors with special guests at the Sponsors Dinner (Pictures for INL by Narendra Bedekar, 

Creative Eye Fotographics) 

in Customer Service, Best Employer 

of Choice, Business Excellence 

in Health and Safety, Business 

Excellence in International Trade 

with India, Best Large Business, 

Best Medium-Sized Business, Best 

Small Business, Best Financial Advisor 

of the Year (Mortgage), Best 

Financial Advisor of the Year (Insurance), 

Best Accountant of the 

Year, Best Young Entrepreneur of 

the Year and Best Businesswoman 

of the Year. 

Winners in each of these 

categories will be automatically 

assessed for the ‘Supreme Business 

of the Year’ Award. 

Venkat Raman 

Indian Newslink is 

currently investigating 

several complaints against 

a Registered Financial 

Advisor of Indian origin. 

At least three persons have 

provided us extensive evidence 

against the Auckland based 

Financial Advisor with allegations 

of misconduct, conflict 

of interest, dishonest dealings, 

deception, misrepresentation and 

many other charges. 

“This man and his business and 

life partner have systematically 

defrauded us and collectively 

we have lost almost $3 million 

over the past two years. We are 

sure that there are many more 

victims like us. We have filed 

complaints against this man with 

the relevant authorities. We want 

him to return all the monies that 

he has taken from us under false 

pretences and promises and 

We also marked the birthday of Sakthi with 

her husband Ilango Krishnamoorthy 

Allegations of fraud 

against Financial Advisor 

provide us due compensation for 

all the misdeeds,” they said. 

Severe stress 

The three men said that they 

have been under severe financial 

and mental stress. 

One of them considered 

suicide, another says that he has 

become a nervous wreck, while 

the third man is reportedly tending 

to the psychological problems 

suffered by his wife. 

“This Registered Financial 

Advisor has flouted all the norms 

and conditions that he is obliged 

to follow under the Financial 

Markets Conduct Act. He has 

deliberately provided us wrong 

investment advice and has 

cheated us. He has breached his 

fiduciary obligation,” they said. 

Indian Newslink has the name 

and other details and our investigation 

is under progress. We 

propose to carry a detailed report 

in our next issue. 

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OCTOBER 1, 2018 

02 Homelink 

Leaders underscore direct airlink between New Zealand and India 

INZBC Summit provides avenues for Aviation, Tourism and Technology 

Venkat Raman 

At least three leaders 

representing the two major 

political parties stressed the 

importance of direct airlink 

between New Zealand and India, 

not meaning though, non-stop, 

long haul flights that exist between 

Auckland and Dubai in the United 

Arab Emirates and Doha in Qatar. 

Justice Minister Andrew Little, 

Ethnic Communities Minister Jenny 

Salesa and National Party Leader 

and Leader of the Opposition Simon 

Bridges share a common platform 

today (Friday, September 28, 2018) 

in Auckland to express their consensus 

over the issue. 

Summit Themes 

They spoke at different times 

at the Summit of the India New 

Zealand Business Council (INZBC) at 

Pullman Hotel. 

The one-day event brought key 

personalities representing the Summit 

2018 theme of Aviation, Tourism 

and Technology, from various States 

in India, Australia and New Zealand. 

Mr Little said that direct 

airlink between New Zealand and 

India would be ‘helpful in building 

stronger bilateral relationship and 

facilitate ease of travel. 

“Apart from the fact that the 

Indian population is growing 

in New Zealand, students from 

India constitute the second largest 

in our export education sector 

and trade visits between the two 

countries standing at 290,000 a year, 

demonstrates the strength of our 

relationship,” he said. 

Justice Minister Andrew Little Ethnic Communities Minister Jenny Salesa National Party Leader Simon Bridges 

Free Trade Agreement 

Mr Little said that two visits of 

John Key (in June 2011 and October 

2016) to India during his term as 

Prime Minister and the meeting that 

the current Prime Minister Jacinda 

Ardern had with India’s Prime 

Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines 

of India-ASEAN and East Asia 

Summit in November last year were 

indicative of New Zealand’s strong 

desire to foster better relations with 

the world’s largest democracy. 

“Phil Goff, during his tenure 

as Trade Minister in the Labour 

government, initiated the study 

to explore the possibility of a Free 

Trade Agreement (FTA) with India. 

The National government began 

trade talks in 2010 and since then, 

several rounds of negotiations have 

taken place although we have not 

been able to conclude a deal," he 

said. 

Air New Zealand Services 

Mr Little said that while Air New 

Zealand has a codeshare agreement 

with Singapore Airlines reaching 

passengers to Singapore, the Asian 

hub from which there are connections 

to worldwide destinations 

through Singapore Airlines and 

other operators, a direct link would 

be useful for both New Zealand and 

India. 

“We need to progress on this and 

we will take up the issue during our 

talks with Suresh Prabhu, India’s 

Commerce & Industry and Civil 

Aviation Minister, who is due to visit 

New Zealand shortly. We also need 

to continue talks,” he said. 

Historic ties 

Ms Salesa traced Indo-Kiwi 

relations to the late 1800s when the 

first settlers came to New Zealand 

from India. 

“Since then, the Indian community 

has been important partners in 

improving our diplomatic, political, 

economic and social relations with 

India. The community, which now 

accounts for about 155,000 people 

is expected to rise to more than 

300,000 by 2025,” she said. 

Ms Salesa said that India’s 

growing importance, progress of 

talks for a Free Trade Agreement 

and the growing business potential 

warrants a direct airlink between 

the two countries. 

“INZBC can enhance existing and 

emerging opportunities,” she said. 

Keeping Indians safe 

Ms Salesa said that as Ethnic 

Communities Minister, she has 

the responsibility to ensure safer 

community, and more importantly 

safety of businesspeople of Indian 

origin. 

“In May this year, we conducted 

the first ‘Safer Ethnic Communities 

Ministerial Forum,’ inaugurated 

by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern 

(Indian Newslink, June 1, 2018). 

“The population of ethnic communities 

is rising rapidly and according 

to estimates, they will account for 

more than 22% of the population by 

2038. We need to prepare ourselves 

for the changes coming over the 

years,” she said. 

Serious about India 

Mr Bridges said that like INZBC, 

the National Party is also serious 

about improving New Zealand-India 

relations. 

“I am committed to FTA. Such 

a pact would be good for both 

governments, both countries and 

both peoples. It was the National 

government that started the conversation 

in 2010. We are therefore 

keen to pursue this opportunity,” 

he said. 

Mr Bridges said that many have 

asked if a Free Trade Agreement 

would be worthwhile for India, 

since New Zealand is a small 

country of just 4.2 million people. 

“It is not the size, but quality that 

is important. An FTA with New 

Zealand will enhance value for 

India. Commercial flights that are 

direct are a precursor to progress 

in this direction. Tourism is an 

important aspect of our growing 

relations,” he said. 

Mr Bridges said that the National 

Party will redouble efforts to 

strengthen relations with India. 

“We do not want to be an 

expensive destination but a quality 

destination. There is a huge amount 

of goodwill and friendship but 

there is no room for complacency. 

We must utilise the available potential 

properly and pursue greater 

cooperation,” he said. 

Mr Bridges said the opening 

of the (Rainbow Corner) Early 

Learning Centre in Mumbai two 

weeks ago (see separate 

story under Educationlink in this 

issue) is a demonstration of the 

entrepreneurial ability of our 

Indian community. 

Additional Reading: ‘Direct 

flights to India remain in the air’ 

under Viewlink. 

Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi 

National List MPbasedd in 

Manukau East 

Contact 

A 

P 

F 

E 

1/131Kolmar 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.


A SuperGold move from the coalition 

Brigitte Morten 

As a piece of political 

art, it was close to 

perfection. As a reflection 

on the state 

of the government - there 

was nothing to see. 

The Prime Minister’s 

speech launching the 

Coalition blueprint ticked 

all the boxes of a political 

playbook - a receptive 

happy audience, uplifting 

key messages, personality 

and politicians all talking 

about how great it is to be 

on the same team. 

Name change 

What it didn’t address 

was the issues that the 

Labour-led Government has 

been having over the last 

fortnight. 

Simply changing it from 

being called the Labour-led 

government to the Coalition 

government didn’t address 

any of the differences that 

are emerging between the 

three parties. 

There was no further 

detail on the Crown-Maori 

agency - an area of confused 

announcement in Cabinet. 

There wasn’t any clarity 

provided on the Chief 

Technology Officer role that 

lead to Clare Curran’s resignation. 

And the industrial 

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters in Parliament. 

(Photo: VNP/Phil Smith 

relations and refugee issues 

are unresolved. 

Unpredictable coalition 

However, we may be 

overplaying how much 

these issues are affecting the 

progress of the government. 

This coalition government is 

unpredictable when it comes 

to how it will act when it 

comes to specific policy 

questions. 

Six months ago, you would 

have thought that Winston 

Peter’s waka jumping bill 

would have been enough 

to drive the Greens support 

away. 

However, despite the 

very public criticism of the 

former Green MPs and their 

own previous criticism, the 

current party saw a way to 

support it. 

In any analysis of how the 

coalition is acting, it must 

be noted that this is not the 

Deputy Prime Minister’s 

first rodeo. In 1999, he was 

kicked out of Government by 

then Prime Minister Jenny 

Shipley for standing up 

against the sale of Wellington 

Airport shares. 

Standing up for the views 

of his voters didn’t help him 

the first time and being the 

perfect team player certainly 

didn’t help the second time. 

Walking the fine line 

In this government, his 

experience in walking the 

fine line between the two 

appears to be paying off. 

Mr Peters is making it clear 

that he wants to stay in 

Government but will extract 

his price on his way through. 

The speech gave him the opportunity 

to get more money 

for the SuperGold card. 

Whilst mostly overlooked 

in the high-level discussion, 

amongst the Prime Minister’s 

speech was a commitment to 

approximately $9 million for 

increasing the benefits to 

SuperGold cardholders. A 

smart move by Mr Peters 

- a key nod to his key 

supporters that he hasn’t 

forgotten them. 

More moves like this can 

be expected as the election 

gets closer. 

Messy get-together 

Coalitions are meant 

to be messy. One of the 

key reasons for the introduction 

of MMP was to 

avoid the situation where 

one party could just push 

through whatever policy 

they liked without any 

accountability to voters for 

another couple of years. 

Coalition governments, 

and especially those in 

such a power balance like 

the current one, have to be 

much more receptive to 

what voters are thinking 

now as it will greatly affect 

what they can achieve. 

Blueprint reminder 

The Prime Minister’s 

launch of the Coalition 

Blueprint won’t have won 

over any new supporters 

for the coalition parties, 

but it wasn’t designed to. 

It was there is remind the 

voters of the Coalition 

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03 

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same things. 

It was about the politics, 

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Brigitte Morten was a 

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04 Homelink 

“A government without direction brings down confidence levels” 

Simon Bridges lashes out at the Coalition 

Venkat Raman 

For all the tirade of attacks that 

he launches in the Debating 

Chamber of Parliament, 

Simon Bridges appears a 

reasonable man while on a one-toone 

conversation. 

The Leader of the National Party 

and the Leader of the Opposition 

knows that even as he holds the 

government to account, the voting 

public would judge him and his 

Party for their policies and promises, 

and not for being critiques of the 

government of the day. 

Having been a Minister and a 

running mate before being elected 

Leader of his Party, Mr Bridges is 

well aware of the responsibilities 

that come with the job. 

As the Leader of the largest Party 

in Parliament with 56 members, he 

is aware of his strength; but he is 

equally aware that winning in an 

election is quite a different thing. 

Government without direction 

“I respect Jacinda Ardern as the 

Prime Minister and as a person,” he 

said, as he began his conversation 

with us at our office on Monday, 

September 24, 2018, and said that 

her government has no proper 

direction. 

“Jacinda Ardern has been let 

down by her team. She is inexperienced 

and her government does not 

know where to go. There are more 

than 170 Working Groups and no 

one knows what is coming. There is 

Simon Bridges at the offices of Indian Newslink 

uncertainty all around,” he said. 

No ‘R’ word 

Mr Bridges said that he does not 

mention the ‘R’ word, lest he is 

accused of scaremongering. 

“I have never mentioned that 

we are going through Recession, 

but our economy has definitely 

slowed down. We are now 

estimating growth at 2.5%. Business 

confidence is down, consumer 

confidence is down and there is 

uncertainty over immigration,” he 

said. 

Mr Bridges said that uncertainty 

is again seeing people move out, 

especially to Australia, where the 

level of business confidence is the 

highest in 40 years. 

Incentives, not burdens 

The National Party, he said, is on 

a different platform. 

He accused the government 

of triggering the rapid increase 

in prices of essential goods as an 

aftermath of the rise in petrol prices 

and the overall cost of living. 

“We will repeal every tax that 

the current government forces on 

people. We will repeal the Capital 

Gains Tax if the current Parliament 

passes such a law. 

“I would argue that we want less 

government and not a government 

that is a burden on the people. 

What is important today is the 

economy, return of confidence, 

reduced cost of living and reduced 

taxes. We will focus on what is good 

for New Zealand,” he said. 

Strengthening SMEs 

Mr Bridges also accused the 

government of ignoring Small and 

Medium Businesses (SMEs). 

“SMEs are the backbone of the 

New Zealand economy. And yet, the 

Prime Minister appoints a Business 

Advisory Council that is chaired by 

the Chief Executive of Air New Zealand. 

There is no representation for 

small businesses on this so-called 

Council. When we come back to 

govern, we will supercharge SMEs,” 

he said. 

