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The English Fortnightly (Since November 1999)<br />
Issue 443 | <strong>August</strong> 1, <strong>2020</strong> | Free<br />
phone<br />
09 533 6377<br />
editor@<br />
indiannewslink.co.nz<br />
website<br />
www.indiannewslink.co.nz<br />
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Through the hard work<br />
of our team of five<br />
million and with the<br />
leadership of Jacinda<br />
Ardern, New Zealand has<br />
done so well in recent months.<br />
We are the only country<br />
to have eliminated Covid-19<br />
from the community and<br />
we have amongst the lowest<br />
rate of serious illness and<br />
death. Because of this, we are<br />
able to move forward with<br />
our economic recovery and<br />
rebuild.<br />
As the global pandemic continues<br />
to rage it is important to<br />
not put this progress at risk.<br />
We need a government that<br />
is focussing on things that<br />
matter to New Zealanders.<br />
Response and Recovery<br />
We have a plan to guide<br />
New Zealand’s recovery and<br />
rebuild, the work is underway<br />
and it is important we keep<br />
moving.<br />
The emphasis of this<br />
year’s Budget was the $50<br />
billion Covid-19 Response and<br />
Recovery Fund.<br />
Investments from this fund<br />
are already protecting jobs,<br />
creating new ones, helping<br />
workers to upskill or retrain,<br />
and supporting the sectors<br />
affected most.<br />
Treasury forecasts that<br />
these investments could<br />
bring unemployment back to<br />
pre-Covid levels within two<br />
Multi-Ethnic staff from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Japan,<br />
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years and have the economy<br />
growing again as early as next<br />
year.<br />
But they are possible only<br />
because of the discipline the<br />
government showed early on<br />
in meeting the Budget Responsibility<br />
Rules and getting debt<br />
below 20% of GDP.<br />
Edge to invest<br />
That low debt that we<br />
had pre-Covid has given us<br />
considerable edge to invest<br />
and stimulate the economy.<br />
But we know that we have to<br />
pay back this debt.<br />
That is why we continue to<br />
make the investments carefully<br />
with an eye to the future.<br />
Last week, the Finance<br />
Minister made it clear that our<br />
responsible approach to managing<br />
the government’s books<br />
pre-Covid has not changed.<br />
We are making sure that<br />
we are balancing the need<br />
to support businesses and<br />
households through the worst<br />
of this economic shock, while<br />
managing debt tightly, and<br />
keeping funds in reserve for<br />
any future rainy days.<br />
The government has decided<br />
not to spend the remaining<br />
$14 billion from the Covid-19<br />
Response and Recovery Fund<br />
before the election. It will be<br />
set aside to use if we need it,<br />
especially if we have to deal<br />
with a second wave of the<br />
virus.<br />
Our Finance Minister was<br />
firm that if this money was<br />
not needed, we do not have to<br />
spend it.<br />
He was very clear that there<br />
are strict criteria for accessing<br />
the Covid-19 Response and<br />
Recovery Fund. We will not be<br />
using it for political projects a<br />
decade away at the expense<br />
of making sure that we can<br />
invest immediately to protect<br />
New Zealanders from a<br />
second wave.<br />
Strong border controls<br />
Our strong controls at the<br />
border continue to stop the<br />
virus spreading through New<br />
Zealand, and there remains no<br />
evidence of any cases in our<br />
communities.<br />
But with Covid-19 now<br />
exploding beyond our borders,<br />
and likely to be around<br />
for some time, we must be<br />
prepared for the worst.<br />
I think this reflects the<br />
government’s priorities more<br />
broadly.<br />
When asked recently about<br />
the upcoming election, the<br />
Prime Minister responded,<br />
“My focus, my time, my<br />
energy, is going into our<br />
Covid-response and that is<br />
what it should be. I think that<br />
right now politicking does not<br />
matter much to New Zealanders.<br />
They want to know that<br />
we are focused on Covid and I<br />
can assure them that we are.”<br />
I am proud to be a part of<br />
a team that is focused on the<br />
things that matter: keeping<br />
New Zealanders safe, while<br />
minimising the ongoing<br />
impact of the virus.<br />
Let us keep moving.<br />
Michael Wood is Member of Parliament<br />
elected from Mt Roskill and<br />
Senior Government Whip.<br />
Raj Pardeep Singh<br />
Principal<br />
LLB/BA (Hons.)<br />
E: raj@legalassociates.co.nz<br />
Partner<br />
LLB/MIT/B.Com<br />
E: ashima@legalassociates.co.nz<br />
Shyama Sharma<br />
Barrister and Solicitor<br />
LLB/ DBM/ BA( Hons)<br />
E: shyama@legalassociates.co.nz<br />
Indian Newslink<br />
Indian Business Awards 2018<br />
Winner<br />
Supreme Business of the Year<br />
Business Excellence in<br />
Marketing<br />
Best Employer of Choice<br />
Best Medium-Sized Business<br />
Ashima Singh, Winner of the<br />
Best Businesswoman of the year 2016<br />
email: office@legalassociates.co.nz<br />
Ph: (09) 2799439 | Level-1, 31 East Tamaki Road, Papatoetoe, Auckland 2025 | PO Box 23445 Hunters Corner, Papatoetoe, Auckland 2155 | www.legalassociates.co.nz<br />
Government ready to tackle<br />
second wave of Covid-19<br />
Michael Wood<br />
World’s Most Eloquent Leader at Our Lecture<br />
Jacinda Ardern on ‘My<br />
Vision for New Zealand’<br />
on <strong>August</strong> 6, <strong>2020</strong> in<br />
Auckland<br />
Venkat Raman<br />
Prime Minister Jacinda<br />
Ardern will be the<br />
Guest Speaker at<br />
this year’s Indian<br />
Newslink Lecture, scheduled<br />
to be held on Thursday,<br />
<strong>August</strong> 6, <strong>2020</strong> at 630 pm at<br />
Mahatma Gandhi Centre,<br />
145, New North Road, Eden<br />
Terrace, Auckland.<br />
‘My Vision for New<br />
Zealand,’ is the theme of her<br />
Lecture, which is expected to<br />
set the pace for future course<br />
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (Getty Images)<br />
of direction for various<br />
sectors of the economy. passionate, without shying<br />
On Thursday, July 30, <strong>2020</strong>, away from tough issues,”<br />
the Developing Academy of the Academy said in a Press<br />
Acuity Training of United Release.<br />
Kingdom named Ms Ardern It said that world leaders<br />
‘The Most Eloquent Leader in have the ability to inspire us,<br />
the World,’ ahead of German motivate us, shock us and<br />
Chancellor Angela Markel even scare us.<br />
and India’s Prime Minister “There is tremendous<br />
Narendra Modi.<br />
power in great public<br />
Empathetic leadership style speaking. But despite the<br />
The Academy reviewed requirement to make several<br />
more than 100 hours of footage<br />
from press conferences, speeches in their roles, there<br />
public appearances and<br />
speeches and other public are some world leaders<br />
addresses of world leaders who are not always on the<br />
throughout <strong>2020</strong> and selected right track when it comes to<br />
Ms Ardern as the topper. addressing their nation,” the<br />
“Jacinda Ardern employs Academy said.<br />
an empathetic leadership National Party MP and<br />
style. She challenges the Finance Spokesperson Paul<br />
common perception that Goldsmith will provide his<br />
emotional communication ‘Reflections’ on the Lecture.<br />
shows weakness, instead Attorney General and Minister<br />
for Trade and Export<br />
choosing to approach the<br />
public with softer touch. Growth David Parker will be<br />
She has a measured and the Master of Ceremonies,<br />
authoritative sincerity about Auckland Mayor Phil Goff<br />
her – she is kind and com- will deliver the Welcome<br />
Address, Barrister & Solicitor<br />
Gurbrinder Aulakh will<br />
provide ‘A Point of View’<br />
and former Labour MP Dr<br />
Rajen Prasad will give the<br />
Concluding Remarks.<br />
About <strong>INL</strong> Lecture Series<br />
The Indian Newslink Sir<br />
Anand Satyanand Lecture<br />
was instituted in 2011, subscribing<br />
to the broad theme<br />
of Good Governance, with<br />
Honesty, Integrity, Accountability<br />
and Transparency<br />
as its core principles. The<br />
Series has been rebranded<br />
this year but would continue<br />
to feature topics of interest<br />
to those in governance<br />
roles, those on the growth<br />
path of their career and to<br />
chief executives and other<br />
decision-makers.<br />
This formal, Black Tie<br />
Event includes dinner and<br />
networking.<br />
For tickets and other details,<br />
please call 021-836528. Email:<br />
venkat@indiannewslink.co.nz
02<br />
AUGUST 1, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Homelink<br />
Collins puts forth ambitious $31 billion infrastructure plan<br />
Jo Moir<br />
An eye-watering $31 billion is<br />
the price tag that the National<br />
Party has put on the infrastructure<br />
upgrade required<br />
to fix the country’s transport network<br />
and Auckland and upper North<br />
Island’s congestion crisis.<br />
In her first big policy announcement<br />
on July 17, <strong>2020</strong>, National Leader Judith<br />
Collins delivered the opposition’s<br />
infrastructure plan - a policy that<br />
former leader Todd Muller was meant<br />
to make before quitting on Tuesday,<br />
July 14, <strong>2020</strong>.<br />
Collins has also announced that a<br />
National government would repeal<br />
the Resource Management Act (RMA)<br />
completely, and replace it with two<br />
new pieces of law.<br />
Massive investment Upper North<br />
More than half of the money announced<br />
by Collins today ($17 billion)<br />
would be invested in the Upper North,<br />
which Collins says is home to half of all<br />
New Zealanders.<br />
To fix the congestion issues, Collins<br />
has announced “National would go<br />
ahead with everything Labour has<br />
said it will do in transport” - with the<br />
exception of Transport Minister Phil<br />
Twyford’s “light-rail Ghost Trains, and<br />
the probable exception of the $360<br />
million Skypath 2.”<br />
She said that National would also<br />
go much further, with some work<br />
beginning immediately and the<br />
larger projects rolled out over the next<br />
decade.<br />
One of the most ambitious projects<br />