Since the formation of the 

current government about a year 

ago, the National Party has become 

allergic to New Zealand First Leader 

Winston Peters, who is now the 

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign 

Minister. 

Snipe at Peters 

“Winston Peters is the real boss. 

He is like the President of the 

country; he has the power to veto. 

He wants to tax New Zealanders. 

This is unacceptable,” he said. 

Mr Bridges has been highly critical 

of Mr Peters’ plans to expand 

the diplomatic missions with an 

estimated spending of $1 billion 

over the next three years or so. 

Is expanding our diplomatic 

horizon a good thing? After all, 

we are a trading nation and an 

expanded network will help in trade 

negotiations. 

“Even before me, the Treasury had 

said that spending such a large sum 

of money on our overseas missions 

would be wasteful. Neither Mr Peters 

nor this government has any plan. 

I support trade agreements and a 

strong pact with Commonwealth 

countries. We have the expertise. But 

I do not think $1 billion will help,” he 

said. 

Doing the right thing 

Mr Bridges said that a wise 

government will invest in health, 

education, infrastructure, research 

and development and innovation. 

“We should think about the right 

thing to do.” 

He said that New Zealand does not 

have an international debt crisis but 

that is no argument for increased 

government spending. 

“There has to be a list of priorities, 

proper planning and implementation. 

There is a lot of wastage of public 

money now,” he said. 

Mr Bridges said that he supports 

the Indian community in New 

Zealand. 

“We share the same values of hard 

work, success in life. I am working 

hard because New Zealand is a 

great place,” he said. 

You can watch Simon Bridges 

speaking to Indian Newslink on 

https://www.facebook.com/Indian- 

Newslink/videos/148693236070878/ 

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Homelink 

More transparent but stringent Customs regime from October 1 

Supplied Content 

New Customs legislation to 

support border compliance 

and the country’s economy 

will come into force on October 1, 

2018. 

The Customs and Excise Act 

2018 will replace the current but 

outdated and much-amended 1996 

Act and uses modern language 

that is easier to understand and 

interpret. 

Cooperative effort 

Customs spokesperson Terry 

Brown said that the new Act was a 

collaborative effort. 

“We have worked closely with 

the import/export sector, as well as 

the broader business community, 

in the past five years to shape the 

legislation and make it easier for 

traders to meet border requirements. 

There are new services 

and initiatives arising from the 

Act, including the ability to apply 

to store business records outside 

New Zealand or in the cloud, a new 

valuation rulings service, and the 

ability to seek reviews of Customs’ 

assessments directly from Customs. 

Many of the new changes will result 

in time and cost savings,” he said. 

Mr Brown said that the travelling 

public is unlikely to notice much 

difference at the border, with 

existing provisions reconfirmed or 

clarified.” 

Customs processes more than 13 

million passengers a year, 14.4 million 

trade transactions and collects 

$13 billion in revenue for the Crown. 

More information on the Customs 

and Excise Act 2018 is available on 

the Customs website or by contacting 

our call centre 0800 428 786. 

About the new Act 

The intent of the Customs and Excise 

Act 2018 is still largely the same 

as the 1996 Act – to allow Customs 

to carry out its work of protecting 

New Zealand’s border and supporting 

the country’s economy. 

However, it provides more 

flexibility for Customs to keep 

pace with the constantly changing 

border, trade, travel and business 

environments. 

The new Act introduces new 

services and requirements 

Valuation rulings 

Customs can now make rulings 

on the appropriate method to determine 

the value of an importer’s 

goods. This means more certainty 

for importers where they are 

unsure of how to value their goods. 

Importers, or their agents/ 

brokers, need to apply for a ruling 

before goods are imported into 

New Zealand. Costs for this service 

apply. 

Customs has up to 150 days to 

make a valuation ruling. A ruling is 

valid for up to three years. 

Provisional values 

Importers who meet the criteria 

can declare provisional values for 

their goods at the time of importation, 

when final values are not 

known. 

This ensures a transparent, clear, 

and flexible process to estimate 

values, which takes the realities of 

Photo for Newsroom by Lynn Grieveson 

trade into account. A final value can 

be confirmed within 12 months after 

the end of the importer’s financial 

year. 

Compensatory interest and late 

payment penalties 

This is a new process for charging 

compensatory (use of money) 

interest and late payment penalties 

when duty hasn’t been paid in full 

on time. 

It is fairer and more transparent 

than the previous additional duties 

regime, as the new process is clearer 

about when remission can be granted, 

and charges are consistent with 

those imposed by Inland Revenue. 

Storing business records 

Anyone required to keep 

Customs-related records can now 

apply to store their business records 

outside New Zealand, including in 

the cloud. 

This change provides flexibility 

in how to store business records, is 

more cost effective in many cases 

and reflects modern business practice 

(in line with Inland Revenue’s 

requirements). 

Comptroller’s discretion 

The Comptroller of Customs (Chief 

Executive) now has legal guidance 

on how much discretion they have to 

make and correct assessments, and 

collect the duty identified. 

The guidance is only applied in 

legal matters on revenue, collections 

and assessment. It ensures a fairer 

and more equitable system for duty 

payers. 

Administrative review 

Importers, exporters, excise 

manufacturers, brokers or agents 

can now request an administrative 

review of a Customs decision they 

are not happy with. Customs staff 

not involved in the original decision 

will complete the review. 

The new process, which industry 

asked for, is designed to reduce 

barriers and delays, and help keep 

costs down. It’s quicker and less 

costly than appealing to the Customs 

Appeal Authority. 

05 

Those seeking a review must 

make an application, or seek an 

extension to make an application, 

within 20 working days of a decision 

being made. 

Single Window 

Joint Border Management System 

(JBMS) users play a vital role in 

helping gain accurate information 

about goods coming in and out of 

New Zealand. 

Users now have to meet ongoing 

competency requirements, such 

as always acting in a professional 

manner and being a fit and proper 

person. 

Those users who repeatedly fail 

to demonstrate competency can 

have their registration suspended or 

revoked. 

Administrative penalties 

Administrative penalties now 

apply to all exporters, importers, 

licensees and agents who make 

errors or omissions on import, 

export or excise entries. 

From April 1, 2019, Customs 

officers can issue on-the-spot 

infringement notices to anyone 

not complying with the official 

requirements. 

International arriving and 

departing passengers (air and 

sea), importers, exporters, excise 

manufacturers, Customs-controlled 

areas (CCAs) and brokers are subject 

to fines of $400 (for an individual) 

or $800 (for a body corporate) 

depending on the offence. 

This new infringement notice 

scheme replaces the previous petty 

offences regime. 

Affordable and split risk 

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everything we love about it. To find out more, visit keepourmoneyclean.govt.nz


06 Educationlink 

Rainbow Corner ELC opens branch in Mumbai 

First Overseas operations commenced on September 15 

Venkat Raman 


The Rainbow Corner Group 

of Companies opened its 

first overseas Early Childhood 

Centre in Mumbai on 

Saturday, September 15, 2018. 

The Centre, the first of its kind 

in Mumbai, will follow the New 

Zealand Curriculum, which has 

now become a model for Early 

Childhood Education (ECE). 

New Zealand’s Mumbai based 

Vice-Consul Andrea Livingstone 

inaugurated the Centre, located in 

the posh area of Walkeshwar in 

South Mumbai, emphasising the 

importance of ECE and the need 

for such Centres. 

Quality ECE 

She said that as mother of two 

young girls, she understands 

the value of good quality early 

childhood education. 

“It is important to provide 

our children with the right 

environment for them to grow 

and develop a healthy mind and a 

healthy body. This is the best way 

for parents to ensure that their 

children grow up to succeed in 

their lives,” she said. 

Ms Livingstone said that in 

today’s fast changing world, it is 

imperative to provide innovative 

and recreative opportunities for 

children. 

Pursuit of Excellence 

“The teaching and learning environment 

at this Rainbow Corner 

Early Childhood Learning Centre 

Andrea Livingstone, Vice-Consul at the New Zealand Consulate 

in Mumbai, inaugurating the Rainbow Early Learning Centre in 

Walkeshwar, Mumbai on September 15, 2018, flanked by Bhavini 

Doshii, Rrahul Dosshi and Rani Nalam 

(ECLC) promises excellence. The 

passion and the programme 

found here will help young 

children and their parents to use 

the resources to their benefit,” 

she said. 

Simon Bridges greets 

Earlier, National Party Leader 

Simon Bridges congratulated 

Rainbow Corner Group of Companies 

Directors Bhavini Doshii 

and her husband Rrahul Dosshi 

on their initiative in opening a 

branch in Mumbai. 

“This is an exciting development 

and I share the happiness 

of the moment on behalf of all 

New Zealanders. We are proud 

that the Rainbow Corner ELC 

will follow the New Zealand 

Curriculum and provide excellent 

pedagogy that we give our 

children in our country,” he said. 

Mr Bridges said that his National 

Party believes in supporting 

businesses. 

“ECE is the most important 

aspect in a child’s life, ensuring 

their future success in all their 

Bhavini and Rrahul displaying the New Zealand Curriculum 

with Andrea Livingstone 

endeavours,” he said. 

A video message from National 

Party List MP Kanwaljit Singh 

Bakshi was also played. 

The Rainbow Journey 

Mr Dosshi outlined the ‘Rainbow 

Corner Journey,’ saying how 

it has grown since 2011. 

“It began as a tiny entity in 

Gisborne (a City of 36,600 people 

in the North-East Coast of North 

Island). It was the vision of my 

wife Bhavini to serve the cause 

of education and establishing an 

ECLC. It was a passion that drove 

her to deliver quality with high 

standards of learning and teaching. 

That passion continues,” he 

said. 

Mr Dosshi said that the move to 

Auckland saw the establishment 

of the Rainbow Corner ELC 

in Mangere East, followed by 

Takanini and Beach Haven. 

The Group is currently constructing 

a multi-million dollar 

facility in East Tamaki, with stateof-the-art 

learning facilities and a 

clean and green environment. 

Dedicated to Children 

“All of us, including our teachers 

and parents are dedicated 

to children. We enjoy every 

moment of it- seeing our teachers 

engaged with children with love 

and care; the children at play and 

at work. Children growing up in 

a friendly, caring environment; 

and we love the interaction with 

parents,” he said. 

Mr Dosshi said that the Centre 

in Mumbai will reflect and follow 

the same guiding principles of 

quality of learning and teaching 

followed by Rainbow Corner 

Centres in New Zealand. 

Fostering Indo-Kiwi relations 

“This is a dream come true 

for us. We are not just bringing 

education into India. We are 

bringing our heart to our home. 

Consistency in quality product 

delivery is close to our heart. This 

is a part of our contribution to 

New Zealand-India relations,” he 

said. 

Introducing Praveen and Rani 

Nalam, their long-time friends 

Elegance, quality and high standards of Rainbow at the new Mumbai Centre 

from Auckland, Mr Dosshi said 

that they are part of Rainbow 

Corner ELC and acknowledged 

their efforts in establishing the 

Centre in Mumbai. 

He announced that as a part 

of the opening of the Mumbai 

Centre, the Rainbow Group was 

launching its custom-built Mobile 

Apps, details of which will be 

announced shortly. 

The Rainbow Corner Group of 

Companies is the Title Sponsor of 

the three major brands of Indian 

Newslink, including the Eleventh 

Annual Indian Newslink Indian 

Business Awards (to be held 

on Monday, November 26, 2018 

at SkyCity Convention Centre, 

Auckland City), the Eighth Annual 

Indian Newslink Sir Anand 

Satyanand Lecture (held on 

Monday, July 9, 2018 at Pullman 

Hotel, Auckland) and the Fifth 

Annual Indian Newslink Sports 

& Community Awards, to be 

held on Monday, October 8, 2018 

at Alexandra Park, Greenlane, 

Auckland. 

‘Enslaved in Paradise’ released in Wellington 

Sir Anand 

Satyanand 

The Wellington launch of 

Rajendra Prasad’s latest 

book, ‘Enslaved in Paradise’ 

was a well-attended 

community occasion on Saturday, 

September 22, 2018, jointly promoted 

by community organisation 

Ekta, and the Wellington Hindi 

School. 

The author led off explaining that 

a sequel to ‘Tears in Paradise’ was 

necessary because, having focused 

in his first book on past tribulations 

of the Girmitya indentured labour 

force in Fiji, the issues for Indo-Fijian 

people of the present and future 

also needed attention. 

Programme organisers Manjit 

Grewal Singh and Kashmir Kaur 

engaged a variety of people from 

other settings to speak in a panel of 

contributions. 

Indentured Labourers elsewhere 

The audience saw and heard 

descriptions of indentured labour in 

South Africa from Professor Kiren 

Thathiah, an author, academic and 

photographer. 

Assistant Professor Farzad Salahshoor 

of the University of Tabriz 

in Iran described conditions for a 

generation of ordinary people since 

external imposition of sanctions on 

Iran, 

Thakur Ranjit Singh, a wellknown 

press commentator and 

blogger on Fiji issues spoke of author, 

Alex Hailey and how his book 

‘Roots’ had led to a generation of 

s p a c e 

designers ltd 

architectural designer. 

We have moved to our New Office at 

178 A Pakuranga Road, Pakuranga, Auckland 2010 

Our new Telephone Number: 09 577 2172 / 021 687162 

Email: info@sdlimited.co.nz 

Website: www.spacedesignersltd.co.nz 

our strengths 

member of ADNZ - recognised professional body 

well equipped & established with good reputation 

overall personal service 

technical competency & professional experience. 