announced is four-lane expressways,<br />
including tunnels under the Brynderwyn<br />
and Kaimai mountain ranges,<br />
National Party Leader Judith Collins (RNZ Picture by Simon Rogers)<br />
to connect Whangarei, Auckland,<br />
Hamilton and Tauranga.<br />
Definition of City<br />
“National’s vision is to transform<br />
the four cities to be one economic<br />
powerhouse, unlocking their potential<br />
so the upper North Island becomes<br />
Australasia’s most dynamic region,’’<br />
Collins said.<br />
Also a part of the announcement<br />
is Auckland’s rapid transit network,<br />
including rail to the airport and new<br />
busways.<br />
“One rough definition of a city is<br />
that it is a place you can get from one<br />
side to the other in an hour, or a place<br />
that the average time to get to work<br />
is 30 minutes. National will measure<br />
our progress against the goals of 30<br />
minutes to get to work and one hour<br />
to get across the city,’’ Collins said.<br />
An additional harbour crossing has<br />
also been announced - Collins said<br />
planning work would begin immediately<br />
with spades in the ground by<br />
2028.<br />
“National’s Plan is that the crossing<br />
should be a tunnel or tunnels, and be<br />
for both road and rail, and new public<br />
transport technologies that come<br />
online,’’ she said.<br />
Other plans included expanding the<br />
ferry network in Auckland and new<br />
walking and cycling links as well as<br />
expanded park-and-ride facilities.<br />
Digger-Ready Projects<br />
In addition to the larger long-term<br />
projects, $300 million worth of<br />
“digger-ready” projects across the<br />
country in 2021 would fix potholes,<br />
roundabouts and crash corners.<br />
Collins said the $17 billion for<br />
Auckland and the upper North Island,<br />
and the $14 billion for “soon-to-beannounced<br />
projects in the southern<br />
half of the country” would be paid for<br />
out of the current government’s Covid<br />
fund.<br />
At this year’s Budget, Finance<br />
Minister Grant Robertson set aside<br />
$20 billion of untagged funding for<br />
Covid-related recovery projects.<br />
“New Zealand Transport Agency<br />
(NZTA) will also be allowed to better<br />
leverage its balance sheet by borrowing<br />
up to $1 billion a year, and there<br />
will be tolls on the new Brynderwyn,<br />
Waitemata and Kaimai tunnels,’’<br />
Collins said.<br />
Transport spokesperson Chris<br />
Bishop said Aucklanders would also<br />
benefit from National’s repealing of the<br />
Auckland Regional Fuel Tax within its<br />
first 100 days in office.<br />
That would put $150 million in<br />
savings per year into Aucklanders’<br />
back pockets.<br />
“We will not increase fuel tax or road<br />
user charges in our first term,’’ he said.<br />
RMA repeal<br />
Collins said that previous<br />
governments have tinkered with the<br />
RMA with amendments, and that is a<br />
“mistake.’’<br />
She plans not to reform it, but repeal<br />
it altogether.<br />
“We will replace it with two new<br />
pieces of law: an Environment Standards<br />
Act, setting our environmental<br />
bottom lines; and an Urban Planning<br />
and Development Act, giving clarity<br />
and consistency. We will begin this<br />
work in our first 100 days.<br />
“We will introduce new legislation<br />
by the end of next year,’’ she said.<br />
That process will however be too<br />
slow for the projects that she has<br />
announced in her infrastructure policy<br />
today.<br />
The RMA fast-track legislation passed<br />
in response to Covid-19 provides a<br />
useful interim framework, but is too<br />
limited, she said.<br />
“National will make far more<br />
extensive use of the fast-track Act. New<br />
Zealand is facing an extraordinary jobs<br />
and economic crisis; and it demands<br />
a proportional response. We simply<br />
cannot let the RMA stand in the way<br />
of urgently needed infrastructure<br />
development,’’ she said.<br />
The following is from another report<br />
by Jo Moir:<br />
Former Leader Simon Bridges did<br />
not vote for Collins.<br />
“I will make no secret of the fact<br />
that I voted for Mark Mitchell. He is<br />
someone I have got a high regard for<br />
who was there close to me when I was<br />
Leader of the National Party. But now,<br />
we have got Judith and I think that<br />
she is going to do a really good job,” he<br />
said.<br />
Collins told Morning Report that she<br />
is not fussed at the admission, saying<br />
that she also publicly said that she<br />
voted for Muller as Leader.<br />
She said that it is a free vote with no<br />
ramifications, as evidenced by Bridges<br />
high ranking in the party reshuffle<br />
announced on July 16, <strong>2020</strong>.<br />
“I think that he is very happy with<br />
me as Leader,” she said.<br />
Jo Moir is a Political Reporter at Radio New<br />
Zealand. The above Report and Picture have<br />
been published under a Special Arrangement<br />
with www.rnz.co.nz<br />
Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi<br />
National List MPbased<br />
in<br />
Manukau East<br />
Contact<br />
A<br />
P<br />
F<br />
E<br />
1/131 Kolmar Road, Papatoetoe, Auckland<br />
09 278 9302<br />
09 278 2143<br />
bakshi.mp@parliament.govt.nz<br />
facebook.com/bakshiks<br />
@bakshiks<br />
bakshi.co.nz<br />
Funded by the Parliamentary Service. Authorised by Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi MP, 1/131 Kolmar Road, Papatoetoe.
AUGUST 1, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Homelink<br />
Action Plan to rescue Auckland from Covid-19 impact<br />
Phil Goff<br />
The impact of Covid-19<br />
on our City has been<br />
dramatic, with the full<br />
economic effects still to<br />
be felt.<br />
The good news is that, by<br />
working together, we stopped<br />
the community spread of the<br />
virus, saving potentially thousands<br />
of lives and preventing<br />
our hospitals from being<br />
overwhelmed.<br />
However, the economic<br />
cost of the virus, causing the<br />
lockdown and worldwide<br />
recession, is high, not least the<br />
effect on Auckland Council’s<br />
finances.<br />
Emergency Budget<br />
Council income has been<br />
slashed by nearly $500 million,<br />
meaning that we need to dramatically<br />
cut our expenditure.<br />
That is why the Council has<br />
had to pass an Emergency<br />
Budget.<br />
Since the budget went out<br />
for public consultation; on top<br />
of that we have also had to<br />
find a further $224 million to<br />
pay for new infrastructure to<br />
increase water supply.<br />
After this year’s worst-ever<br />
drought, the Met Service<br />
forecast is for a drier spring<br />
and summer, with the risk<br />
of severe water restrictions.<br />
Few in Auckland would<br />
question the need to make this<br />
If Auckland succeeds, rest of New Zealand will prosper (Auckland Council Picture)<br />
investment, so the money has<br />
to be found.<br />
The Emergency Budget is<br />
the most challenging budget<br />
Auckland Council has ever<br />
faced.<br />
We have had to balance<br />
the need to cut spending with<br />
the need to protect the vital<br />
services we provide for Aucklanders<br />
and keep as much<br />
as we can the investment we<br />
need to make in infrastructure<br />
to match future population<br />
growth.<br />
We cannot just borrow to<br />
pay for all of this. If we do<br />
not manage our finances<br />
prudently, we risk losing our<br />
credit rating, adding hundreds<br />
of millions of dollars in higher<br />
interest rates and putting<br />
the debt unfairly on future<br />
generations.<br />
Curtailing expenditure<br />
The first thing we did was to<br />
cut our spending.<br />
Staffing has already been<br />
cut, with over 600 temporary<br />
and contract workers going.<br />
Another 500 permanent jobs<br />
will also be lost. Any non-essential<br />
services have had to be<br />
cut back.<br />
The Council must become a<br />
smaller and leaner organisation<br />
that does more with less.<br />
Council spending has been cut<br />
by more than $200 million.<br />
Secondly, we will sell<br />
surplus property to the value<br />
of around $220 million and<br />
use that capital to avoid<br />
cutting infrastructure projects.<br />
There is no better time than a<br />
recession to spend money on<br />
building for the future, while<br />
stimulating economic recovery<br />
and creating new jobs in the<br />
construction industry.<br />
Infrastructure investment<br />
By careful management of<br />
our budget, we will invest this<br />
year over $2.2 billion in new<br />
infrastructure, more than<br />
the average of $1.6 billion<br />
spent annually over the past<br />
five years.<br />
And while some services<br />
have had to be trimmed<br />
back, we will continue to<br />
provide critical and valuable<br />
council services like public<br />
transport, libraries and<br />
community facilities, parks<br />
and playgrounds, and waste<br />
and recycling services.<br />
The loss of nearly $500<br />
million in income is the<br />
equivalent of a rates cut of<br />
around 28%.<br />
As a result, we will need<br />
to leave in place an average<br />
general rates rise of 3.5%, as<br />
originally announced. While<br />
we would have liked to cut<br />
that, the cost in terms of lost<br />
services and infrastructure<br />
was too great.<br />
Rates increase<br />
The difference between<br />
a 2.5% and a 3.5% rates<br />
increase for the owner of a<br />
$1 million property paying<br />
the average general rate<br />
is around 47 cents a week<br />
more for the higher rate.<br />
The lower rate would,<br />
however, have slashed<br />
spending by another<br />
$17 million and cut our<br />
investment in infrastructure<br />
by $60 million.<br />
Instead of a general<br />
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E: golian@golian.co.nz W: www.golian.co.nz
04<br />
AUGUST 1, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Homelink<br />
Andy Coster sets three key priorities for New Zealand Police<br />
Venkat Raman<br />
Enhancing human capital, high<br />
quality service delivery and prevention<br />
of crime through partnerships<br />
are three key priorities<br />
that the new Police Commissioner Andy<br />
Coster has set for the New Zealand<br />
Police during his five-year term.<br />
Speaking at a special Powhiri held<br />
in his honour on his appointment as<br />
Police Commissioner at the Pipitea<br />