: Sir Anand watches as Rajendra Prasad signs a copy of his ‘Enslaved in Paradise’ 

(Pictures by Thakur Ranjit Singh) 

people becoming much more 

aware of who they were and 

where they had come from. 

Mind of the Oppressor 

Then followed South African 

High Commissioner to New 

Zealand Ms Vuyiswa Tulelo 

who drew attention to what 

she called “The Mind of the 

Oppressor.” 

This enjoyable array concluded 

with a spirited speech 

from a 10 year-old-schoolboy 

Arnav Singh of Broadmeadows 

who spoke of his own 

upkeep of connections with 

his family in Fiji and India and 

the importance of knowing 

one’s roots. 

Sir Anand Satyanand is a 

former Governor General of 

New Zealand. 

Our Staff Reporter adds: 

The book was launched after 

a speech describing themes in 

the book and their importance 

by Sir Anand, who made 

a number of connections 

between the themes raised by 

the book and earlier speakers 

at the Wellington launch. 

Sir Anand had launched 

Rajendra Prasad’s first 

book ‘Tears in Paradise’ on 

Saturday, August 21, 2004 at 

the Ellerslie War Memorial 

Hall in Auckland with the 

Editor of this newspaper as 

the Master of Ceremonies. 

Indian Newslink, which had 

heavily promoted that book 

also published a Special 

Report of the Launch in its 

September 1, 2004 issue.


Educationlink 

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08 Fijilink 

Friendly policies attract investors to Fiji 

Friendly policies and people-IT Sector 


The manufacturing sector 

is often regarded 

as the backbone of any 

economy, as it drives 

employment, creates know 

how and encapsulates a much 

wider network of ancillary 

suppliers. 

Being the ‘Hub of the 

Pacific,’ Fiji is also astrategic 

trans-shipment and re-export 

centre for cargo traded between 

the Pacific Island States. 

Trade Agreements for access 

Fiji is signatory to various 

trade agreements, which 

allow for preferred market 

access and provides a conducive 

investment climate 

and opportunities with other 

countries. 

The Fijian Trade Policy 

Framework provides greater 

support to manufacturers 

of all industries by way of 

securing market access, 

value added promotion, trade 

facilitation, trade promotion 

and capacity building. 

Manufacturing is a 

major sector in the economy 

contributing 12.7% of GDP 

and providing employment 

for 20% of the country’s 

workforce. 

Given Fiji’s clean 

environment and virgin 

soils, potential investment 

opportunities exist in organic 

and natural food production, 

niche manufacturing (paper 

products, jewellery, furniture, 

automotive) and assembly 

for greater Pacific region 

including Australia and New 

Zealand. 

Make it in Fiji 

Garment manufacturers 

for instance, use the close 

proximity and connectivity to 

Australia and New Zealand to 

manufacture products at high 

quality and flexible runs in a 

just in time manner. 

The Textile, Clothing and 

Footwear (TCF) Council “Make 

it in Fiji’ awareness campaign 

committed to sustained 

excellence through a process 

of improvement to all aspects 

of business operations such as 

quality, social accountability 

and flexibility promotes Fiji 

as a low volume niche manufacturer. 

This has resulted in factories 

securing new buyers who 

want the flexibility of being 

able to place small orders on 

a regular basis and have a 

closer source of supply. 

Raising the Profile 

The “Fijian Made and Buy 

Fijian Campaign” initiated 

by the Fijian Government to 

promote and raise the profile 

of Fijian made products and 

produce, both domestically 

and internationally through 

Fashion industry is growing in Fiji (Pictures supplied) 

Made in Fiji carries quality and dependability 

a national branding 

strategy focuses on manufactured 

items, such as 

food (animal & vegetable 

products), clothing and 

items such as furniture 

and handicrafts. 

Small and Medium 

enterprises have an 

advantage of producing 

lucrative niche products 

in areas such as pharmaceuticals, 

garments, food 

products, coconut virgin 

oil or noni juice. 

Over the next five 

years, further improvements 

will be made to 

support business activity. 

Economic Zone coming 

The Government is 

developing Wairabetia 

Economic Zone in the 

Western Division offering 

‘Plug and Play’ concept 

with tailor made incentives 

to attract investments 

in the services and 

manufacturing industries 

and encourage Foreign 

Direct Investment (FDI) 

in a number of new 

industries. 

Fiji offers a market 

friendly business 

environment, sound macroeconomic 

policies, tax 

free zones, low inflation, 

a relatively stable foreign 

exchange rate and modern 

commercial contract 

laws, 20% corporate tax 

and a lower rate of 10% 

for companies listed on 

the South Pacific Stock 

Exchange. 

Our national airline, 

Fiji Airways provides excellent 

service connectivity 

across Fiji, the Pacific, 

New Zealand, Australia, 

Singapore, Japan, the USA 

and Hong Kong. 

Sustained growth 

Over the last eight 

years, Fiji has had a 

strong and sustained economic 

growth. In 2017, Fiji had an 

estimated growth rate of 4.2% 

and unemployment rate falling to 

4.5%. With 69% of the Fiji’s total 

population being under 40 years, 

and a high literacy rate of 96% the 

economic and social potential of 

Fiji’s population is high. 

The continued investment in infrastructure, 

education and training 

of our workforce have implications 

not only for the attractiveness of Fiji 

as location to investors, but also for 

the quality of inward investment. 

Increased government spending 

on infrastructure and education, 

coupled with robust private sector 

sentiment, will support ongoing 

improvements in the capital stock 

and potential growth. 

Significant opportunities 

Fiji offers significant investment 

opportunities across a number of 

sectors, facilitated by stable political 

and fiscal environment, continuous 

enhancement of infrastructure, 

growth of the tourism industry, 

advantages of a young population, 

a first class English-speaking 

workforce, natural flair of services, 

conducive business environment 

and low entry costs. 

As the Facilitation arm of the 

Fiji Government, Investment Fiji 

provides services and assistance to 

promote, and stimulate investments 

and exports. 

The above article was supplied by 

Investment Fiji, Suva. 

Bringing NewZealand HeartSpecialists to Fiji 

● Specialist Consultations ● Exercise Treadmill Test 

● Echocardiography (Echo) ● Angiography 

● Electrocardiogram (ECG) ● Angioplasty (Stenting) 

Dr Parmjeet Parmar 

National List MP based in Mt Roskill 

invites you to a forum on the Government’s 

employment law changes with Scott Simpson, 

MP for Coromandel and National’s spokesperson 

for Workplace Relations 

Thursday 10 October 3.30pm - 4.45pm 

Alisha’s Café, 8c Carr Rd, Three Kings 

RSVP to my Mt Roskill office at 09 620 6707 or 

email parmjeet.parmar@parliament.govt.nz 

12 Commercial Street, Namaka, Nadi 

Funded by the Parliamentary Service. Authorised by 

Parmjeet Parmar, Parliament Buildings, Wellington.


Fijilink 

09 

IF YOU ARE AN OVERSEAS REGISTERED 

VOTER FOR THE 2018 GENERAL ELECTION: 

For More Details & 

Application Form 

www.feo.org.fj/postal-voting/ 

When to Apply How toApply Who tosend it to 

Application Deadline 

Registered Voters can Download and fill the 

Registered Voters 

The FEO must receive 

apply once the Election 

Postal Voting 

can email their 

all PostalVoting 

Date is announced. 

Application form. 

application form to: Applications 21 days 

postalvote@feo.org.fj before Election Day. 

59 /63HighStreet, Toorak, Suva 

P. O. Box2528, Government Buildings, Suva 

Phone:+679 331 6225 Fax: +679 331 9513 

@Fijianelectionsofice 

www.feo.org.j 

info@feo.org.j


10 Businesslink 

MIT offers ready graduates with real world skills 

Anita Keestra 

Have you considered 

what a student working 

in your firm could 

do for business? 

Manukau Institute of 

Technology (MIT) prides itself 

on producing work ready graduates 

with real world skills. 

We placed Sujith Sasikumar 

with construction and engineering 

firm, MaxBuild and the relationship 

has been of great 

benefit to both the company 

and the student. 

“I’m a big fan of student projects,” 

Business Development 

Manager Paul Tanner said. 

“He has done a lot of work for 

us.” 

Valuable contribution 

The Graduate Diploma of 

Project Management student 

has made a valuable contribution 

to the firm taking on the 

re-coating of Factory Bridge on 

Remuera Road in Auckland. 

It was a small job for 

MaxBuild, but the student’s 

work with stakeholders and observing 

environmental compliance 

standards allowed the 

company to deliver the project 

profitably while helping Sujith 

earn his qualification. 

“The Project Manager is 

MIT offers ready graduates-Sujith Sasikumar at work. 

everything. He is the 

one who should satisfy 

stakeholders and managers. 

It is a challenging 

position,” he said. 

Very often, students 

of Manukau Institute 

of Technology already 

have strong overseas 

work backgrounds 

and that – along with 

the skills they learn 

with us – make them 

great additions to a 

business. 

About Sujith 

Sasikumar 

Take Sujith for example, 

he had worked 

as a safety engineer in 

Qatar handling four 

projects in Lusail City 

simultaneously. The 

new city is currently 

under construction 

and will eventually 

house 250,000 people 

as well as being a venue 

for the 2022 World 

Cup. 

“From safety, I want 

to transform my career,” 

Sujith said. 

That is why the recent 

arrival to New 

Zealand reached out to 

the Manukau Institute 

of Technology to help 

change careers and 

get all important local 

experience. 

It is our purpose to 

get people into great 

jobs. 

MIT scores high 

A recent analysis of 

the Education Ministry 

figures for students 

five years after graduation 

ranked us first in 

terms of employment 

rates, with our students 

earning among 

the highest median incomes. 

That is, when 

compared to all polytechnics 

and universities 

nationally. 

The reason we achieve that 

success is because of MIT’s 

close links with industry and 

the practical skills taught 

here. 

“I studied Finance, Resource 

Management and Project 

Management. That has helped 

me a lot. MIT taught me to 

write Risk Management 

Profiles, Project Charters and 

documents for the construction 

industry. It is all about 

self-learning at MIT. It allows 

the platform to connect with 

real world jobs,” Sujith said. 

Diverse workforce 

And there is certainly plenty 

of work out there with companies 

like MaxBuild, that specialise 

in concrete repair as 

well as seismic strengthening 

delivering projects across the 

North Island. 

The firm’s workforce is a 

diverse mix of nationalities 

including employees from 

Australia, Fiji, South Africa, 

the Philippines, Mexico and 

Britain. 

“People from different cultures 

exchange their ideas. 

Everyone is from different 

backgrounds that makes the 

business a success,” Sujith 

said. 

MIT trains about 14,500 students 

in a wide range of professions, 

from Hairdressing, 

Nursing, Engineering, 

Building and Construction 

and Creative Arts, Early 

Childhood Teaching to 

Social Work, Business and 

Information Technology. 

Do you have a place for a 

student at your firm? If so, or 

if you would just like to talk 

through what we can do to 

help, please do not hesitate to 

get in touch with me. 

Anita Keestra is Business 

Development Manager 

at Manukau Institute of 

Technology, Manukau Campus 

in Auckland. Email: Anita. 

Keestra@manukau.ac.nz 

Manukau Institute of 

Technology is the Sponsor 

of the ‘Business Excellence 

in International Trade 

with India’ Category of the 

Eleventh Annual Indian 

Newslink Indian Business 

Awards. The Awards 

Ceremony will be held on 

Monday, November 26, 

2018 at SkyCity Convention 

Centre, Auckland. Tickets, 

priced at $172.50 (including) 

GST and tables seating 

ten persons at $1725 (including 

GST) per table, including 

cocktails, networking, 

entertainment, dinner and 

the Awards Ceremony, are 

now on sale. Please contact 

Venkat Raman on (09) 

5336377 or 021-836528. 

Email: venkat@indiannewslink.co.nz 

We take the worry and stress out of the 

New Zealand Immigration process and 

make settlement easy. 

● All types of New Zealand Visa Applications 

● Potentially Prejudicial Information Letters, (PPI),Section 61 requests for 

people unlawfully in New Zealand; 

● Immigration and Protection Tribunal (IPT)Appeals 

● Deportation Orders and Detention Issues 

● Declined Visas, complaints and complex cases 

● Refugee/Asylum and Family Reunification Cases (the Principal Lawyer 

has Lead Legal Aid Provider Status) 

We are pleased toannounce Property Law Services 

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Kamil Lakshman is ahighly regarded 

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that she thinks outside the box to get 

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Maungakiekie Office 

Level 1, Crighton House, 100 Neilson Street, Onehunga 

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Open weekdays 9am-5pm 

(09) 622-2660 

Priyanca@parliament.govt.nz 

Please call to make an appointment before coming into the office 

facebook.com/priyancanzlp 

@priyancanzlp 

@priyancanzlp 

www.neighbourly.co.nz/business/priyanca-radhakrishnan-mp 

Auckland Office 

Level 1, 207 Broadway 

Newmarket 1023,New Zealand 

PO Box9142, Newmarket,Auckland 1149 

Phone :(09) 2830157 

Mobile: 021-1598803 

Email: auckland@idesilegal.co.nz 

Website: www.idesilegal.co.nz 

Wellington Office 

Unit 4, 18 Moorefield Road 

POBox 13208, Johnsonville 6037 

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Phone :(04) 4616018 

Mobile: 021-1598803 

Fax: (04) 4616019 

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Immigration, Property and Refugee Law Firm 

Authorised by Priyanca Radhakrishnan, 100 Neilson Street, Onehunga


Businesslink 

11 

Rrahul Dosshi 

Bhavini Doshii 

Nurturing FutureLeaders 

Education, Overall PersonalityDevelopment, GeneralKnowledge,Good Behaviour areall apartof 

our daily routine designed dforour children. 