Marae in Wellington on Friday, July 31,<br />
<strong>2020</strong>, he said that inclusion, constant<br />
consultation with all communities and<br />
closer working relationship with other<br />
public services will also form a part of<br />
his regime.<br />
About 500 men and women,<br />
representing the Police, government<br />
departments, the judiciary, officials of<br />
public and private sector organisations<br />
and community leaders.<br />
Among them were Deputy Commissioners,<br />
Assistant Commissioners,<br />
Deputy Chief Executives, District<br />
Commanders, Inspectors and other<br />
sworn and non-sworn officers of the<br />
New Zealand Police, members of the<br />
Police Commissioner’s Maori, Pacific<br />
and Ethnic Focus Forum, Director<br />
General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield,<br />
Commissioner Coster’s parents Dr<br />
Gregor and Heather Coster, his wife Jo<br />
and their sons Daniel, Joshua and Sam.<br />
Service Delivery<br />
Mr Coster mentioned ‘Be First, then<br />
do,’ as his primary objective as Police<br />
Commissioner.<br />
“This is to ensure that New Zealand<br />
Police is delivering from a position of<br />
internal strength; that we embody the<br />
kind of organisation that we need to be<br />
to achieve our outcomes in communities.<br />
We need to be an organisation that<br />
brings humanity to all our interactions,<br />
Police Commissioner Andy Coster speaking at<br />
the Powhiri<br />
if we are to achieve the most positive<br />
impact we can in people’s lives,” he<br />
said.<br />
Emphasising the human aspect of<br />
policing, he said it was imperative<br />
to understand what happens at the<br />
human level in order to select the most<br />
appropriate response to a situation.<br />
“Given the increasing complexity<br />
of what we need to navigate, we also<br />
need our people to be able to bring<br />
the best of themselves to their work.<br />
This will happen when we create an<br />
environment in which diverse thought<br />
is welcome, and leaders see it as their<br />
role to enable our people to be their<br />
best,” Mr Coster said.<br />
He said that a proper understanding<br />
of public expectations is essential to<br />
deliver the quality and level of service<br />
required.<br />
“There are some core expectations<br />
that the public have of us as an<br />
organisation, and we must make sure<br />
we meet them. We have a range of<br />
different demands to balance and we<br />
need to be well attuned to changing<br />
expectations, as well as looking after<br />
the core responsibilities that are always<br />
with us,” Mr Coster said.<br />
Police Commissioner Andy Coster with his wife Jo and parents Gregor and Heather<br />
Prevention through Partnerships<br />
Describing the Police as a ‘genuine<br />
blue line,’ he said that New Zealand can<br />
become the safest country in the world<br />
only through community partnerships.<br />
“I am greatly heartened by the level<br />
of collaboration that I am seeing in<br />
communities and across the public<br />
service. We need to keep building on<br />
this, seeking genuine partnership to<br />
strengthen communities. There are a<br />
range of practical things that fall out of<br />
these priorities and we have already<br />
started,” Mr Coster said and reiterated<br />
his commitment to make ‘New Zealand<br />
Police an organisation for its people<br />
and for New Zealanders it serves.’<br />
He spoke of the challenges that<br />
confront the New Zealand Police and<br />
cited family harm and organised crime<br />
as examples. He said that as an organisation,<br />
New Zealand Police has shown<br />
the ability to rise to the challenges.<br />
Mr Coster said that he was keen to<br />
promote the policing as calm, compassionate<br />
and confident service –qualities<br />
that were underscored by the service<br />
during Covid-19 lockdown.<br />
“Our model is underpinned by<br />
idea of maintaining the community’s<br />
consent for what we do. Walking this<br />
line is no mean feat – the community<br />
does not always speak with one voice.<br />
However, I believe we have demonstrated<br />
what can be achieved when we<br />
go about it the right way,” he said.<br />
About Andy Coster<br />
Graduating from the Royal New<br />
Zealand Police Academy in April 1997,<br />
Andy Coster worked for the next six<br />
years in various frontline and investigative<br />
roles at Counties Manukau Police<br />
and Auckland Metro Crime.<br />
He was admitted to the High Court of<br />
New Zealand as a Barrister and Solicitor<br />
and worked as Solicitor at Meredith<br />
Connell in the Auckland Office of the<br />
Crown Solicitor in 2004. The following<br />
two years were spent as Response Manager<br />
and Section Supervisor at Counties<br />
Manukau West and in 2006 became the<br />
District Deployment Manager of the<br />
District.<br />
Mr Coster took charge as the Area<br />
Commander of Auckland City Central<br />
in 2009 and over the next five years<br />
countered the challenges posed by the<br />
Central Business District of the busiest<br />
city in the country. During this period,<br />
he also served as the Armed Offenders<br />
Master of Ceremonies Deputy Commissioner<br />
Wallace Haumaha<br />
Squad Commander for Auckland.<br />
He was appointed District Commander,<br />
Southern Police District in 2015 and<br />
a year later, became the Deputy Chief<br />
Executive at the Ministry of Justice and<br />
moved to the Police Headquarters in<br />
Wellington in March 2018 as Acting<br />
Deputy Commissioner, Strategy and<br />
Partnership. Shortly thereafter, he took<br />
charge of Strategy and Partnerships<br />
in the same capacity, until his appointment<br />
by the Prime Minister as the<br />
Police Commissioner.<br />
Mr Coster is a Member of the<br />
Institute of Directors New Zealand and<br />
former Trustee of the Mangere Genesis<br />
Youth Trust.<br />
Other Speakers<br />
Among the speakers at the Powhiri<br />
were Justice Sector Reform Advocate<br />
Sir Kim Workman, Chief Executive<br />
Te Arawhiti Office of Maori Crown<br />
Relations Lil Anderson, Children’s<br />
Commissioner Judge Andrew Becroft,<br />
Professor Gregor Coster and Police<br />
Commissioner’s Focus Forum Member<br />
Tino Pereira. Deputy Commissioner<br />
(Maori, Pacific and Maori Services)<br />
Wallace Haumaha was the Master of<br />
Ceremonies.<br />
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AUGUST 1, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Past lessons should<br />
challenge future actions<br />
Rowan Light<br />
The notion that<br />
“history is written by<br />
the winner” might<br />
seem clichéd but,<br />
as the Chinese Communist<br />
Party’s (CCP) crack-down<br />
on history education in<br />
Hong Kong shows, it is one<br />
that should give us cause to<br />
reflect on how precious (and<br />
precarious) the teaching of<br />
history can be.<br />
In one of the more sinister<br />
aspects of the attack on civil<br />
liberties in Hong Kong, one<br />
pro-Beijing spokesperson<br />
threatened that teachers<br />
should remember this lesson<br />
of history: “The winner is<br />
king, the loser an outlaw,”<br />
adding that “When you lose<br />
and fail, you will be beheaded.<br />
And there is no achieving<br />
justice by violating the law.”<br />
Squashing dissent<br />
Having won the fight, the<br />
CCP is determined to squash<br />
all signs of dissent, even from<br />
the past.<br />
Passages from the philosopher<br />
Su Xun, known for<br />
11th-century essays on wars<br />
and military reforms, have<br />
already been redacted from<br />
school textbooks, because Su’s<br />
teaching could “incite violence<br />
in students or make them<br />
think revolution is good.”<br />
Such flagrant repression<br />
reveals something important:<br />
the CCP is well aware<br />
(and fearful) of the power of<br />
history. If you control history,<br />
you can shape how people<br />
see their world – including<br />
omitting the parts that are<br />
discomforting or threatening<br />
for those in positions of<br />
power.<br />
As New Zealanders, we<br />
are fortunate to be able to<br />
learn about our past free<br />
from government edict. Such<br />
precious freedoms, however,<br />
need to be cultivated, and<br />
not taken for granted.<br />
One way we might do this<br />
is by paying attention to our<br />
own history education.<br />
New National History<br />
In the next month or so,<br />
the group of historians who<br />
have been developing the<br />
new national history curriculum<br />
in schools will release<br />
their proposed resource for<br />
public consultation.<br />
Unlike the people of Hong<br />
Kong, the New Zealand<br />
public will be able to have<br />
their say on how and what<br />
history should be taught in<br />
our schools.<br />
As the CCP knows, rigorous<br />
history teaching can provide<br />
crucial skills and knowledge<br />
for critical thinking. Without<br />
these tools, we can be more<br />
easily caught up in dogmatic<br />
political narratives.<br />
For this reason, we should<br />
be suspicious of history that<br />
only puts our society in a<br />
flattering light. Rather, it<br />
is the parts of history that<br />
make us uncomfortable that<br />
we should pay attention<br />
to. What is unfamiliar and<br />
unsettling can open up new<br />
ways of thinking about the<br />
world.<br />
Space for dialogue<br />
We should hope for a<br />
national curriculum that<br />
creates space for controversy,<br />
debate, and critique;<br />
one in which we encounter<br />
a past that challenges us<br />
and provokes arguments<br />
across the dinner table and<br />
watercooler.<br />
History education is key<br />
to a healthy political culture.<br />
This also means that thinking<br />
about the wider “ecosystem”<br />
of how we share stories of<br />
the past: the networks of<br />
civil society, such as families,<br />
communities, and museums,<br />
as well as the classroom and<br />
textbooks.<br />
The history curriculum<br />
isn’t just something for government<br />
panels and teachers<br />
to consider: it is something<br />
all New Zealanders should<br />
want to engage with and take<br />
ownership.<br />
It is only then that we can<br />
ensure that history is not just<br />
“written by the winners” but<br />
shared by everyone.<br />
Rowan Light is a Researcher<br />
at Maxim Institute based in<br />
Auckland.<br />