From owners to teachers and administrativestaff,there is onlyone focus all the time: 

OurChildren. 

Which is why, Children love the RainbowCorner.Children at our Centresare growing. 

EXPERIENCED AND QUALIFIED STAFF |FLEXBILE CARE |CREATIVE PLAY &FULL FACILITIES 

OurServices: TheRainbow Corner Early Learning Centre |The Rainbow Corner Homebased Early Learning Service 

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Ourbranches: 

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44 Wakelin Road, Beachlands, Auckland 

Plus Home Based Services Throughout Auckland


12 Viewlink 

The English Fortnightly (Since November 1999) 

ISSUE 401 | OCTOBER 1, 2018 

Direct flights to India 

remain on air 

The rhetoric never stops. 

Year after year, and 

conference after conference, 

our politicians 

and businesses keep harping 

on the need to establish direct 

airlink between New Zealand 

and India, as if that is the 

only obstacle to a Free Trade 

Agreement. 

Aviation, Tourism and 

Technology were the theme of 

the well-organised Summit of 

the India New Zealand Business 

Council on Friday, September 

28, 2018 at Pullman Hotel in 

Auckland. A sizeable contingent 

of impressive speakers representing 

a cross-section of the 

industries from India and New 

Zealand were at the Conference 

offering valuable thoughts 

and statistics on the emerging 

trends in civil aviation across 

the world. 

Airlines not committed 

So far so good. But governments 

and conference speakers 

and organisers saying that a 

direct link is a must, fall short 

of two things: Reality and 

airline operators. Both betray 

expectations, for, despite an 

Open Air policy, neither Air 

New Zealand nor any of the 

Indo-Pak relations at 

another stalemate 

Hopes of relations 

between India and 

Pakistan reaching a 

turning point to move 

towards conciliation rather 

than confrontation have yet 

again died with the cancellation 

of a proposed meeting between 

External Affairs Minister 

Sushma Swaraj and Pakistan’s 

new Foreign Minister Shah 

Mahmood Qureshi. 

The meeting, proposed to be 

held on the side-lines of United 

Nations General Assembly in 

New York last week was called 

off, after India showed its ire 

over the killing of three Jammu 

and Kashmir policemen and 

the release of Stamps commemorating 

Burhan Wani. 

New Delhi said that these 

developments showed the 

‘true face of (the new Pakistani 

Prime Minister) Imran Khan.” 

Dialogues important 

It is often said that two 

parties at loggerheads must 

have increasing avenues for 

dialogues at various levels; 

because it is through talks 

that tension can be reduced, 

creating an environment to get 

down to serious business. 

Notwithstanding the common 

ancestry and embittered 

political relations that have 

made India and Pakistan 

Indian airline operators has 

expressed an interest in serving 

the route. 

An Asia New Zealand Foundation 

Report published in 2016 

said that India has always been 

more than a single non-stop 

flight away, unlike destinations 

within ASEAN and North Asia. 

“Now, however, the technology 

exists to make non-stop 

flights to and from India 

possible. 

Both Air India and Air New 

Zealand have Boeing 787 

aircraft in their fleets that could 

manage the 16-hour flight 

time, but they look unlikely to 

chance their arms on this in the 

immediate future,” the Report 

said. 

Air New Zealand regards the 

yield on the sector as insufficient 

to justify non-stop flights, 

which require a very heavy 

fuel load and thus a potentially 

smaller payload. 

Air India, which is now a 

Star Alliance member, crucially 

has the right to fly directly to 

Auckland from New Delhi as 

well as from any other Indian 

city it wishes. 

The nearest it has come so 

far, though, is Australia. 

strange bedfellows, long and 

arduous years of belligerence 

have led to constant failure of 

talks, angry confrontations and 

periods of estrangement. 

The two countries have 

fought several wars since 

independence and continued 

low-key conflicts during times 

of peace. As a writer mentioned, 

reels of news space on 

both sides have been devoted 

to the desperation at the Line 

of Control. And the pain of the 

average Kashmiri is nothing 

short of human misery. 

Estranged neighbours 

From politics to culture and 

cricket to business, India and 

Pakistan loom large in each 

other’s psyche as estranged 

brothers, both of whom would 

like to love but end up antagonising 

the other. 

Will there ever be lasting 

peace? Can the two nuclear 

capable neighbours learn to 

live in peace and husband their 

considerable resources for 

mutual benefit? Can the people 

across the two borders linger 

hopes of reuniting families, 

exchange goods and services 

and foster goodwill and understanding? 

There are no easy answers to 

these questions 

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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 

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Is the government characteristic 

of two-headed llama? 

Tim Murphy 

The Government held an 

evangelical gathering on 

Sunday, September 16) to 

explain what it is and what 

it hopes to do. 

It wasn’t exactly clear why a relatively 

new administration holding 

up relatively well in the opinion 

polls needed to explain itself, but 

explain it did. 

It wasn’t on a particularly auspicious 

day, being just 11 months 

since its formation rather than the 

usual, celebratory one-year mark. 

It was an invite only affair, in a 

university lecture theatre darkened 

to permit viewing of a skite-video 

of the first, well, 11 months and 

featuring a scrolling, too-fast-toread 

list of the achievements of this 

Labour-led Government. 

Or the Labour-New Zealand First 

Coalition. Or the Labour-New Zealand 

First Coalition with support 

on confidence and supply from the 

Green Party. 

Script-reading politics 

New Zealand First got to speak 

first, with the old-school leader 

Winston Peters doing old-school 

podium and script reading politics. 

Then Labour’s Prime Minister 

Jacinda Ardern stepped out to a 

podium-less stage, adorned only 

with a remote in her hand and a 

smart Persian rug to measure her 

steps left and right as she gave 

what immediately became labelled 

a political Ted Talk. 

Reading - peering - from screens 

high up in the lecture theatre, 

Ardern announced the Government’s 

path forward. Thirty years 

forward. 

Virtuous and nebulous 

As with all 30-year plans it was 

virtuous and nebulous. Everything 

to agree with, nothing to oppose. 

And it was un-detailed and unspecific 

and unformed and unknown. 

Imagine if Peters had done a 

30-year-plan 30 years ago when: he 

was in the National Party, happy to 

be the Member for Tauranga, yet 

to be sacked and stood down from 

various ministries - and so far from 

being an international statesman 

he couldn’t recall whether he’d met 

the former US President Ronald 

Reagan or not. 

The atmosphere in the room was 

warm, but a furnace away from 

the sort of heat Ardern produced a 

year ago on the election campaign 

trail. She stayed resolutely to the 

screens’ script and raised a few 

muted laughs at moments of 

self-deprecation. 

At the final line: ”We are going to 

keep doing this” -aflatline mutation 

of the zeitgeist “Let’s Do This” 

of 2017 - there was an obligatory 

standing ovation. First up was 

Workplace Relations Minister Iain 

Lees-Galloway. 

Unusual political event 

What was this unusual political 

event? 

Ardern declared it a historic 

moment. Self-declared history 

seldom is. 

Asking herself to sum up this 

agenda, she said: “We want to be 

the country that we are already 

pretty proud of.” 

Which is not quite Sir Robert 

Muldoon’s “leave the country no 

worse than I found it” but hardly a 

searing political ambition. 

Winston Peters, Jacinda Ardern and James Shaw front the media at the launch of the Government’s 30-Year Plan 

(Photo by Tim Murphy). 

But this was the three parties of 

the Government of New Zealand 

trying to cut through the political 

‘chat’ and, in their earnest hopes, 

get their story out there. 

It comes after weeks of the 

low-level bushfires that governments 

encounter and weeks of 

New Zealand First doing what 

it does - contrarian, stand-apart, 

look-at-meism. 

Ardern’s speech featured themes 

and priorities. There were three 

themes: the economy, wellbeing, 

and leadership. 

Themes and Priorities 

Each of the themes had 

priorities. For example for the 

economy, the first was to grow and 

share prosperity, the second was 

to support the regions, the third 

was transitioning to a green carbon 

neutral country, and the fourth 

was broadening the ‘measure of 

success’. (Unusually, that fourth 

one was third in the A to D listing 

in the documentation produced 

with the event’s media pack). 

In any case, there were four 

for wellbeing and four more for 

leadership. 

National probably could have 

signed up to all of them - other 

than a commitment to warm, 

dry homes and the indulgence of 

expanding Peters’ Super Gold Card 

for superannuitants. 

Abstract targets 

To achieve these abstract 

targets the Government has split 

its cabinet committees to have 

responsibility for each theme - or 

priority. It wasn’t clear. 

There is to be much on these 

themes and priorities on the 

Government’s website - and Ardern 

pledged voters would be able to 

mark the administration against its 

“lofty goals” over time. 

So, three themes, 12 priorities 

and one big message - we (the 

three of us) care and the other guys 

didn’t. 

Ardern presented well, as is her 

way. The question and answer 

panel with the PM, the Finance 

Minister Grant Robertson, NZ 

First minister Tracey Martin and, 

yes he got a cameo, Greens leader 

James Shaw, was too contrived to 

convince anyone outside the room. 

Questions were sourced from 

known attendees in advance, and 

from vetted offerings via Facebook. 

It was almost as if the event 

wasn’t for the media or the public, 

the voters, but for the three parties 

themselves. It was a kind-of-tripartite 

party conference. Labour, NZ 

First and Green members in the 

same room being sprinkled with 

coalition unity. 

Revealing politicians 

However contrived such events 

try to be, politicians in the raw can 

also be revealing. To a question 

on what she would consider a 

good political legacy, Ardern was 

humble and hopeful. 

Doctor Doolittle’s famous Pushmi Pullyu 

two-headed llama (Picture Courtesy: Pinterest 

“Our time in Parliament is briefer 

than we often think it is. Before 

we know it we are not there any 

more. Our names might not last in 

the history books, they might not 

matter. But the things we do might. 

Some of the things we are doing 

could... we are doing it by majority 

government and I hope that means 

we can form some consensus... on 

climate change... on child poverty. 

When we go it is still there. 

“If we can leave politics and 

the things that we do are still 

there then I think all of us can be 

satisfied with our time.” 

When facing media questions on 

stage immediately after the event, 

Ardern blanched when Shaw’s 

absence from the speaking roster 

was raised, saying that was a “bit 

of a dig.” 

Shaw made the right noises 

about Peters being deputy Prime 

Minister and there not being a 

whole lot of time. 

Peters, perhaps forgetting he was 

at a political show said: “Don’t simplify 

it and think that it’s all about 

upfront and showtime. It’s not. 

This is not dysfunction junction 

like the previous administration. 

We know what we’re doing, okay?” 

He did address the allegation 

that his Party was the tail wagging 

Labour’s dog. 

“You say that and you’re wrong. 

I’m not the tail. None of us is a tail. 

We don’t demean people with that 

sort of expression.” 

None of them is the tail. It is not a 

dog. Instead it is a living organism 

with two ends, each with a head.... 

a lot like Doctor Doolittle’s famous 

Pushmi Pullyu two-headed llama 

which struggled to decide which 

way to move and who would take 

the lead. 

A PushMe - PullYou coalition. 

About to take its “Next Steps.” 

Tim Murphy is Co-Editor and 

Co-Founder of Newsroom. He 

writes about politics, foreign 

affairs, Auckland, and Media. The 

above article, which appeared 

under the column News Room 

on September 17, 2018, has been 

(slightly edited and) reproduced by 

Indian Newslink under a Special 

Arrangement.


Businesslink 

13 

New Zealand has a woman in Washington, finally 

Sam Sachdeva 

With the appointment 

of Rosemary 

Banks as our next 

Ambassador in 

Washington, another piece of 

New Zealand’s diplomatic jigsaw 

has fallen into place. 

This article outlines Foreign 

Minister Winston Peters’ preferences, 

and the implications for 

the top foreign affairs job. 

Through 77 years of diplomatic 

representation in DC, and 

nearly 20 Heads of Mission, the 

Government had not appointed a 

female ambassador to represent 

our interests in the United States 

of America. 

That’s now changed, with the 

news that (formerly) retired diplomat 

Rosemary Banks will replace 

Tim Groser on Embassy 

Row at the end of the year. 

Ground-breaking appointment 

The ground-breaking nature of 

the appointment is interesting in 

and of itself, but the choice also 

offers some hints about Winston 

Peters’ thinking on the Foreign 

Affairs front - and who may take 

up MFAT’s top job. 

Banks has held a number of 

diplomatic postings, but perhaps 

the most helpful was her stint 

Rosemary Banks, New Zealand’s new Ambassador to 

United States of America (Picture from Wikipedia) 

One of Winston Peters' first major diplomatic appointments 

offers some hints about how some other critical 

jobs may be filled. Photo: Lynn Grieveson. 

as New Zealand’s Permanent 

Representative to the United 

Nations from 2005 to 2009 - a period 

which coincided with the 

last time Peters was Foreign 

Affairs Minister. 

Those familiar with Peters’ 

thinking suggest his preference 

is to work with diplomats he already 

knows and who know 

him. 

Choice no surprise 

Given his railings against the 

appointment of former politicians 

to diplomatic jobs, it is unsurprising 

that he has turned to 

Fly to the Indian Sub-Continent 

a career diplomat rather than 

an ex-MP to fill what is acritical 

role. 