Homelink<br />
05
06<br />
AUGUST 1, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Electionlink<br />
Labour gains strength among voters but challenges rise<br />
Employment and<br />
Economy are major,<br />
influencing concerns<br />
Venkat Raman<br />
The following article, in pdf<br />
format was released on<br />
Monday, July 20, <strong>2020</strong> as<br />
Tourism Minister and Deputy<br />
Leader of Labour Party Kelvin Davis<br />
at the Electionlink (a special section<br />
in Indian Newslink launched once<br />
in three years before the general<br />
election) at Mahatma Gandhi Centre<br />
in Auckland City. Among those<br />
present were the then Immigration<br />
Minister Iain Lees-Galloway, Ethnic<br />
Communities Minister Jenny Salesa,<br />
Labour Party President Claire<br />
Szabo, Labour MPs, new candidates<br />
contesting in the ensuing general<br />
election (on September 18, <strong>2020</strong>),<br />
supporters and Indian Newslink<br />
sponsors.<br />
On the face of it, the general election,<br />
due to be held on September 19, <strong>2020</strong>,<br />
could be a foregone conclusion, with<br />
Jacinda Ardern recording the highest<br />
ever public approval as Prime Minister<br />
and her Labour Party endorsed high in<br />
opinion polls.<br />
Predications are that Labour will<br />
be able to govern on it own; if it<br />
does, the Party would create history;<br />
being the first since the Mixed<br />
Member Proportion (MMP) system<br />
was introduced in 1996. That could<br />
set the trend to debate the efficacy<br />
of the system and perhaps lead to<br />
the establishment of a bicameral<br />
legislature.<br />
Rise of Jacinda Ardern<br />
A politician who was seen as a<br />
young woman with a lot of hope at the<br />
Indian Newslink Electionlink launch<br />
held on February 28, 2017, has today<br />
risen to be one of the most admired<br />
leaders of the world, and certainly the<br />
most determined Prime Minister of<br />
this Century.<br />
The empathy and love that she<br />
showed on the aftermath of the<br />
Christchurch massacre on March 15,<br />
<strong>2020</strong> made Ms Ardern the champion of<br />
the common people. According to her<br />
critics, she also handled equally well<br />
the Whakaari/While Island eruption<br />
on December 9, 2019 and the concerns<br />
it raised around the world.<br />
Covid-19 afflictions<br />
Covid-19 has afflicted most countries<br />
the Continents since December 2019<br />
and continues to pose serious threats<br />
to human lives and economies.<br />
New Zealand is among a handful of<br />
countries that handled the pandemic<br />
situation well. The country is now fully<br />
open to all businesses with freedom of<br />
movement, although the borders are<br />
closed for international traffic.<br />
The government has the unenviable<br />
task of managing New Zealanders<br />
returning from overseas in isolation<br />
and quarantine facilities. This has<br />
become a messy task with breaches<br />
by some people and leaks by a<br />
couple of National MPs. The constant<br />
condemnation of former National<br />
Party leaders Simon Bridges and Todd<br />
Muller were seen as scaremongering<br />
tactics.<br />
Ms Ardern has a team of capable<br />
ministers who have risen to the<br />
occasion to position their ministries<br />
and officials for quick and efficient<br />
response to Covid-19 with cash and<br />
other relief packages to employed<br />
and self-employed people, businesses,<br />
and others. There have however been<br />
criticisms that the government has<br />
ignored small businesses.<br />
Tourism Minister and Labour Party Deputy Leader Kelvin Davis<br />
speaking at the Electionlink (of Indian Newslink) launch in Auckland<br />
on July 20, <strong>2020</strong> (<strong>INL</strong> Picture by Narendra Bedekar)<br />
The Judith Collins factor<br />
Notwithstanding the high level of<br />
public endorsement that Ms Ardern<br />
and Labour enjoy eight weeks into the<br />
general election, the rising importance<br />
of Judith Collins as the Leader of the<br />
National Party since her election on<br />
July 14, <strong>2020</strong> can neither be ignored<br />
nor underplayed. She is an aggressive<br />
politician and carries her campaigns<br />
on war-footing.<br />
That attitude could be selfdestructive.<br />
Since the onset of<br />
Covid-19, the National Party and<br />
its Spokespersons have continued<br />
to attack the government on every<br />
issue, while they should have<br />
been supportive in fighting off the<br />
pandemic.<br />
Nonetheless, the fact that the<br />
National Party is in the process of<br />
rejuvenation cannot be discounted. Ms<br />
Collins has stimulated national debate<br />
with her eye-watering $31 billion<br />
infrastructure upgrade plan required<br />
to fix the transport network in many<br />
cities, with the largest share going to<br />
Auckland, followed by upper North<br />
Island.<br />
Employment and Economy<br />
Labour’s election campaign rests<br />
on five major issues: (1) Investment<br />
in human capital (2) Creating jobs (3)<br />
Preparing for the future (4) Supporting<br />
small businesses and (5) Positioning<br />
New Zealand globally to promote<br />
trade, tourism, education, investment,<br />
and other sectors<br />
“It is about investing in our people, it<br />
is about jobs, preparing for our future,<br />
supporting our small businesses,<br />
entrepreneurs and job creators and<br />
positioning ourselves globally. I have<br />
seen economic downturns before and<br />
what they can do to those left behind.<br />
We must be mindful of the debt that<br />
future generations may carry because<br />
of what we need to do now. But we<br />
Kelvin Davis launches Electionlink with (from left) Ross Robertson, Jacob Mannothra, Iain Lees-Galloway, Jenny Salesa and<br />
others (Pictures for Indian Newslink by Narendra Bedekar)<br />
would be wrong to characterise debt<br />
as solely being financial. If we choose<br />
not to invest now, during the rainy<br />
day we have been preparing for, we<br />
burden the future with debt of another<br />
kind,” Ms Ardern said, speaking to the<br />
Labour Party Congress on July 5, <strong>2020</strong>.<br />
The size of a country and its ability<br />
to punch above its weight is often a<br />
determinant on the global scene in<br />
gaining attention and response. On<br />
such a score, Ms Ardern has been<br />
able to establish synergy with diverse<br />
leadership across the world.<br />
New Zealand continues to score<br />
high on the world map as a reliable,<br />
well-meaning and honest friend, and<br />
its impressive status of being the least<br />
corrupt country on the Corruption<br />
Perception Index of Transparency<br />
International (although perception<br />
can be divorced from facts) is a source<br />
of endearment for international<br />
businesses and investors.<br />
Transparent governance<br />
But none of these would cut ice<br />
with New Zealanders who are largely<br />
unimpressed by grandeur. What<br />
matters to them is good and firm<br />
leadership, sound fiscal management,<br />
policies and programmes that promote<br />
a higher standard of living and most<br />
important of all, clean and transparent<br />
governance.<br />
As the election campaign gets under<br />
way, Labour’s slings at the possible cost<br />
of other National Party’s policies would<br />
be watched with abiding interest.<br />
Democracy under trial<br />
Democracy is going through a<br />
difficult time. Where autocrats<br />
have been driven out of office, their<br />
opponents have mostly failed to<br />
create viable democratic regimes.<br />
Even in established democracies,<br />
flaws in the system have become<br />
worryingly visible and disillusion with<br />
politics is rife. Yet just a few years ago<br />
democracy looked as though it would<br />
dominate the world.<br />
As the Economist wrote,<br />
democracies are on average richer<br />
than non-democracies, are less likely to<br />
go to war and have a better record of<br />
fighting corruption.<br />
“More fundamentally, democracy<br />
lets people speak their minds and<br />
shape their own and their children’s<br />
futures. That so many people in so<br />
many different parts of the world are<br />
prepared to risk so much for this idea<br />
is testimony to its enduring appeal.”<br />
Major investments keep the economy moving<br />
Investing in our people, backing<br />
businesses, and upgrading<br />
infrastructure and housing<br />
throughout the country are<br />
among Labour’s plan to recover<br />
and rebuild.<br />
Kiwis deserve high-quality care<br />
they can rely on; so, we are making<br />
sure that DHBs have the infrastructure<br />
that they need to deliver vital<br />
services for New Zealanders.<br />
That is why we are replacing<br />
Auckland Hospital’s 50-year-old<br />
infrastructure, future-proofing the<br />
facilities for generations to come.<br />
While often behind the scenes,<br />
away from patients and whānau,<br />
it is the critical infrastructure that<br />
keeps hospitals running. This work<br />
will get underway while the DHB’s<br />
existing infrastructure projects<br />
are progressing. Construction on<br />
the hospital will also create jobs,<br />
employing as many as 350 workers<br />
Labour Party Leader Jacinda Ardern with her<br />
supporters<br />
(Picture from Labour Party Website)<br />
on-site.<br />
Upgrading hospitals<br />
After a long period of under-funding,<br />
we are tackling the<br />
long-term challenge of bringing<br />
our hospitals back up to the standard<br />
New Zealanders expect.<br />
Auckland Hospital is just one of<br />
the health infrastructure upgrades<br />
being funded by our record $3.5<br />
billion investment to improve our<br />
hospitals.<br />
We also announced more than<br />
$30 million in funding to support<br />
strategic tourism businesses.<br />
This investment will help drive<br />
domestic tourism through developing<br />
regional events and increasing<br />
businesses’ digital capabilities.<br />
Boosting tourism<br />
The funding will go to 126 tourism<br />
businesses in total, and could<br />
help protect the jobs of around 3000<br />
people directly employed in the industry.<br />
This announcement means<br />
that the $400 million Tourism<br />
Recovery Package we announced at<br />
Budget <strong>2020</strong>, is now fully allocated.<br />
We are expanding the Kāinga Ora<br />