Any diplomat trying to make 

sense of the United States under 

President Donald Trump is likely 

to struggle, and it is easy to have 

some sympathy for Groser even 

as abeneficiary of Peters’ socalled 

“brorocracy.” 

Groser’s failures and successes 

The former National Minister 

was put on the back foot early on 

with Trump’s “Muslim ban,” and 

Murray McCully volubly declaring 

his displeasure with MFAT officials 

(although not his former 

Cabinet colleague) over a failure 

to get clarity about its impact on 

New Zealanders. 

New Zealand’s inability to secure 

an exemption from US steel 

and aluminium tariffs was also 

seen by some as a failure, although 

Groser and his team deserve 

credit for New Zealanders 

gaining access to E-1 and E-2 

business visas - a longstanding 

goal which others had failed to 

achieve. 

Less public but also concerning 

have been rumblings about 

the environment within the 

Washington Embassy and complaints 

about the “Tim and 

Caroline show” - the other half 

of the act being Groser’s former 

second-in-charge Caroline 

Beresford, reprimanded after 

telling US Democrats to “get 

your shit together or we will all 

die” on Twitter, and again when 

emails revealed she had badmouthed 

her Wellington bosses 

to US lobbyists. 

Banks, described by some who 

know her as sharp in both demeanour 

and intellect, may 

accordingly have seemed an appropriate 

choice to restore some 

discipline to the office. 

The race to MFAT’s top job 

News of her appointment puts 

paid to one school of thought - 

that the Washington job would 

serve as a ‘consolation prize’ 

to whoever missed out in the 

race to replace the outgoing 

Brook Barrington as MFAT Chief 

Executive. 

There are widely believed to 

be four people on the shortlist to 

replace Barrington. 

Within MFAT, there is 

Deputy Chief Executive Bede 

Corry, Deputy Secretary 

Bernadette Cavanagh and High 

Commissioner to Australia Chris 

Seed; externally, although crucially 

with some foreign affairs 

experience, is New Zealand 

Security Intelligence Service 

Director Rebecca Kitteridge. 

As was the case with 

Washington, there has never 

been a woman in MFAT’s top job, 

which could help Cavanagh and 

Kitteridge. 

However, it may be that the appointment 

of Banks lessens the 

pressure to make another historic 

appointment (irrelevant as 

that may seem). 

Another factor is Peters’ Pacific 

reset and the Government’s push 

for greater diplomacy and aid in 

the region. 

Of the four, Seed has the greatest 

Pacific experience, having 

served as High Commissioner to 

Papua New Guinea and on an international 

peace monitoring 

team in the Solomon Islands. 

That is one of the reasons why 

many see him as the favourite to 

replace Barrington - and it could 

be seen as avote of confidence 

that Peters trusted him to make 

the case against Australia’s ‘corrosive’ 

deportation policies to a 

political committee in Canberra 

this week. 

Sam Sachdeva is Political 

Editor of Newsroom covering 

Foreign Affairs, Trade, Defence 

and Security Issues based in 

Wellington. The above article 

and picture which appeared in 

the Web Edition of Newsroom 

today (September 14, 2018) 

have been reproduced here under 

a Special Arrangement. 

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New Zealand banks are not toxic but being watched 

Thomas Coughlan 

Aman walked into a 

bank — no, this isn’t the 

beginning of a bad joke. 

He wanted to sign up for 

KiwiSaver, but when he leaves 

he not only has a KiwiSaver 

scheme, but also an expensive 

life insurance policy. 

He is 25, with no spouse, no 

dependents and no mortgage; so, 

it is not really clear what this life 

insurance policy is for. 

Upsold the Policy 

It transpired that the man had 

been “upsold” the policy by a 

bank teller who was likely paid 

a performance bonus for selling 

him the product. 

It is not unlike being asked 

whether you would like to make 

your hamburger a combo meal at 

McDonalds. But this is not about 

fries, but life insurance policies 

worth thousands of dollars. 

Australian Royal Commission 

Inquiry 

This story, and others, was laid 

out at a select committee hearing 

at Parliament on Wednesday, 

September 19, 2018, at which 

ministers were briefed on the 

Australian Royal Commission 

into misconduct in the financial 

services industries. 

This week, the Commission 

heard that a 26-year-old Australian 

with Down’s syndrome was 

sold life insurance after a Cold 

Call. 

This, and other horror stories 

raised by the Commission have 

raised some pressing questions 

for New Zealand’s Australian-dominated 

banking sector. 

Banking in New Zealand 

The chief question on MPs lips: 

“Is it happening here?” 

“Sales targets have no place in 

the banking sector” 

The answer from most submitters 

was that New Zealand by and 

large avoids the worst excesses 

of Australian banks, but there 

are many substantial areas of 

concern, particularly around the 

sales culture of some banks. 

Front line staff in the banking 

sector have been subject to the 

creeping influence of sales targets 

for decades, according to Stephen 

Parry of First Union. Staff are 

incentivised to sell products like 

insurance to customers who 

come in looking for financial 

advice. 

Barry said that members of 

his union felt “uncomfortable 

being pressured to sell, up-sell, 

and cross-sell financial products 

to consumers in circumstances 

where these products are neither 

needed nor wanted. 

Pressuring bank staff 

A survey the union conducted 

of its own members found that 

82% of ANZ staff, 93% of BNZ 

staff, and 89% of Westpac staff 

felt under pressure to sell financial 

products. 

“To our view, it is not only bad 

for workers but its inconsistent 

with the best interests of consumers. 

Sales targets have no place in 

the banking sector.” 

Consumer NZ also drew 

attention to the sales practices of 

banks. Its survey of people who 

received an unsolicited offer from 

a bank found fewer than half of 

respondents felt the product was 

suitable for them. 

Inappropriate products 

“Our main concern with these 

offers is that in many cases the 

product is not appropriate and 

may result in the consumer unnecessarily 

increasing their debt 

or purchasing something that 

provides poor value for them,” 

Jessica Wilson, Head of Research 

at Consumer NZ, said. 

Their Survey found the most 

common products sold were 

new Credit Cards, Credit Limit 

Increases, Life Insurance, Personal 

Loans, House and Contents 

Insurance. 

Wilson spoke of cases where 

customers had been offered an 

increase in their credit limit, even 

when their bank was aware they 

were struggling to pay off their 

existing debt. She also raised the 

case of a superannuitant who 

was sold credit card repayment 

insurance, in spite of the fact that 

it did not pay out for over 65s. 

“We’d know about it” 

Ombudsman’s views 

The Banking Ombudsman 

disagrees that there is a toxic culture 

in the New Zealand banking 

system. 

“We have not seen the systemic 

abuses, the really bad conduct 

that has come out of the royal 

commission in Australia,” Miriam 

Dean, Chair of the Ombudsman 

Scheme said. 

Dean said that while complaints 

and inquiries to the Ombudsman 

were increasing, the number 

of claims escalated to formal 

disputes was decreasing. 

She said she was confident that 

her organisation would know if 

there was widespread bad practice 

in the banking sector because 

of its monitoring of complaints. 

“We are the canary in the coal 

mine,” Dean said. 

Monitoring the system 

The Ombudsman service 

monitors its caseload and if it 

sees a string of similar cases that 

might indicate a systemic abuse, 

it can ask banks to change their 

practices. 

“Fortunately our caseload suggests 

none of the systemic abuses 

of the sort revealed in Australia,” 

she said. 

Continued on Page 15 

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Businesslink 

15 

Continued from Page 14 

An appetite to regulate: On the 

surface, there appears to be little 

appetite for any full-scale banking 

inquiry or further regulation 

of the banking sector. 

No inquiry needed 

In April, Reserve Bank Governor 

Adrian Orr told Q&A there 

was no need for an inquiry in 

New Zealand, saying the problem 

was cultural. 

But later, the Reserve Bank 

joined with the Financial Markets 

Authority on a review into the 

culture of the banking sector. 

The banks were asked to “prove” 

that their culture was better than 

their Australian parents. 

Select Committee Hearing 

But this did not go far enough 

for Labour MP Michael Wood, 

Chair of the Finance and 

Expenditure Committee, who 

told interest.co.nz that he could 

summon Chief Executives of 

banks to give evidence before the 

committee if he felt it necessary. 

But Wood was forced to do a 

U-turn on that statement after 

discovering that the banks were 

under a confidentiality order 

with the FMA concerning evidence 

they were giving as a part 

of that inquiry. He was forced to 

back-pedal after Orr raised the 

matter with Finance Minister 

Grant Robertson. 

ACT leader David Seymour, 

who sits on the Committee said 

the submission from the Banking 

Ombudsman showed regulation 

was working well. 

“There is not a problem with 

banking regulation in New 

Zealand. You could have further 

regulation, but that comes at a 

cost,” he said. 

Banks will be banks 

Seymour said that customers 

should be aware that banks 

would try to sell them products. 

“Anyone that goes to a bank 

and does not believe that the 

bank is trying to sell you stuff and 

make money probably should 

not be going to a bank in the first 

place,” he said. 

“Maybe we should ban McDonald’s 

for asking if you’d like fries 

with that?” he said. 

National leader Simon Bridges 

also said he would wait for the 

outcome of the FMA and Reserve 

Bank probe. 

“Let’s see where they get to, if 

they don’t I certainly wouldn’t 

be in a rush to having our own 

Aussie-style inquiry,” he said. 

Finance Minister Grant Robertson 

has said that he is watching 

the FMA and Reserve Bank probe 

closely and would not make a 

decision on whether to appoint 

an Australian-style inquiry unless 

the probe turned up evidence for 

one. 

Thomas Coughlan is a 

Newsroom reporter based 

in Wellington who writes on 

policy and economics. Indian 

Newslink has published the 

above story and Picture that 

appeared in Newsroom on 

September 20, 2018 under a 

Special Agreement. 

IRD says Oxfam report 

on pharmas misleading 

The Oxfam report 

claiming pharmaceutical 

companies 

in New Zealand are 

underpaying tax by some $21 

million completely misrepresents 

the situation here says 

Inland Revenue Department 

(IRD) international Strategy 

Manager, John Nash. 

“Obviously we cannot comment 

on specific taxpayers 

but taking a global profitability 

figure and applying 

it across the board, as this 

report does, cannot illustrate 

what’s really happening in 

this country,” he said. 

Global versus local 

“The report tries to apply 

a globally derived profit 

margin figure of 15-16% to 

New Zealand drug company 

revenue of $519 million and 

concludes that they have 

underpaid tax by $21 million. 

This is clearly incorrect 

given the type of operations 

that multinational pharmaceutical 

companies actually 

undertake in New Zealand,” 

Mr Nash said. 

He said that the Oxfam 

methodology applied a global 

average profit margin to the 

New Zealand operations of 

pharmaceutical companies 

while at the same time 

acknowledging that profit 

margins were not uniform all 

over the world. 

No IP issues in New 

Zealand 

“The main driver of profitability 

in this industry is the 

creation and development of 

intellectual property but such 

activities are not generally 

carried out in New Zealand. 

It is important to examine 

what multinationals actually 

do in a specific country such 

as New Zealand and how 

value is added, before 

arriving at a conclusion that 

insufficient taxation has 

been paid. The New Zealand 

operations of pharmaceutical 

companies are almost entirely 

lower margin activities like 

distribution,” Mr Nash said. 

He described Pharmac 

as an ‘active regulator’ 

impacting the profitability of 

pharmaceutical companies 

in New Zealand. 

Mr Nash said that Inland 

Revenue is working closely 

with multinationals of all 

kinds operating in New Zealand 

to ensure compliance 

as well as working with the 

OECD in the collective effort 

to improve compliance by 

multinationals worldwide



IRD affirms close watch over property investors 

Richard Owen 

Any suggestion that the 

Inland Revenue Department 

(IRD) has taken its 

eye off the ball when it 

comes to property investors is 

thoroughly misleading. 

Just under 100 Inland Revenue 

compliance specialists are 

focused on making sure property 

investors are aware of their tax 

obligations – including the brightline 

test. 

The Property Compliance 

Programme was established in 

2008. 

Some big changes this year in 

the way we work saw many of 

the job titles change, but the focus 

has stayed the same. 

Bright Line Rule on priority 

Enforcing the Bright-Line Rule 

is a priority among those working 

on property compliance and they 

are following a comprehensive 

strategy, designed to help 

customers meet their obligations 

from the start and to catch the 

cases where no profit is declared 

from a sale. 

We find that in a majority of 

cases, our customers want to get 

their tax affairs properly in order. 

Inland Revenue compliance 

staff aim to make it as easy as 

possible for customers to comply 

by focusing on supporting them 

upfront, before issues arise, 

rather than just responding to 

non-compliance when it happens. 

Unfortunately, there will still be 

some customers who ignore those 

messages and fail to comply. It 

is highly likely that those people 

will be picked up in our audit 

work, which is intensifying over 

the next year. 

Customer awareness 

The Bright-Line Rules came into 

effect in October 2015 and we are 

finding many customers remain 

unsure of their obligations. 

Awareness appears to be 

building all the time. 

Following the government’s 

decision to extend the Bright-Line 

period from two to five years, 

IRD ran social media promotions 

and newsletter drops pointing 

to updated information on our 

website. The marketing was 

specifically targeted so that customers 

with a property interest 

knew about the change. 

During the month-long campaign, 

our social media content 

reached over 200,000 people and 

approximately 40,000 people 

visited the bright-line campaign 

webpages, which has links to 

all the information they need to 

know. 