- Homes and Communities Retrofit<br />
Programme, making around 1500<br />
older state homes warmer, drier,<br />
and healthier. The upgrades will<br />
take place in 30 towns and cities<br />
across New Zealand over the next<br />
two and a half years.<br />
Source: Labour Voices <strong>August</strong> 1, <strong>2020</strong>
AUGUST 1, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Electionlink<br />
Renewed confidence puts National back on the track<br />
But the mood of voters<br />
does not allow for<br />
guesses<br />
Venkat Raman<br />
National Party Leader<br />
Judith Collins is upbeat<br />
about the general election<br />
scheduled to be held<br />
on Saturday, September 19, <strong>2020</strong><br />
saying that National will form the<br />
next government, but she is beset<br />
with a series of challenges that can<br />
prove to be formidable.<br />
Ms Collins is a stern, no-nonsense<br />
leader, who has proved her mettle<br />
as a Minister of the Crown holding<br />
a wide range of portfolios- 14 of<br />
them- during the John Key and Bill<br />
English governments between 2008<br />
and 2017.<br />
Soon after being elected Leader of<br />
the Party on July 14, <strong>2020</strong>, she dealt<br />
with decisiveness the indiscretions<br />
of two members of her Caucussacking<br />
one and demoting the<br />
other. She still has faces a number<br />
of issues, not the least of which is to<br />
ensure discipline within the ranks<br />
of her parliamentary colleagues at<br />
least over the next seven weeks.<br />
With the past two opinion polls<br />
showing National under poor light,<br />
Ms Collins has the task of getting<br />
her Party back on track with sound<br />
policies and programmes. Mere<br />
rhetoric would not go any good.<br />
The glasshouse effects<br />
The exit of Todd Muller as the<br />
Leader of the National Party had a<br />
rippling effect among politicians,<br />
National Party caucus and the<br />
media, but the hoo-ha died down<br />
as quickly as it rose; in fact, it was<br />
so short-lived that it went almost<br />
unnoticed. Ms Collins was perhaps<br />
a candidate of convenience and an<br />
antidote to the smote that National<br />
had suffered. She was in effect the<br />
instrument of painless change,<br />
orchestrating a move which could<br />
have otherwise caused ruptures.<br />
Clearly, the Nats cannot afford<br />
another division.<br />
For all the smear campaigns that<br />
he suffered during the last days<br />
in office, Mr Muller may not have<br />
been directly responsible for the<br />
implosion, but some of his own<br />
Bakshi launches his campaign in Panmure-Otahuhu<br />
Venkat Raman<br />
National Party MP<br />
Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi<br />
launched his campaign<br />
for the ensuing general<br />
elections at the Panmure-Otahuhu<br />
Constituency in the midst of a<br />
number of fellow lawmakers and<br />
new candidates contesting across<br />
Auckland.<br />
The event was held on July 25,<br />
<strong>2020</strong>.<br />
The first India-born candidate<br />
to enter Parliament as a List MP<br />
in 2008, Mr Bakshi is currently the<br />
Ethnic Communities Spokesperson<br />
for his Party.<br />
Among those at the launch were<br />
National Party Directors Alastair<br />
Bell, Andrew Hunt and Stefan Sundae,<br />
current MPs Simon O’Connor,<br />
Alfred Ngaro, Agnes Loheni, Paulo<br />
Garcia and new candidates Christopher<br />
Luxon and Nuwi Samarakone.<br />
Following is an extract from a<br />
RNZ report:<br />
On July 14, <strong>2020</strong>, the Party elected<br />
Judith Collins as its new leader to<br />
National Party’s Simon Bridges with (from left) David Carter, Mark Mitchell, Rima Nakhle and<br />
other MPs and supporters at the Electionlink Launch held on Monday, July 27, <strong>2020</strong><br />
New National Party candidates from various constituencies in Auckland Nuwi Samarakone, Jake<br />
Bezzant, Lisa Whyte, Simon Watts, Bala Beeram, Rima Nakhle and Christopher Luxon.<br />
colleagues in the National Caucus<br />
did things that were unforgivable.<br />
Leaking names of Covid-19 patients<br />
to the media and scaremongering<br />
the public with unsubstantiated<br />
accusations were distasteful.<br />
Even as people were worried<br />
about their own health and the risk<br />
of Covid-19 spreading, the National<br />
Party leadership and some MPs<br />
National MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi speaking<br />
at this Campaign Launch<br />
replace Todd Muller, with Gerry<br />
Brownlee as her Deputy. Collins,<br />
61, was first elected as an MP for<br />
Clevedon in 2002 and has been part<br />
of six Parliaments.<br />
“I think it is really important that<br />
we all have a common goal ... to get<br />
rid of the current government and<br />
put in place a better government,”<br />
she said after emerging from the<br />
Caucus meeting.<br />
“One of the things that unifies<br />
any party is if they see that we are<br />
getting the results that we want ...<br />
I think you are going to find that<br />
have been taking cudgels against<br />
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern<br />
and the government for their<br />
translucency, without realising the<br />
glasshouse effect.<br />
Holding the government to<br />
account<br />
They were too willing to have a<br />
go at all their political opponents,<br />
interrogating their honesty and<br />
National MPs Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi, Alfred Ngaro, Simon O’Connor and candidates Christopher<br />
Luxon, Nuwi Samarakone and others<br />
we are very focused on winning.<br />
There is no chance at all that I am<br />
going to allow ... Ardern to get<br />
away with any nonsense to do<br />
with our economy. I am going to<br />
hold her to account. I would say<br />
experience, toughness, the ability<br />
to make decisions ... that would be<br />
myself. Jacinda Ardern is someone<br />
we should not ever underestimate.<br />
We are actually better. If you look<br />
at our team, our experience ... it is<br />
better than Jacinda Ardern and her<br />
team,” she said.<br />
She said the Party’s policies would<br />
integrity, without realising that<br />
they may one day be ensnared in<br />
their own words.<br />
But arguably, it is the opposition’s<br />
call to keep the government under<br />
check and pressure, giving the<br />
ministers a run for their policies<br />
and even the money that they earn.<br />
The Nats have done their job well<br />
on that score; but in terms of enunciating<br />
policies and programmes<br />
and readiness to take over the<br />
mantle of governance should there<br />
be a need, they have thus far failed<br />
to impress.<br />
Although thrillingly effective<br />
in the gladiatorial arena of the<br />
debating chamber in Parliament<br />
and, from Collins’ point of view,<br />
a welcome endorsement of her<br />
leadership credentials, Mr Muller’s<br />
imagery seemed less well-judged<br />
during his short tenure.<br />
Two tough Leaders<br />
Ms Ardern has earned the love<br />
and admiration of a majority of<br />
New Zealanders for her empathy<br />
and quick actions following the<br />
Christchurch massacre on March<br />
15, 2019, the Whakaari-White Island<br />
eruption on December 9, 2019 and<br />
Covid-19 thus far this year. She has<br />
also shown her toughness in the<br />
handling of a number of erring Ministers<br />
of her Cabinet, more recently<br />
in the exit of Dr David Clark (Health)<br />
and Iain Lees-Galloway (Workplace<br />
not see any major changes.<br />
About Judith Collins<br />
Ms Collins, Member of Parliament<br />
elected from Papakura, has been<br />
the Shadow Attorney General since<br />
May and holds the National Party’s<br />
spokesperson roles for several<br />
areas, including Economic Development,<br />
Regional Development and<br />
Pike River Re-Entry.<br />
She has previously been the Minister<br />
for ACC, Corrections, Energy<br />
and Resources, Ethnic Communities,<br />
Justice, Police, Revenue and Veterans’<br />
Affairs.<br />
07<br />
Relations & Safety).<br />
Ms Collins is also an Iron Lady<br />
and her non-nonsense approach<br />
was seen even during her early<br />
years as Minister of Corrections<br />
(2009), Police and later in other<br />
ministries.<br />
If people are tired of the<br />
incumbent government and need<br />
a change, they must be given<br />
adequate reasons for exercising<br />
their franchise in favour of the<br />
National Party.<br />
Inclusive Politics<br />
More, the Party would have to<br />
come out of its restrictive approach<br />
and embrace minority communities<br />
as well.<br />
There are wider issues to discuss,<br />
which this newspaper would do in<br />
course of time.<br />
The launch of Electionlink<br />
signals the beginning of the battle<br />
for the ballot.<br />
But Ms Collins would like to call<br />
it a War over Labour and its allies.<br />
Just how the situation would pan<br />
out remains to be seen.<br />
But we know one thing for sure;<br />
Election <strong>2020</strong> would continue to be<br />
wordy, nasty, and even personal,<br />
just as it has been over the past few<br />
elections.<br />
We would ask the parties<br />
involved to exercise restraint and<br />
concentrate on issues of concern to<br />
New Zealanders.<br />
According to her National<br />
Party profile, she holds a Bachelor<br />
of Laws, Master of Laws with<br />
Honours and a Master of Taxation<br />
Studies from the University of<br />
Auckland and was a lawyer and<br />
company director before being<br />
elected to Parliament.<br />
Mr Brownlee said he was there<br />
to support Collins “and the rest of<br />
the team and that is what I will be<br />
doing.” He ruled out ever wanting<br />
the leadership.<br />
No further distractions<br />
Ms Collins replaced Todd Muller,<br />
who resigned on July 14, <strong>2020</strong>,<br />
saying that it had become clear he<br />
was not the best person for the job.<br />
Mr Brownlee offered his<br />
sympathies.<br />
“I was devastated for Todd<br />
Muller and his family, I found Todd<br />
a wonderful person to work with<br />
... I am sure that he will continue<br />
to be just that,” he said.<br />
Ms Collins said that the Party<br />
would continue to support Mr<br />
Muller in what was a difficult time.<br />
She said it was important that<br />
National MPs had no further<br />
distractions before the Election.