Focus areas 

Property speculation is a centre 

of attention, especially in and 

around new developments, infill 

housing, regional hot spots and 

properties that have been sold 

within a short duration. 

Additional revenue of $117 

million was assessed in the 12 

months to June 30, 2018 as a result 

of audit activities on property 

compliance issues. 

Bright-line is of course an area 

of focus and along with ongoing 

audit activity, data analytics techniques 

are being used to identify 

our bright-line cases early. 

This allows us to target our interventions 

to help our customers 

get it right from the start. 

In 2017–2018, over $7 million 

of Resident Land Withholding 

tax was deducted and paid from 

properties sold by overseas-based 

vendors who are subject to the 

bright-line test. 

Customer compliance 

New processes have been 

developed to allow property 

transactions to be monitored in 

real time. This helps compliance 

staff develop an early reading of 

trends and hot spots so they can 

monitor and make initial judgements 

about whether a customer 

is complying with tax rules. 

Data from Land Information 

New Zealand help us determine 

the amount of tax that’s likely to 

be due. This information is then 

used to remind property owners 

so they can understand what to 

put on their tax return. 

The data also reveals the customers 

who have bought and sold 

residential properties within two 

years and have not claimed an 

exemption on the tax statement 

provided with the sale. 

Again, contact is made with 

these customers to discuss their 

filing requirements so that they 

comply with the bright-line 

obligations voluntarily. 

Long game 

Bringing in the tax revenue 

from a property transaction is a 

long game. 

Depending on the point at 

which a property is sold, it can be 

up to three years before Inland 

Revenue receives the payment. 

Separating out the revenue that’s 

collected from a bright-line 

transaction is difficult to report as 

currently the taxpayer is only required 

to list it as amongst ‘other 

income’ on their tax return. 

Compliance with the Bright- 

Line Rules is improving all the 

time. 

We expect this to continue as 

more customers have greater 

certainty about their obligations 

and our property compliance 

specialists will remain on hand to 

help them get it right. 

Richard Owen is a Customer 

Segment Leader at Inland 

Revenue Department based in 

Wellington. 

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We provide a dedicated head office team providing support with local marketing, business improvement, property and regular franchisee meetings. 

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PH 09-525-8785 | Mob 021-2769769 | Email: alan.brooks@rbd.co.nz


PM-FM meetpaves way forstronger Indo-Fiji ties 

Venkat Raman 

Fiji’sPrime Minister Josaia 

Voreqe Bainimarama 

has exalted his country’s 

relationship with India, 

saying that the world’slargest 

democracy has always been a 

friend and supporter. 

Followingameetingheld with 

India’sExternal Affairs Minister 

Sushma SwarajinNew York 

on September 25,2018 he acknowledged 

‘India’s manycontributions 

to Fiji’sdevelopment, 

culture andpeople-to-people 

exchanges.” 

Mr Bainimarama, who is also 

Foreign MinisterofFiji, praised 

Ms Swaraj, saying that she is only 

the second woman to hold the 

high office of External Affairs 

after IndiraGandhi (who was 

also Prime Minister), overseeing 

the foreign policy of 1.3 billion 

people under the Cabinet of 

Prime MinisterNarendraModi. 

Election in Fiji 

“Wediscussed Fiji’sextensive 

national election preparations,” 

Mr Bainimarama said, referring 

to the ensuing generalelection 

in his country. 

“Wethank theIndiangovernmentfor 

itsassistance(past 

and present), supporting and 

overseeing the electoral process. 

India is taking alead rolein 

this year’selections as Co-Chair, 

with Australia andIndonesia, of 

the Multinational Observation 

Fiji’s Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama with India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj at 

their meeting in New York on September 25, 2018 (Picture Supplied) 

Group. Ihave stressed theimportanceoffree 

andfair elections,” 

he said. 

Generous Supporter 

Mr Bainimarama described 

the Indian government as ‘a 

generous supporter’ofFiji’s COP 

23 Presidency and the country’s 

national defence and disaster 

relief efforts. 

“India has alsobeenparticularly 

generous in its backing of 

Fiji’smicro,small andmedium 

enterprises, lending its vast 

technical expertise andcontributing 

over F$ 5.9milliontothe 

government’shighly successful 

Microand Small BusinessGrant 

(MSBG) Programme.This Programme 

has helpedthousands of 

entrepreneurial Fijians who have 

used thegrantstogrow their 

businesses andbyextension, the 

Fijian economy,” he said. 

Ms Swaraj discussed withMr 

Bainimarama her proposed visit 

to Fiji in February 2019, where 

she plans to follow up on India’s 

commitments from the Forumfor 

India-PacificIslands Cooperation 

and other development assistanceprogrammes. 

Increasing interest 

As mentionedinour recent editorial, 

people of Fiji are beginning 

to evince more interest in the 

ensuing general election as days 

roll, there is increasingcertainty 

that thepolling daywouldbe 

sometime in November. 

Noone is howevermaking any 

guesses as to the outcome. 

While followers of the FijiFirst 

Party believe that Prime Minister 

Josaia VoreqeBainimarama will 

return, albeit perhaps with a 

decreasedmajority,partiesinthe 

oppositioncamp seem to be too 

weak to be formidable. 

Political equity 

Incessant to sanctions and ultimatums 

to restore parliamentary 

democracy from the developed 

worldincluding his powerful 

neighbours Australia andNew 

Zealand, Mr Bainimarama and his 

Government have worked over 

the past twelve years to make Fiji 

amore inclusive polity and economy.They 

have given the countrya 

new Constitution, whichpromises 

the long-cherished political and 

economic equity,making allFijians 

eligible forequal treatment. 

Australian government has 

expressedits satisfaction that 

Election 2018 would be free and 

2018 

Businesslink 

Celebrate your success with us 

17 

fair, based on the experience of 

the 2014exercise.New Zealand 

has expressedits viewonsimilar 

lines, while India, the largest 

democracy in the world, has been 

the only country that has continuously 

stood by Fiji, offering its 

support and assistance. While 

Delhi has desired Fiji to follow 

democratic ideals, it has always 

respectedthe country’sright to 

chooseits own form of Government 

through its own processes. 

No Template 

There is no template fordemocracy 

as the concept andpractice 

differ between countries. That 

said, FijiansinFiji and elsewhere 

with the eligibility to vote, must 

exercisetheir franchise in the 

coming election, which would 

steer the country towards calmer 

seas and progressive future. 

GalaBlack TieAwards Nightwith CocktailsandDinneron Monday,November26, 2018, 

Sky City Convention Centre, CornerVictoria &Federal Street, Auckland City 

Cocktails and Networking from5pmto6.10 pm 

For tickets,pricedat$150 plusGST (including cocktails and dinner) 

Contact us on Phone(09) 533 6377oremail: editor @indiannewslink.co.nz

18 


Communitylink 

Telanganites celebrate Ganesh 

Chaturthi with piety 

Telangana Association President Kalyan Rao 

Kasuganti with Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi and 

Priyanca Radhakrishnan 

Sandeep Acharya, Narendra Reddy Patlola 

and Vijay Reddy Kosna preparing for the 

Pooja 

Hindus traditionally worship 

Lord Ganesha or Lord Vinayaka 

before commencing any 

event (including weddings, 

engagement ceremonies and religious 

programmes) as He is considered 

as the ‘Remover of All Obstacles,’ 

ensuring success of the venture. 

The Birthday of Lord Ganesha, 

known as ‘Ganesha Chaturthi’ is 

marked by Hindus all over the world, 

usually in September. 

New Zealand Specialty 

New Zealand is known for religious 

tolerance, interfaith dialogue and 

promotion of multicultural values. 

These qualities were evident at the 

‘Vinayaka Chaturthi,’ organised by 

the Telangana Association of New 

Zealand on Thursday, September 13, 

2018 at Mt Roskill War Memorial Hall, 

located at 13, May Road in Mt Roskill 

in Auckland. 

Association President 

Kalyan Rao Kasuganti said 

that the Annual Celebration 

of Lord Ganesha is 

widely observed by the 

Hindu community across 

the world. 

“The ten-day festival 

commences with special 

Poojas, recitation of slokas, 

rendition of Kirtans, 

cultural programmes 

including music and dance 

and concludes with the 

immersion of the Idol of 

Lord Ganesha at sea,” he 

said. 

Community Prayer 

Mr Kalyan said that 

families welcome Lord 

Ganesha to their homes 

and chant hymns, perform 

Pooja and Aarti to celebrate 

the auspicious day. 

“The Pooja at the 

Telangana Association 

this year was performed 

by Sandeep Acharya, with 

the assistance of Narender 

and Varsha Reddy Patlola 

and Vijay and Sunitha 

Reddy Kosna. The arrival 

of the Idol of Lord Ganesha, 

carried by devotees, 

marked the beginning 

of the celebrations. The 

prayer included, ‘Sarve 

Jana Sukhino Bhavantu,’ 

meaning, ‘May everyone 

be happy.’ We felt blessed 

by the Lord,” Mr Kalyan 

said. 

Why is Annual Home Loan Review a Must? 

Rachna Dave 

With the very 

Wsuccessful 

ye ar 2018 

coming to 

an end, it is time 

to set 

up financial and 

personal 

Goals to ensure that we 

strive to achievee them. 

Let us put some strong 

plans in place to make 

the coming year sucproperty 

market and 

cessful. 

In the 

lending side, 

year 2018 

in Auckland, 

there were 

times when 

properties 

were not selling at 

auctions. 

But with banks 

giving pre-approvalto 

applications with a 

low deposit on a case- 

auctions 

by-case basis, 

started picking up. 

Currently, banks are 

very supportive of First 

home buyers. 

The Reservee Bank of 

New Zealand has also 

changed LVR restrictions 

Special guests 

More than 200 members 

of the community were 

present at the event. They 

included Kanwaljit Singh 

Bakshi, Priyanca Radhakrishnan 

(respectively 

National and Labour List 

MPs) and New Zealand 

Indian Central Association 

General Secretary Prakash 

Biradar. 

Among the highlights of 

the festivity was rendition 

of Kirtans and songs by 

men and women and the 

auction of a ‘large Laddu.’ 

Mr Kalyan said that the 

Laddu, made by Muralidhar 

and Vijayalakshmi 

Rangu, was purchased in 

auction for $1616 by Srihari 

Rao Banda, a member of 

the community. 

Celebrations in Hyderabad 

“The Festival in Telangana 

witnesses tens of thousands 

of people praying in 

front of huge Idols of Lord 

Ganesha and Extra Large 

Laddus being auctioned, 

with the proceeds spent 

on community welfare. 

The Khairtabad Ganesh 

Pooja, held in Hyderabad, 

the Capital of Telangana, 

accounts for one of the 

biggest and most popular 

Ganesha festivals in India. 

The idol made this year 

was 57 feet in height,” he 

said. 

for first home buyers and 

investors which are in effect 

from January 1, 2018. 

The Official Cash Rate 

(OCR) has remained unchanged 

from November 

2016. It means potentially 

the interest rates may stay 

more or less the same for 

the next 18 months or 

two years. However, it is 

Yoga is not a fitness exercise but a complete system 

Sadguru, one of the most respected 

Yogic in the world (Picture Supplied) 

To treat Yoga as just another 

exercise form is a farce 

because the Yogic system 

involves not just exercising 

the muscular and skeletal systems 

of the body, but also exercising the 

internal organs and the involuntary 

systems in the body. 

It is a process of bringing that 

which is involuntary within us into 

the voluntary realm. 

So, you can have sufficient 

mastery over the system – then 

everything within your system 

slowly begins to happen consciously 

rather than unconsciously and 

compulsively. 

Complete Overhaul 

Yoga is a process of completely 

overhauling the system in such a 

way that health and wellbeing come 

from within. 

Above all, it aligns the physical, 

the mental and the Pranic (energy) 

systems in such a way that the 

source of creation within ourselves 

finds expression. 

Therefore, Yoga is not just an 

exercise, it is a process and a system 

to enhance the human being in 

an overall way and to manipulate 

one’s energies so that individual 

human beings can find their highest 

Soldiers of the Indian Border Security Force practicing Yoga at Isha Foundation, 

Coimbatore, India 

possible potential within 

themselves. 

Reference out of context 

Treating Yoga as an exercise 

form, or even comparing Yoga 

to some other exercise system, 

is completely out of context. 

When we talk about fitness, 

it can be of many kinds for 

different requirements. 

For example, a wrestler 

needs one kind of fitness. 

A labourer on the street 

needs another kind of fitness. 

An executive needs a different 

level of fitness. An athlete 

needs another kind of fitness. 

Fitness is not the same for 

everyone. 

Just building muscle and 

making the body strong is not 

fitness. Fitness means every 

aspect of you is functioning at 

its optimal level. 

So, the Yogic system is 

focused towards taking an 

individual to his ultimate possibility 

and towards fulfilling his 

ultimate potential. 

No equipment, no help 

The best part of the Yogic 

impossible to predict the 

future. 

But, considering the 

current scenario, this is 

the best time for us to do 

an annual review and see 

if we can be a step ahead 

on the property ladder. If 

yes, let us start working on 

pre-approvals. If no, then 

we will put strong plans 

processes is that you do not 

need any equipment or any 

help from anybody else. If you 

are there, that is sufficient. 

All you need is a space of 

three feet by six feet in which 

every kind of exercise that is 

needed for the system can be 

performed. 

When you practice Yoga, it is 

a complete system. 