08<br />
AUGUST 1, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Electionlink<br />
Expect more scandals and fall outs as Gotcha Politics grips<br />
Peter Dunne<br />
The 52nd Parliament is hurtling<br />
towards an inglorious end.<br />
It will finish in just over two<br />
weeks and will be dissolved<br />
shortly thereafter on <strong>August</strong> 12, <strong>2020</strong> in<br />
preparation for the September 19, <strong>2020</strong><br />
general election.<br />
It has been a dramatic term –<br />
dominated by huge tragedies, from the<br />
Christchurch Mosques massacres, to the<br />
Whakaari White Island eruption, and<br />
now Covid-19.<br />
But in recent weeks, the focus has<br />
been more on what many would<br />
describe as farce.<br />
The revelations concerning the<br />
personal conduct lapses of a number<br />
of MPs that led them to stand down<br />
have raised many questions about<br />
the culture of Parliament, the stresses<br />
placed upon MPs, and the responsibility<br />
of political parties.<br />
But while inappropriate and unprofessional<br />
conduct by MPs should never<br />
be condoned, no matter their status, the<br />
current situation needs to be kept in<br />
perspective.<br />
Turnover of MPs<br />
The present number of 20 MPs (at<br />
last count) standing down at this elec-<br />
Hamish Walker Andrew Falloon Iain Lees-Galloway<br />
tion is not out of line with the numbers<br />
retiring at previous elections.<br />
Historically, New Zealand has had a<br />
relatively frequent turnover of MPs, the<br />
average length of service is just over six<br />
years. Of the MPs elected at the 2014<br />
election, 53 have now either retired<br />
or been defeated. Only 26 of the MPs<br />
elected at the 2011 election are seeking<br />
re-election this year.<br />
So, the turnover of MPs is not the<br />
problem; indeed, many would argue<br />
that a frequent turnover and refreshing<br />
of the House is no bad thing. Others argue<br />
for term limits to stop MPs serving<br />
for too long, although just as many are<br />
surprised to learn that very few MPs<br />
serve for more than ten to fifteen years,<br />
let alone longer.<br />
Also, the average age of MPs has been<br />
dropping over the years, meaning that,<br />
consistent with patterns in the wider<br />
workforce, MPs are more likely to move<br />
on to do other things, as part of a range<br />
of career experiences.<br />
If anything, the turnover rate for<br />
MPs is therefore likely to increase in the<br />
years ahead.<br />
Personal conduct lapses<br />
But the unusual thing about this<br />
year’s crop of Parliamentary departures<br />
is the number where the decision to<br />
stand aside has been brought about<br />
by circumstances relating to personal<br />
conduct. During this term, National has<br />
been rocked by the scandals involving<br />
Jami-Lee Ross (now running as an<br />
independent and unlikely to succeed);<br />
Hamish Walker and Andrew Falloon.<br />
But the problem is not solely related to<br />
National. Labour has lost two Ministers<br />
for personal conduct lapses: Meka<br />
Whaitiri following an altercation with<br />
a staff member (although she is seeking<br />
re-election as an MP) and now Iain<br />
Lees-Galloway, as well as others for<br />
incompetence.<br />
The Lees-Galloway saga<br />
Most of the cases have been clear-cut,<br />
but there are some aspects of the<br />
Lees-Galloway case that are curious. He<br />
had been a controversial Immigration<br />
Minister, and there had previously<br />
been calls for his resignation, especially<br />
in the wake of his decision to grant<br />
residency to the convicted Czech drug<br />
smuggler Karel Sroubek, who had a<br />
lengthy criminal record in both the<br />
Czech Republic and New Zealand. Had<br />
the Prime Minister dismissed him at the<br />
time of that incident, there would have<br />
been little argument, given the lapse of<br />
judgement involved and his admission<br />
that he had not read the full file before<br />
making his decision.<br />
Yet she did not, and instead backed<br />
him strongly. All of which makes the<br />
decision to get rid of him now because<br />
of a consensual affair with a staff<br />
Tuariki Delamare to contest in Auckland Central<br />
The former<br />
Immigration Minister<br />
returns to politics<br />
after 20 years for TOP<br />
Supplied Content<br />
Former Immigration Minister<br />
Tuariki Delamere has jointed<br />
The Opportunities Party<br />
(TOP) as Auckland Central<br />
candidate and Spokesperson for<br />
Immigration.<br />
Mr Delamere is a former New<br />
Zealand First MP and a Cabinet<br />
Minister under the first MMP<br />
Coalition Government. He held<br />
ministerial portfolios including<br />
Immigration and Overseas<br />
Investment Office.<br />
Since 1999, he has owned<br />
and managed his Immigration<br />
Consultancy Tuariki Delamere &<br />
Associates and the famous Finale<br />
Restaurant & Cabaret on Karangahape<br />
Road in Auckland CBD.<br />
He was also Political Advisor to<br />
Māori Monarch King Tuheitia.<br />
Impressive policies<br />
Mr Delamare said that he chose<br />
to join TOP after a break of 20<br />
years because of its impressive policies<br />
and the passion of candidates<br />
to the Party.<br />
“I was impressed by the enthusiasm,<br />
passion, and commitment<br />
of the candidates in 2017. This<br />
year, I realised that if I was serious<br />
about maximising TOP’s chances<br />
then I should get off the side-lines<br />
and offer myself as a candidate,”<br />
he said.<br />
His record and reputation in<br />
Parliament was that of fighting<br />
for what is right, not what is<br />
politically convenient at the time.<br />
As Associate Treasurer in 1996,<br />
he faced down the National Party<br />
over funding for Te Matatini, after<br />
discovering that the single biggest<br />
cultural event in New Zealand<br />
received zero funding from the<br />
Government.<br />
Mr Delamere told the then<br />
Prime Minister Jim Bolger that he<br />
would vote against the Budget,<br />
which resulted in Te Matatini receiving<br />
$1 million of state funding.<br />
As Immigration Spokesperson<br />
for TOP, Mr Delamere brings a<br />
wealth of experience to the role as<br />
former Immigration Minister and<br />
Tuariki Delamare (Picture by Dileepa<br />
Fonseka for Stuff)<br />
current immigration lawyer.<br />
He said that Delamere New<br />
Zealand will always need migrants.<br />
Wrong immigration mix<br />
“Recent governments have<br />
continued to get the immigration<br />
mix wrong and allowed high<br />
numbers of people to migrate<br />
to New Zealand who provide no<br />
discernible benefit to New Zealand.<br />
TOP welcomes immigration<br />
policies that will benefit New<br />
Zealand but will vigorously oppose<br />
immigration policies with no<br />
perceivable benefit to the country,”<br />
Mr Delamere said.<br />
He has taken aim at the government’s<br />
handling of thousands of<br />
skilled migrant residence visas sitting<br />
in backlog under Immigration<br />
New Zealand (INZ).<br />
Many of these applicants have<br />
waited a year or longer for a<br />
decision, he said.<br />
“The current fiasco of 15,000<br />
skilled migrant residence visa<br />
applications just sitting, not being<br />
processed is a gross indictment<br />
on the Government. This fiasco<br />
continues to grow exponentially<br />
with every passing day of the<br />
Covid-19 pandemic. It is clear that<br />
many will be declined and told to<br />
return to their home country. The<br />
Government needs to be open,<br />
transparent, and honest with these<br />
15,000 applicants,” Mr Delamare<br />
said.<br />
Quota system squashed<br />
One of his first actions as Immigration<br />
Minister was to cancel a<br />
quota limit singling out students<br />
from China which he considered<br />
“racist and discriminatory.”<br />
“China had an imposed quota<br />
of 400 students. However, we<br />
had many thousands of students<br />
from Malaysia, South Korea,<br />
Japan, Vietnam, Thailand. Why<br />
was that? There was no quota for<br />
any other country, just China. I<br />
immediately cancelled China’s<br />
quota because it was racist and<br />
discriminatory, and made it<br />
open like any other country,”<br />
he said.<br />
TOP Leader Geoff Simmons<br />
welcomed Delamere as an<br />
experienced candidate for<br />
the hotly contested Auckland<br />
Central electorate, especially<br />
following current MP Nikki<br />
Kaye’s retirement from politics.<br />
“There is no one like Tuariki<br />
Delamere in New Zealand politics,<br />
and we are looking forward<br />
to the September Election with<br />
him beside us. He has acted as<br />
an Advisor to our Executive<br />
Team for some time now, and<br />
we are proud to have him on<br />
the team in a public facing role<br />
as a candidate,” Mr Simmons<br />
said.<br />
Mr Delamare said that he<br />
is focused on the survival and<br />
prosperity of Auckland Central.<br />
“TOP’s policies offer solutions<br />
to tackle today’s problems,<br />
many of which are present in<br />
my electorate. I am looking<br />
forward to once more working<br />
for a better, brighter, kinder<br />
New Zealand,” he said.<br />
About The Opportunities<br />
Party<br />
The vision of The<br />
Opportunities Party is to<br />
create the greenest economy<br />
in the world through science,<br />
technology, and innovation. The<br />
Party believes in the younger<br />
generation regaining access to<br />
the housing market, preserving<br />
and regenerating New Zealand’s<br />
extraordinary environment.<br />
“So, we are once again known<br />
internationally as the place talent<br />
wants to live. TOP believes<br />
that it is time to enshrine our<br />
democratic freedoms with a<br />
constitution, and to safeguard<br />
our independence from foreign<br />
influence,” Mr Simmons said.<br />
“The days of an economy<br />
based on selling houses to each<br />
other, with the profits exported<br />
directly to the Australian banks,<br />
or where we continue to exploit<br />
the environment and watch<br />
carbon emissions rise along<br />
with the world’s sea levels, have<br />
to end,” Mr Delamare said.<br />
As New Zealand gets set for general election,<br />
the two main players- Labour Party under<br />
Jacinda Ardern and National Party under<br />
Judith Collins will hope to bank on their<br />
individual charisma to steer their respective Parties<br />
to victory.<br />
However, the outcome of the elections will be<br />
determined not by the individual charisma but the<br />
substance of the policy which will be articulated<br />
by both Parties, how the cadres will be able to steer<br />
their chances to the electorate and of course the<br />
complex arithmetic of the coalition politics.<br />
Labour Party<br />
From Labour Party’s point, as an incumbent<br />
Party, it has built a of a government that would<br />
bring transformative policies on the strength of<br />
which employment and incomes.<br />
This approach, Labour supporters say, would ride<br />
better through global ups and downs than under<br />
the present National Party.<br />
Labour will present its case to the electorate that<br />
it will be tested in some corers.<br />
Unlike Helen Clark’s time when it had the luxury<br />
of having talented leaders such as Phil Goff, David<br />
Cunliffe and Martin Gallagher, the Labour Party<br />
today does not seem to have strong people to handle<br />
key portfolios.<br />
New talents such as Priyanca Radhakrishnan<br />
will prove their mettle in the government if given<br />
an opportunity to handle key portfolios such as<br />
Defence.<br />
All in all, one can agree that Ms Ardern has<br />
member that ended some time ago<br />
and was apparently widely known a<br />
little puzzling. It leaves unanswered<br />
questions about whether, for example,<br />
he used his Ministerial position to the<br />
advantage of the staff member. The<br />
Prime Minister’s call – after the sacking<br />
– for Ministerial Services to investigate<br />
whether any official resources had been<br />