Isha Foundation NZ 

Isha Foundation New 

Zealand conducts Isha Inner 

Engineering and Hatha Yoga 

Programmes. It also conducts 

free Isha Kriya and Isha Upa 

Yoga practices for the General 

public regularly. For more 

information, please call 022- 

4637811; website: Visit: www. 

ishayoga.nz 

Sadhguru is a Yogi, Mystic, 

Visionary and Bestselling 

Author. Ranked amongst the 

fifty most influential people 

in India,, h was conferred 

‘Padma Vibhushan,’ the second 

highest civilian honour 

by the Indian Government 

in 2017. 

and strategies to get on 

to the property ladder in 

near future. 

I want to see you successfully 

climbing your 

property portfolio. 

Call me today on 

0800RACHNA to book 

your appointment.


Communitylink 

Model of the Fortnight 

Drama Festival to support Children’s Home in Sri Lanka 

Venkat Raman 

Anot-for-profit, charitable 

organisation is conducting 

a Drama Festival in 

aid of poor children in 

Sri Lanka. 

Gandhi Illam New Zealand 

Trust is organising the event on 

Saturday, October 6, 2018 at Mt 

Eden War Memorial Hall located 

at 487 Dominion Road, Mt Eden. 

Suren Surendran, who is 

known to the communities in 

New Zealand as a singer, cricketer, 

philanthropist and champion 

of social and community causes, 

is organising this event with a 

group of dedicated volunteers. He 

is also a Trustee of Gandhi Illam. 

About Gandhi Illam 

He said that Gandhi Illam New 

Zealand Trust was established in 

2008 in Auckland to raise funds 

to support a children’s home 

in Mannar, a small town in the 

North West of Sri Lanka. “The 

initial fundraising was developed 

through a system of regular 

monthly donations (‘A Dollar a 

Day’ concept) and still remains 

a major source of funds. The net 

proceeds of two major music 

concerts held in the recent past in 

Auckland (Dr K J Yesudas in 2012 

and Rajesh Vaidhya and Super 

Singers in 2017) were donated to 

Gandhi Illam,” he said. 

Mr Surendran said that since 

its inception ten years ago, 

Gandhi Illam New Zealand Trust 

Needy children get help in Sri Lanka (Picture Supplied) 

has mobilised and donated 

more than $400,000 to poor 

people in the North and East Sri 

Lanka. “The Trust operates on 

a 100% pass through basis with 

any local expenses paid for by 

private sponsorships and other 

contributions. Other fundraising 

endeavours include annual 

variety shows and contributions 

for special meals and special 

projects,” he said. 

Trust Beneficiaries 

Among the beneficiaries of the 

Trust are (a) Homes for more 

than 120 children (b) Special Children 

receiving meals to celebrate 

significant days of sponsors (c) 

Families to set up and operate 

cottage industries (d) Water wells 

for communities (e) Women on 

full-time employment at Early 

Childhood Education Centre (f) 

Children who are piloted through 

technical pathways. 

Mr Surendran admitted that 

there was more work to be done. 

“The needs of the families are 

more critical than ever as they 

look to build a sustainable livelihood 

so that the children are able 

to learn and grow in a secure and 

stable environment. 

The forthcoming Drama 

Festival is a part of our efforts to 

address this challenge,” he said. 

Internal War in Sri Lanka 

Mr Surendran said that 

despite the romantic notions and 

beauty of the land, Sri Lanka has 

suffered immeasurably from 

the prolonged internal war that 

lasted over 30 years. 

“The war came to an end in 

May 2009 when the Government 

forces finally captured the last 

stretch of the land in Mullivaikal 

in the North East of Sri Lanka. So 

brutal was this war that many 

thousands of people lost their 

lives and the progress of the 

country was pretty much put on 

hold during this time,” he said. 

He said that the people of 

North and East Sri Lanka were 

among the worst sufferers and 

that constant bombings, escalating 

fighting, destruction of economic 

infrastructure have forced people 

to leave their traditional places 

of abode and take refuge into 

make shift camps, forests and any 

empty land. 

Penniless exodus 

“They left their houses, 

belongings, livestock, agricultural 

machinery, factories, shops and 

ran for their lives, barely clutching 

on to whatever they could 

19 

carry. All or most of what they left 

were either bombed, destroyed or 

looted. Many who could not run, 

were caught in the fighting and 

perished or bore permanent scars 

from the deadly war,” he said. 

Since 2009, a massive rebuild 

and rehabilitation effort has been 

undertaken by the government 

and various NGOs, Mr Surendran 

said. 

For further details about the 

forthcoming Drama Festival, 

please contact Suren Surendran 

021-952747.


20 Communitylink 

Former Malayali Samajam President 

appeals to New Zealanders 

Flood victims in Kerala need urgent help 

Aformer President 

of the Auckland 

Malayali Samajam 

has appealed to all 

New Zealanders to extend 

their financial support to help 

victims of the devastating 

floods that ravaged the State 

of Kerala last month. 

Sasi Nambissan, who 

currently works in Sharjah, 

United Arab Emirates is in 

daily contact with a number 

of his friends throughout New 

Zealand coordinating efforts 

to bring relief to the people of 

his home state who are still 

under a state of shock and 

despair. 

Massive relief work 

He visited Kerala soon after 

the floods and has had firsthand 

information about the 

extent of destruction wrought 

by torrential rains and floods. 

“The relief work being 

undertaken is on a massive 

scale. I am grateful to our 

people at the grassroots level 

who are on the forefront of 

relief efforts. 

“Our young people in Auckland 

and Rotorua, including 

Dijo John Thottappally, Justin 

Matthew Kavapurackal, Nithin 

and Jomin Antony have 

been working relentlessly to 

mobilise funds for flood relief 

Sasi Nambissan 

in Kerala. In view of 

the large extent of 

the damages and a 

very large amount 

required (more than 

US$ 1 billion), these 

efforts will continue 

for sometime,” he 

said. 

Deaths and Missing 

Persons 

Mr Nambissan 

quoted Kerala Chief 

Minister Pinarayi 

Vijayan as saying 

to the ‘One-Day 

State Assembly’ on 

Thursday, September 

20, 2018 that about 

485 people died 

in flood-related 

incidents and that 

14 persons were still 

missing. 

“Excessive rainfall, 

floods and landslides 

have destroyed roads, 

bridges, buildings and 

houses, forcing a large 

part of the state’s population 

to take shelter in 

relief camps. According 

to an Indian Express 

report, on August 21, at 

the height of the floods, 

a total of 1.45 million 

people belonging to 39.1 

million families had to 

be rushed to nearby 

Torrential rains and floods have 

destroyed properties in Kerala 

relief camps. The latest 

figure is that there are 

59,296 people in 305 

relief camps,” he said. 

Temporary shelters 

Mr Nambissan, who 

was President of the 

Auckland Malayali 

Rescue operations in progress 

Samajam in 2009 and 

its Vice-President in 

2013-2014, said that 

more than 100,000 

families have lost their 

homes, belongings 

and are now living in 

temporary shelters. 

“Many of them have 

lost their immediate 

family members and 

friends. Several are 

still trapped under 

mud, fallen buildings. 

We hope and pray 

that there would be 

no more rains and 

the resultant floods 

and damages,” Mr 

Nambissan said. 

For donations and 

more information, 

please contact Dijo 

John on 027-2882000. 

Fraud charge over fire extinguisher service claims 


The Commerce Commission 

has filed charges under the 

Crimes Act 1961 and the 

Fair Trading Act 1986 (FT Act) 

against the owner of a company 

which supplies and services fire 

extinguishers. 

Mira Singh, 60 of Manurewa, 

Auckland, is the sole shareholder 

and director of Aero Fire (NZ) Sales 

& Service Limited (Aero Fire). 

The Charges 

Mr Singh and Aero Fire each 

face three charges under the FT 

Act of making false or misleading 

representations in relation to the 

installation, servicing and maintenance 

of fire extinguishers. 

Mr Singh also faces one Crimes 

Act charge of obtaining money 

by deception. The Commission 

alleges that money was obtained 

from customers who paid to have 

their extinguishers serviced in 

accordance with the applicable 

New Zealand Standard, but who 

did not receive that service. 

Aero Fire operates primarily in 

Auckland and Hamilton, offering 

fire extinguisher services to small 

businesses such as shops and 

restaurants. 

Commission’s allegations 

The Commission alleges that between 

February 2015 and March 

2017, Aero Fire and Mr Singh told 

customers that fire extinguishers 

(a) had a maintenance history that 

they did not, for example that an 

extinguisher had been pressure 

tested when it had not and (b) 

were installed and serviced in 

accordance with the New Zealand 

Standard when they were not. 

The Commission also alleges that 

on one occasion in October 2014 

Aero Fire and Mr Singh claimed 

that an extinguisher required 

servicing every six months, when 

that was not the legal requirement. 

Letter Issued 

The Commission received 

complaints about Aero Fire during 

2016, including some referred to 

it by Police. It issued a ‘stop now’ 

letter to Aero Fire in November 

2017, asking it to cease engaging in 

misleading conduct. 

Mr Singh and Aero Fire are due 

to appear at the Manukau District 

Court on October 4, 2018. 

As the matter is now before the 

Court, the Commission will make 

no further comment at this time. 

Warning to businesses 

Business owners are urged to 

obtain advice as to whether fire 

extinguishers are required for 

their commercial premises. They 

are also reminded that they have a 

free choice of service providers in 

relation to any fire extinguishers 

and are advised to enquire up 

front about what services will be 

provided in accordance with the 

Standard and at what cost, before 

agreeing to purchase goods or 

services. 

Servicing fire extinguishers 

Fire extinguishers must be 

serviced in accordance with the 

New Zealand Standard for Hand 

Operated Fire-fighting Equipment, 

AS/NZS 4503:2005.


Entertainmentlinkk 

Enchanting Merchants of Bollywood due in New Zealand 

Shows in Auckland and Tauranga with exotic costumes and dances 

Venkat Raman 

Indian Cinema has been a 

source of inspiration and 

awe for millions of people all 

over the world and for almost 

120 years, it has witnessed the 

emergence and rise of hundreds 

of thousands of actors, producers, 

directors, cinematographers, 

musicians and other artistes. 

Bollywood is a name given to 

the Hindi film industry to denote 

the largest segment of the country’s 

cinema, although ‘Tollywood,’ 

and ‘Kollywood,’ representing 

Telugu and Tamil Cinema are also 

significant, accounting for more 

box-office hits. 

Nonetheless, glamour and gossip 

hold Bollywood in an exalted 

status and over the years, this 

industry has adapted to changes 

and absorbed technological advances. 

Bollywood film stars and 

technicians are today in demand 

in Hollywood and other cinematic 

centres around the world. It has a 

place of honour among its western 

counterparts. 

Delving into the history of one 

of the most important aspects of 

India’s performing arts is ‘The 

Merchants of Bollywood,’ a music 

and dance spectacle that has 

enchanted millions of people all 

over the world. 

The theatrical dance spectacular 

will be staged in Auckland and 

Tauranga later this month. 

Following is the Schedule: 

The Merchants of Bollywood in 

Auckland 

A tale of glamour and sombreness through the ages Costumes, Colour and Calibre The dancing couple has captivated world 

audiences 

Venue: The Civic Theatre, Corner 

of Queen Street & Wellesley Street 

West 

Friday, October 19, 2018 at 730 pm 

Saturday, October 20, 2018 at 2 pm 

Saturday, October 20, 2018: 730 pm 

Sunday, October 21, 2018: 3 pm 

Tickets from Ticketmaster.co.nz 

The Merchants of Bollywood in 

Tauranga: 

Tuesday, October 23, 2018 at 730 

pm at Baypark Arena, Tauranga 

Tickets from Ticketek.co.nz 

“Indian Culture is at the heart 

of this extravaganza,” says Carol 

Furtado, who plays the central 

character in ‘The Merchants of 

Bollywood.’ 

Since her debut in 2006, Carol 

has been an integral part of this 

‘story of conflict between generations,’ 

blending tradition with 

the modern and adapting modern 

trends, without sacrificing the 

values of the past. 

“This musical journey, started by 

Vaibhavi Merchant (granddaughter 

of legendary musician and choreographer 

Hiralal Merchant) has 

had the world in rapt attention. 

The narrative style of a bygone age 

in dance form is apparently one of 

the most innovative aspects of the 

event,” she said. 

Carol plays the role of Ayesha 

Merchant, an ambitious youngster 

who questions traditions and 

challenges the norms, and yet 

respects values. 

“The Merchants of Bollywood 

is always evolving, but retains its 

base of the life of the Merchant 

family. It incorporates the music, 

dance and situations of the past, 

matching the trends of today. 

The show therefore retains its 

relevance all the time,” she said. 

Carol has excelled as a dancer, 

actress, model and designer. 

This India-born young woman of 

Portuguese descent is a graduate in 

Sociology, with an ever-increasing 

passion for dance. 

Beginning her career at the 

MTV Launch in Bangalore in 

1996 performing alongside Slash 

of ‘Guns & Roses’ fame, Carol got 

her big break when a budding 

choreographer spotted her 

dancing at a local club and offered 

her the opportunity to become a 

professional dancer. 

During the same year, she 

performed with Shweta Shetty 

(India’s top female pop performer 

at that time) which led to her first 

international appearance in Nepal. 

The following year Carol was 

featured in the music video ‘Bari 

Barsi’ with Baba Sehgal, the 

pioneer of rap music in India. 

The Indian Council for Cultural 

Relations (ICCR) took her to 

Beijing, Shanghai, Hong-Kong and 

Chengdu as a performer in the 

21 

China Art Festival. By 1999, Carol 

had expanded her global experiences 

by touring Holland, USA and 

Canada with singer Kumar Sanu 

and Sri Lanka with Bavana. 

The Merchants of Bollywood 

ushered in a major change in her 

life and career. 

The show transcends time 

and is a touching tribute to the 

Bollywood greats of yesterday and 

the box-office hits of today complimented 

by the outstanding music 

arrangements by Salim-Sulaiman. 

A fictional story, yet based 

on real life, “The Merchants of 

Bollywood” will reveal to the 

Western audience the workings of 

cinema and the part it plays in the 

heart and soul of Indian society in 

an extraordinary evening of music 

and dance at the heart of which 

lies a heartfelt story of a young 

girl, her grandfather and their love 

of dance.


22 Entertainmentlink/Classifiedlink 

North ShoreIndians plan Navaratri Festival 

Venkat Raman 

Aucklanders in general and 

residents of North Shore 

and beyond inparticular, 

will have an opportunity 

to watch Navaratri celebrations and 

perhapsparticipate in the proceedings 

as a two-day festival getsahead 

later month. 

North Shore Indian Association is 

organising the Festival onOctober 

12 and October 13, 2018atthe North 

Shore Event Centre, Silverfield, Off 

Porana Road in Glenfield. 

Association Treasurer Mayank 

Patel said that the Festival, ninth in 

an annual series, brings together 

not only Hindu women and families 

but also people from otherethnic 

groups. 

Invoking Blessings of Durga 

“DuringNavaratri, we invokethe 

energy aspect ofGod in the formof 

the Universal Mother, commonly referred 

as‘Durga.’ The name means 

‘RemoverofMiseries of Life.’ She is 

alsoreferred to as ‘Devi’ (Goddess) 

or ‘Shakti’(Energy or Power),”he 

said. 

Mr Patel said that this energy 

helps Godtocreateand protect the 

Universe and destroy evil. 

“It can be said that God ismotionless, 

absolutely changeless, 

and the Divine Mother Durga,does 

everything.Our worship of Shakti 

re-confirms the scientifictheory that 

energy isimperishable. It cannot be 

created or destroyed,”hesaid. 

Adhi Parashakthi also Known asGoddess Durga 

Mr Patel said that the two-day Festival 

is being supportedbyanumber of commercial 

organisations and volunteers. 

“We thank them for their patronage. 

Visitors to the two-day Festival will have 

access tofree parking of their vehicles,” 

he said. 

“North Shore Indian Associationisa 

not-for-profit organisation dedicated to 

community services.Wekeep alive our 

great Indianculture and tradition and 

teach our children the intrinsictraditionalvalues 

and our Heritage,” Mr Patel 

added. 

Extolling the Power of Women 

Hindu womenmark nine nights to 

worship Goddess Shakti or Durga once 

ayear, preceding Diwali. Also known as 

‘Dassera,’ thenine nightsare spentin 

dancing, prayer and companionship, emphasisingthe 

importance of 

womanhood. 

The killing of ademon bya 

Deity is not mere physical annihilation, 

butliberation, amanifestation 

of divinegrace. 

Rama liberated Ravana, and 

Krishna did the same with the 

vile Kansa. 

This is however the maximum 

theycould give to the 

villains. 

Thesedemons were rarely 

showninany of the worshipped 

images. 

Compassionate Durga 

It is onlythe supremelycompassionate 

Goddess Durga who 

gives space in Her imagetothe 

principal demonshe killed, 

thus ensuring that hetoo is 

worshipped along withHer. 

If this is the grace that the 

Goddess showers on avillain, 

then, canthere be ameasure 

of the blessings She bestowson 

her loving devotees. 

The Navaratri (nine nights) 

Festival is acelebration of this 

Great Goddess, in which the 

actual worship is divided into 

three parts, where Sheisworshipped 

in her three essential 

forms. 

The two principal scriptures 

of the Goddess –The 

Devi Mahatmya and the Devi 

Bhagavad Purana,highlight 

these aspects with highly instructive 

and symbolicstories. 

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Entertainmentlink 

Talent and elegance lift the face of Miss Indianz 2018 

Venkat Raman 

23 

It was perhaps the best ever 

event of its type. 

Miss Indianz 2018, held 

on Saturday, September 15, 

2018 was a magnificent event 

that combined talent, colour, 

costumes, pride, elegance, dignity 

and honour. 

While there is no other event 

of its type in the country, Miss 

Indianz 2018 was easily the best 

in its 16-year run, beating its own 

preceding events. 

Dharmesh Parikh of Reshab D 

Productions, who organises Miss 

Indianz year-after-year and his 

elder brother Hemant Parikh 

who comperes it year-after-year 

deserve kudos for their spectacular 

efforts. While the former 

was not seen on stage, the latter 

enjoyed every moment of the 

evening, adlibbing with Jacinta 

Lal and carrying the audience 

with him. 

Kartika Singh, the Winner 

Kartika Singh, who has been 

featured more than once as our 

‘Model of the Fortnight’ convincingly 

won the Miss Indianz 2018 

title. Her poise and presentation 

were beyond doubt the crowning 

glory of the event. 

The Runners-Up 

The First-Runner-Up was 

Hubaan Saher, while the Second 

place was shared by Sinthia 

Kumar and Nishka Shetty. 

Other Winners 

Among the others who won 

honours were Sahana (Potential 

Model), Hubaan Saher (Miss 

Kartika Singh, Miss Indianz 2018 with the three Runners-Up and other Contestants 

Valentine Fernandes, Miss Indianz 2017 

performing her famous ‘Butterfly Dance’ 

Friendship), Kartika Singh (Miss 

Talent), Karanpreet Dhanjal (Miss 

Popular), Ishini Rani and Amrita 

Gillard (Miss Photogenic). 

Talents galore 

True to what Dharmesh always 

says, ‘It was not just a beauty pageant. 

Miss Indianz is a celebration 

The Winners and Participants at Miss Indianz 2018 

of Kiwi-Indian, elegance, fashion, 

music and dance. We do not give 

Cups, we do not cut cakes, we do 

not cut corners and we do nothing 

to stress our contestants. We do 

not ask them to sell sponsorships 

or tickets. This is a programme 

that showcases talent in its varied 

Kartika Singh also won the ‘Miss Talent,’ Title 

formats.” 

Indeed, while each of the 

contestants excelled as a dancer 

or singer in the talent round, 

there was ample opportunities to 

behold the wealth of talent in the 

community. There were no less 

than a dozen items of music and 

Amrita Gillard, Winner of ‘Miss Photogenic’ Title 

dance, of classical, semi-classical, 

folk and the film variety. There 

was even an opera singer to add to 

the versatility. 

Additional Reading: Model of 

the Fortnight: Kartika Singh 

under Communitylink 

2018 

Celebrate your success with us 

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) 

Gala Black Tie Awards Night with Cocktails and Dinner on 

Monday, November 26, 2018, Sky City Convention Centre, 

Corner Victoria &Federal Streets, Auckland City 

Cocktails and Networking from 5pmto 6.10 pm 

For tickets, priced at $150 plus GST (including cocktails and dinner) 

Contact us on Phone (09) 533 6377 or email: editor@indiannewslink.co.nz


24 Sportslink 

We punch above our weight in every field 

Bhikhu Bhana 

Sports is an important element in 

the fabric of New Zealand life. 

The achievements of New 

Zealanders in Rugby, Cricket, 

Yachting, Rowing, Squash lead us to 

believe that as a country, we punch 

above our weight. 

Sports is also so well embedded in 

the Indian way of life. Cricket is like a 

religion in India. 

In Hockey, India used to win Gold 

Medals at the Olympics, as if by right. 

Alarming trend 

In New Zealand, Indians follow 

sports very extensively. Ask questions 

about M S Dhoni, Virat Kohli or the 

Nawab of Pataudi, you will get many 

quoting statistics by memory. 

Unfortunately, the reality is that 

fewer and fewer young Indians are 

taking part in sports and physical 

activity. This is an alarming trend and 

hence, we must encourage our youth to 

participate in physical activity. 

Success in sports can also open many 

doors and opportunities. 

The New Zealand Indian Central Association 

(NZICA) and Indian Newslink 

have observed this trend and want to 

make an active change to this trend. 

Holistic approach 

This year, the newspaper has 

planned a holistic approach to the 

sports awards: The Past, The Present 

and The Future. 

The Past: More than 50 Indians have 

represented New Zealand for many 

years in 10 different sports. We believe 

that the first persons of India origin 

who won a gold medal at the Olympic 

Games came from New Zealand. This is 

an amazing and exciting information. 

In 1976, two young Hockey players 

from the New Zealand Hockey team 

gave noteworthy performances. 

We will recognise a few of these elite 

sports people every year. 

The Present: There are eleven 

categories of Sport Awards this year, 

including Cricket, Soccer, Rugby Union, 

Rugby League, Netball, Hockey, Golf 

and other sports. We will also recognise 

and reward the Best Sportsman and 

Best Sportswoman of the Year. 

The Future: This is a new direction of 

Awards. There are no boundaries. This 

is an opportunity to identify your talent 

and hopefully, Indian Newslink and 

NZICA can give directions to our youth 

to achieve their true talent. 

It is in this area that we as a 

community have an opportunity and 

responsibility to make our youths enjoy 

and achieve great results in a sporting 

activity. 

For tickets, please contact Venkat Raman 

on 021-836528 or Ronny Kumaran 

on (09) 5336377 or 022-1913666. Email: 


Bhikhu Bhana is President of 

the New Zealand Indian Central 

Association, the largest and oldest 

Association that represents the 

Indian Diaspora in New Zealand. The 

Association is a Partner of our Sports 

& Community Awards this year. 

Our Awards are just a week away 

Ravi Nyayapati 

The wait is over. 

After an exciting 

build-up following 

a two-year logistical 

break, the Indian Newslink 

Sports and Community 

Awards is just a week away. 

The event, to be held at 

Alexandra Park in Greenlane, 

Auckland on Monday, October 

8 will hopefully prove its 

popularity and interest in the 

community. 

Nominations and the selection 

process is complete for 

both Sports and Community 

segments of the Awards 2018. 

Politicians, sports personnel 

and community members 

will grace the occasion, along 

with families and friends of 

sports nominees as well as 

community award winners. 

The Gests of Honour 

include National MP Judith 

Collins, Blackcap Opening 

Batsman Jeet Raval and Auckland 

Hockey Chief Executive 

Manoj Darji. 

Good Partnership 

Kudos to the New Zealand 

Indian Central Association 

(NZICA) officials who have 

rallied their unwavering support 

towards this initiative. 

Steven Smith (right) with Rugby Player Rocky Khan at Indian Newslink Sports Awards 2013 

(File Photo) 

This is the first time 

there has been a combined 

recognition for Sports and 

Community Awards. This 

event attempts to bridge the 

gap between the young and 

old, as well as community 

service with sports, within the 

Indian Diaspora. 

NZICA has added weight 

to the listed Awards by 

including Awards for elite 

players of yester years. One 

of the NZICA Elite awardees 

combines the elements of 

sports and community at the 

highest level, and will be duly 

recognised at the event. 

Pride of Participation 

NZICA has reiterated that it 

takes pride in involving itself 

with many organisations of 

sports in its proven record 

over 92 years and remains 

committed to the betterment 

of the Indian community. 

Its involvement in these 

Awards is a testament to that 

commitment. 

The evening promises to 

be an exciting affair with the 

inclusion of popular dance 

groups. 

This will add flavour to 

the occasion, as will the 

scrumptious menu to tickle 

the palate. 

There will be no door sales 

on the night as per Indian 

Newslink practice. A few 

seats are still available. Please 

contact Ronny Kumaran 

on (09) 5336377 or Venkat 

Raman on 021-836528. Tickets 

are priced at $57.50 and 

tables seating ten persons at 

$575.00 per table (inclusive 

of GST). 

Please visit our three 

websites: www.inlisa.com; 

www.indiannewslink.co.nz; 

and www.inliba.com 

Our Sponsors 

Supported by 

Fifth Annual Indian Newslink 

Sports & Community Awards 2018 Gala Dinner 

Guests of Honour: 

Hon Judith Collins, Member of Parliament (National) 

Jeet Raval, Blackcaps Opening Batsman 

Manoj Darji, Chief Executive, Auckland Hockey 

Finalists and Winners will be announced at the Fifth Annual Indian Newslink Sports 

Awards Gala Dinner on Monday, October 8, 2018 at Alexandra Park, Greenlane, Auckland. 

Tickets, priced at $50 plus GST per person and 

tables seating 10 persons at $500 plus GST per table are now available. 

Please contact Ronny Kumaran on (09) 5336377 or 022-1913664 

Or Venkat Raman on 021-836528. Email: venkat@indiannewslink.co.nz 

Reliance Ventilation 

Systems Ltd. 

Introducing Arts & Culture Awards from 2019 

Details soon 

Sports Awards Categories: 

Best Senior Division Cricket Player of theYear | Best Under 19 Cricket Player of the Year |Best Vetran Soccer Player of the Year |Best Under 19 Soccer Player of the Year | Best Rugby Union Player of the Year 

Best Rugby League Player of the Year | Best Netball Player of the Year | Best Hockey Player of the Year | Best Golfer of the Year |Best Under 19 Player of the Year-Other Sports 

Best Over 19 Player of the Year-Other Sport | Best Sportsman of theYear | Best Sportswoman of the Year

Indian Newslink October 1 2018 Digital Edition

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