misused during the affair is also bizarre.<br />
Normally, the evidence is gathered first<br />
in a serious matter like this, not called<br />
for after the event.<br />
Potential embarrassment<br />
Overall, it raises the suspicion that<br />
Lees-Galloway’s dismissal was based<br />
more on getting shy of a potential embarrassment<br />
ahead of the election than<br />
a judgment on his personal conduct. The<br />
Prime Minister may also have felt she<br />
had no alternative, given both the way<br />
in which the Leader of the Opposition<br />
had raised the matter, and had the<br />
previous day dismissed Andrew Falloon.<br />
Whatever the reason, it will have<br />
further eroded confidence in a political<br />
system reeling after recent events.<br />
Nominations to stand for Parliament<br />
at this year’s election close on <strong>August</strong> 21.<br />
With dark rumours still swirling from<br />
both sides of politics, and the mentality<br />
of “gotcha politics” that has become an<br />
unwelcome aspect of New Zealand politics<br />
in recent years, the daunting reality<br />
now is that more scandals coming to<br />
light before then cannot, unfortunately,<br />
be ruled out.<br />
Peter Dunne was a Minister of the Crown in<br />
the Labour and National-led governments<br />
from November 1999 to September 2017. He<br />
lives in Wellington.<br />
Election <strong>2020</strong> will transcend personalities to policies<br />
Balaji Chandramohan<br />
This year, Transparency International New Zealand<br />
(TINZ) asked each political party to answer<br />
seven questions that are important to addressing<br />
corruption through building stronger integrity<br />
systems with greater accountability and transparency.<br />
These questions are about fighting corruption,<br />
integrity, accountability and transparency.<br />
Parties’ responses will be provided in the <strong>August</strong><br />
edition of Transparency Times.<br />
Meantime, below is a list of suggested open-ended<br />
questions for voters to ask candidates.<br />
Voters’ concerns<br />
TINZ knows that many voters have the same concerns<br />
as TINZ has. These questions are for readers to ask their<br />
candidates. Readers are also encouraged to pass on this<br />
newsletter to other voters, referring them to this list of<br />
questions: (1) Integrity and trust- What does political<br />
integrity mean to you? What will you do to build trust in<br />
your leadership and your party?<br />
2) Post pandemic recovery (2) As the country deals<br />
with Covid-19 response and recovery, what will you<br />
do to (pick any) Prevent the misuse of public funds for<br />
personal gain? Deliver relief fairly and transparently?<br />
Protect democracy and fundamental human rights?<br />
Respect Treaty partners? (3) Political Party and campaign<br />
funding-What actions are you personally taking to disclose<br />
your campaign funding from all sources? How will<br />
Jacinda Arden<br />
Judith Collins<br />
travelled a long way from the back benches to the<br />
post of Prime Minister, proving herself as an adept<br />
lawmaker especially when her Party was in crisis.<br />
Another aspect of which the Labour Party will be<br />
tested is the issue on National Security as it comes<br />
close to the elections.<br />
In the past decade, after Ms Clark’s departure<br />
from the New Zealand political scene, Labour has<br />
focused more on the immediate issues concerning<br />
the welfare of the New Zealanders than on the<br />
abstract and complicated issues related to national<br />
security.<br />
National Party<br />
On the other hand, National, under Judith<br />
Collins, will hope to replicate its chance of winning<br />
and hope to see the days when some of the calibre<br />
of John Key was able to get back the voters to<br />
turn their head on him through his charismatic<br />
leadership.<br />
As mentioned, Election <strong>2020</strong> will witness the<br />
clash of personalities – Jacinda Ardern and Judith<br />
Collins but the outcome will be determined by the<br />
substance of the policy which they could articulate<br />
and the complex political manoeuvring involved<br />
before and after the elections.<br />
Balaji Chandramohan is Indian Newslink Correspondent<br />
based in New Delhi, India.<br />
Questions of integrity for political candidates<br />
you make sure that money donated to your campaign<br />
is not given with the expectation of specific policy or<br />
action on your part? (4) Whistle-blowers-Describe your<br />
attitude about whistle-blowers who expose wrongdoing,<br />
(or alternative question): Are there too many, or too few,<br />
whistle-blowers in New Zealand, and why?<br />
Note: A whistle-blower is a person who exposes<br />
secretive information or activity within a private or<br />
public organization that is deemed illegal, unethical, or<br />
not correct (Wikipedia).<br />
These questions for voters to ask candidates, are<br />
downloadable (.pdf format).<br />
Questionnaires for political parties<br />
In this election cycle, TINZ is asking each political party<br />
to complete a similar but more detailed questionnaire.<br />
Responses will be published in the <strong>August</strong> Transparency<br />
Times, on our website, and through social media in<br />
advance of the election.<br />
Our members contributed to the development of these<br />
questions which align with our mission – fighting corruption,<br />
integrity, accountability and transparency. Our<br />
aim is to examine each political party’s understanding of<br />
anti-corruption issues and their ideas about addressing<br />
them.<br />
The above article appeared in the July <strong>2020</strong> issue of Transpar<br />
ency Times of Transparency International
AUGUST 1, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Unemployment, free training lift student numbers at institutions<br />
John Gerritsen<br />
Victoria University and Manukau<br />
Institute of Technology have<br />
reported hundreds more midyear<br />
enrolments than normal as<br />
job opportunities dry up because of the<br />
pandemic’s impact on the economy.<br />
Both institutions say that the average<br />
age of the new students is higher than<br />
normal and the enrolments are skewed<br />
toward postgraduate qualifications,<br />
trades, and nursing.<br />
Victoria University<br />
Victoria University Vice-Chancellor<br />
Grant Guilford said it received hundreds<br />
more mid-year applications than usual.<br />
“That has flowed through close to<br />
700 more enrolments than we had last<br />
year, or close to double what we had<br />
last year. Of these, 550 students received<br />
fees scholarships that the University<br />
is offering to people affected by the<br />
pandemic,” he said.<br />
Historically, enrolments increased<br />
whenever unemployment increased, he<br />
said.<br />
Sourced Content<br />
Education New Zealand (ENZ)<br />
has awarded funding to New<br />
Zealand academics under the<br />
long-standing New Zealand-China<br />
Tripartite Fund and for the first time,<br />
an arrangement with leading Brazilian<br />
research foundation agency FAPESP.<br />
Online work encouraged<br />
ENZ has pledged $105,000 to the<br />
FAPESP under the inaugural funding<br />
collaboration. This will fund nine<br />
research projects, each led in tandem<br />
with academics from New Zealand and<br />
Brazil.<br />
And for the 15th year, ENZ has<br />
supported the joint work of New<br />
“When the economy starts to drop<br />
off, jobs start to become more difficult<br />
to hold on to, people tend to particularly<br />
turn to the humanities and social<br />
sciences and the commerce faculties in<br />
that situation. So, that is where we are<br />
expecting to see the biggest lift and it<br />
seems to be playing out this year as well.<br />
There are already signs that next year’s<br />
enrolments would be higher,” he said.<br />
Manukau Institute of Technology<br />
Manukau Institute of Technology<br />
Chief Executive Gus Gilmore said it had<br />
about 650 more mid-year enrolments<br />
than at the same time last year.<br />
“Our Semester Two enrolments are<br />
tracking currently 60% up on last year<br />
and a lot of that growth is in the trades<br />
area. Engineering, <strong>Digital</strong> Technologies<br />
and Nursing are all showing strong<br />
growth.<br />
We are seeing an older age profile<br />
coming through the applications where<br />
the 26 to 35-year-olds and 36 to 45 are<br />
showing really strong increases,” he<br />
said.<br />
Internationalisation remains a key focus for ENZ<br />
Zealand and Chinese researchers<br />
through the Tripartite Fund. This year’s<br />
funding round provided NZ $20,000 to<br />
five projects (rather than the traditional<br />
NZ $30,000 to three) due to the ongoing<br />
COVID-19 travel restrictions.<br />
As the government is currently<br />
advising New Zealanders not to travel<br />
internationally, this funding was pledged<br />
on the proviso that the researchers either<br />
work together online or delay any international<br />
travel to a later date.<br />
Internationalisation is a crucial part of<br />
the New Zealand International Education<br />
Strategy (NZIES) under all three pillars.<br />
ENZ Chief Executive Grant McPherson<br />
said that supporting and investing in<br />
international academic mobility is a unique<br />
way of achieving the goal.<br />
“We see short-term benefits, like person-to-person<br />
links and the strengthening<br />
of diplomatic relationships, as well as<br />
long-term benefits like increased trade<br />
flow,” he said.<br />
Global links forged<br />
Building international links between<br />
Many of the students had lost their<br />
jobs and needed to retrain, and many<br />
were benefiting from the government’s<br />
decision to make some trades training<br />
fees-free from July, he said.<br />
Canterbury Institute of Technology<br />
Canterbury Institute of Technology<br />
(Ara) Tony Gray said its enrolments were<br />
about 5% or 6% higher than normal,<br />
but he was expecting more enrolments<br />
throughout the year.<br />
“There are a whole range of other<br />
things that are coming into play. I do<br />
institutions can also directly impact<br />
their rankings.<br />
Times Higher Education recently<br />
released their Latin America University<br />
Rankings <strong>2020</strong>, which featured seven<br />
Brazilian universities in the top 10.<br />
The Times Higher Education’s<br />
methodology includes five factors<br />
– learning environment, research,<br />
citations, international outlooks and<br />
industry income – all of which can be<br />
positively impacted by initiatives like<br />
the NZ-FAPESP funding and Tripartite<br />
Fund.<br />
“Internationalisation is all about<br />
building and maintaining relationships.<br />
I am very proud that ENZ has not<br />
only managed to sustain this crucial<br />
link with China, but built new connections<br />
with Brazil,” Mr McPherson said.<br />
Educationlink<br />
09<br />
not think that we have seen yet the full<br />
context of the targeted training and<br />
apprenticeship funds that have been<br />
released, and I do not think that we<br />
have seen the full impact of what is<br />
happening from an economic point of<br />
view either,” Mr Gray said.<br />
AUT<br />
AUT Vice-Chancellor Derek McCormack<br />
said that domestic enrolments<br />
were about 150 students lower than at<br />
the same time last year, but the gap had<br />
been closing steadily this week.<br />
It was not yet experiencing a pandemic-influenced<br />
jump in enrolments,<br />
McCormack said.<br />
“It might be a bit of a lag phase<br />
as people think through what they<br />
are doing as some jobs now start to<br />
become non-viable, some companies<br />
down-sizing after they’ve gone through<br />
a period of wage subsidy. I think that we<br />
might see that happening perhaps in the<br />
first semester next year rather than right<br />
now,” Mr McCormack said.<br />
John Gerritsen is Education Correspondent<br />
for Radio New Zealand. The above Report has<br />
been published under a Special Arrangement<br />
with www.rnz.co.nz<br />
“Over the history of the Tripartite<br />
Fund, we have seen positive outcomes<br />
across a variety of research areas<br />
including environmental protection<br />
and climate change, health and<br />
medicine, animal science, educational<br />
development, media literacy, renewable<br />
energy and the conservation<br />
and heritage of national parks. The<br />
partnership with FAPESP also started<br />
with relevant areas for New Zealand,<br />
like education, engineering, biological<br />
sciences and health. It is a mark of the<br />
high-quality and reputation of New<br />
Zealand’s universities’ that they all are<br />
able to enter in the Tripartite Fund<br />
and arrangements like the one with<br />
FAPESP,” he added.<br />
Source: Education New Zealand<br />
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10<br />
AUGUST 1, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Fijilink<br />
Fiji goes for high deficit US$ 1.7 billion Budget<br />
Christine Rovoi<br />
Fiji’s government has projected a<br />
$US 1.7 billion National Budget for<br />
the <strong>2020</strong>-2021 financial year.<br />
In delivering the historic Budget<br />
on July 17, <strong>2020</strong>, Minister for Economy<br />
and Finance Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum<br />
also announced a $US 930 million<br />
stimulus package to fund the country’s<br />
recovery from the impact of the Covid-19<br />
pandemic.<br />
He said that the deficit will be steep - at<br />
20.2%, pushing the debt to GDP ratio to<br />
83.4%.<br />
But the costs of doing nothing were far<br />
steeper, Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said.<br />
Restructuring loans<br />
“The government has worked with<br />
financial sector to restructure over $US<br />
1.6 billion in loans, freeing businesses<br />
and families from mandatory monthly<br />
loan repayments,” he said.<br />
He said that 86,000 Fijians had<br />
accessed relief payments from their pension<br />
fund (Fiji National Provident Fund)<br />
in phase one of unemployment benefits<br />
and another 26,000 were accessing relief<br />
payments in phase two.<br />
“Over F$ 62 million has been paid<br />
out to the affected Fijians, with the<br />
government stepping in with around<br />
F$12 million to top-up accounts to ensure<br />
that full payments were delivered to all<br />
who qualified.<br />
The third phase of unemployment<br />
relief would be funded by the government<br />
with another $US 9.3 million,” Mr<br />
Sayed-Khaiyum said.<br />
Tax reductions and rebate package<br />
He said that tax reductions, valued at<br />
about $US 232 million, “an unprecedented<br />
sacrifice.”<br />
“Apart from the reduction in taxes,<br />
the government will be working through<br />
Fiji Airways to provide the first 150,000<br />
visitors with a once-in-a-lifetime travel<br />
Fiji’s National Economy and Finance Minister<br />
Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum<br />
stipend of around $US 185 per passenger<br />
to go towards tourism packages<br />
including flights, hotels and meals and<br />
beverages,” he said and announced a<br />
recovery rebate package worth $US 28<br />
million to revitalise the tourism sector.<br />
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said that the move<br />
was aimed at filling hotels by creating<br />
attractive packages for visitors to escape<br />
the pandemic in “paradise.”<br />
“This has the potential to rekindle the<br />
immense, far-reaching economic impact<br />
the industry has on Fijian families,” he<br />
said.<br />
Remittances<br />
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said that Fiji’s<br />
remittances are projected to fall 15% as<br />
other economies decline and that foreign<br />
direct investment is set to plunge 40%.<br />
The once-thriving garment-makers<br />
have seen orders halted and supply<br />
chains disrupted.<br />
“Driven by this global fallout, we<br />
are now projecting the single largest<br />
economic contraction in Fijian history,<br />
some 21.7%. Already, 115,000 Fijians -<br />
one-third of our workforce - have had<br />
their hours reduced or lost their jobs<br />
entirely,” he said.<br />
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said that the government<br />
had allocated $US 9.2 million<br />
for unemployment relief.<br />
Those whose working days or hours<br />
have been reduced are to receive $US<br />
20.40 per fortnight for everyday out<br />
of work. Workers who are now only<br />
employed three days a week can get up<br />
to $US 40.70 every two weeks. Those<br />
working only one day a week can receive<br />
$US 81.50 and unemployed people are to<br />
receive $US 101.90 per fortnight.<br />
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said that before<br />
the pandemic, Fiji expected its tourism<br />
numbers to climb.<br />
“We were expecting to welcome a<br />
number of tourists that matched the<br />
number of Fijians. But with international<br />
passenger flights grounded, tourism<br />
revenues have evaporated. That is 40%<br />
of our GDP lost in a matter of days, or<br />
even hours, and the ripple effects have<br />
dropped Fiji’s economic activity to its<br />
lowest level ever,” he said.<br />
Tourism tax removal<br />
To assist the tourism industry,<br />
operators get back on their feet, the<br />
government has removed the 6% Service<br />
Turnover Tax (STT).<br />
He said that other measures include<br />
reducing the Environment and Climate<br />
Adaptation Levy from 10% to 5% across<br />
the board, removing F$ 100 off the<br />
departure tax.<br />
“For the reduced ECAL, the turnover<br />
threshold is now F$ 3 million annually,<br />
more than double the previous amount<br />
of F$ 1.25 million. So, for mid-sized<br />
tourism operators and other businesses<br />
like restaurants, rental car companies<br />
and cafes, ECAL is dropping to zero,” Mr<br />
Sayed-Khaiyum said.<br />
Business licence ends<br />
He said that from <strong>August</strong> 1, <strong>2020</strong>, the<br />
business license regime will end.<br />
Anyone keen on starting a business<br />
in Fiji in the next financial year can<br />
complete an “easy, online business<br />
incorporation and tax registration and<br />
you’re in business.”<br />
Mr Khaiyum said that there is no<br />
longer necessary to fork out the money<br />
or the time it takes to obtain a business<br />
licence in Fiji.<br />
But he said there were some guidance<br />
around this.<br />
“Once they have registered with the<br />
Companies Office, low-risk businesses<br />
(for example, a shoe store) can open<br />
their doors and start selling to customers<br />
immediately.<br />
“Other higher risk businesses,<br />
which involve people’s health, such<br />
as restaurants, will need to tick a few<br />
more regulatory boxes before starting<br />
operations,” he said.<br />
Salary, spending cuts<br />
The government will cut salaries for<br />
all Permanent Secretaries, CEOs and<br />
Heads of Commissions and independent<br />
bodies by 10%, effective from next<br />
month.<br />
This does not apply to the legislature<br />
and judiciary as they are independent<br />
arms of the State, Mr Sayed-Khaiyum<br />
said.<br />
He said that in the Covid-19 Response<br />
Budget released in March <strong>2020</strong>,<br />
government ministers had taken the first<br />
salary cut of 20%, which would remain<br />
through the next year.<br />
“For the rest of the Civil Service, we<br />
are not cutting salaries. Pay cuts start<br />
with the leadership and that is where the<br />
biggest cuts have stopped, because that<br />
what leaders do,” he said.<br />
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said that the government<br />
aims to reduce spending: meal<br />
allowances from $20 to $10. Instead of<br />
paying overtime, the government would<br />
give ‘time enough in lieu of overtime.’<br />
“We will be suspending the rural housing<br />
allowance and bundled insurance<br />
will now only apply to social welfare<br />
recipients,” he said.<br />
Other budgetary announcements<br />
The guaranteed price for cane in the<br />
final third season will be reduced from<br />
$US 39 top $US 32 a tonne.<br />
The data levy, introduced last year<br />
and the telecommunications service<br />
licensing fee, have been replaced with a<br />
2% revenue-based telecommunications<br />
licence fee.<br />
For subsidised customers of Energy<br />
Fiji Limited, the first 100 units of power<br />
will continue to be discounted through<br />
March 31, 2021.<br />
The Fiji Roads Authority (FRA) has<br />
been allocated $US 162 million, up from<br />
$US 128 million in the Covid-19 Response<br />
Budget, with $US 32.4 million for road<br />
rehabilitation.<br />
Free education will continue with<br />
free textbooks provided. Subsidised<br />
transportation to school will be paid by<br />
the government.<br />
Free medicine would be paid as a part<br />
of the free healthcare access.<br />
Funding to NGOs will continue.<br />
Vulnerable citizens will continue to<br />
receive special efforts to ensure they<br />
keep pace with others<br />
The government will cut $US 3.7<br />
million across its foreign missions by<br />
centralising country accreditation.<br />
Missions in Washington DC, Seoul, Port<br />
Moresby, Brussels and Kuala Lumpur<br />
will be closed permanently.<br />
Instead, diplomatic missions in<br />
Geneva, New York, Tokyo, London,<br />
Abu Dhabi, Wellington, Beijing, Jakarta,<br />
New Delhi and Canberra will expand<br />
country accreditation and engage more<br />
locally-based staff. For example, the New<br />
York Mission will represent Fiji in Washington,<br />
which is only one hour away by<br />
plane, Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said.<br />
The Fijian Parliament will resume on<br />
July 22, <strong>2020</strong> and the Budget debate will<br />
begin on July 30.<br />
Christine Rovoi is Pacific Journalist at Radio<br />
New Zealand. The above Report and Picture<br />
have been published under a Special Arrangement<br />
with www.rnz.co.nz<br />
Priyanca<br />
Radhakrishnan<br />
Labour List MP based in Maungakiekie<br />
Maungakiekie Office<br />
09 622 2660<br />
priyanca@parliament.govt.nz<br />
Level 1 Crighton House,<br />
100 Neilson St, Onehunga<br />
(entrance via Galway St)<br />
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AUGUST 1, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Team of Six Million’ dubs Covid quarantine fees unfair<br />
Laura Walters<br />
Overseas Kiwis affected by the<br />
new managed isolation fees say<br />
that the Policy does not stand up<br />
to the usual tests of efficiency or<br />
fairness.<br />
When Minister in charge of Managed<br />
Isolation and Quarantine Dr Megan<br />
Woods announced a new, user-pays managed<br />
isolation system, expat Facebook<br />
groups quickly became crammed with<br />
impassioned comments.<br />
Coordinated opposition<br />
Over the past few weeks, these groups<br />
have been dedicated to mounting a coordinated,<br />
sustained and well-reasoned<br />
opposition to a fee for Kiwis coming into<br />
the country.<br />
There have been surveys, petitions and<br />
legal advice, as well as the exploration<br />
of potential human rights breaches and<br />
breaches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, should a<br />
charge be introduced.<br />
The pages have been filled with<br />
tear-inducing stories about those who<br />
would be cut off from spouses, children<br />
and parents.<br />
At first glance, the Government has<br />
done exactly what many overseas Kiwis<br />
feared: there will soon be a $3100 fee<br />
for the first person’s two-week stay in<br />
managed isolation, with a $950 charge<br />
for each additional adult, and $475 for<br />
each additional child.<br />
The Policy in practice<br />
But a second look shows that is not<br />
really how the policy would work in<br />
practice.<br />
Anyone moving home permanently<br />
would be exempt. Those unable to pay<br />
will be exempt. People with sick or dying<br />
Quarantine fees will apply just to 10% of arriving<br />
people (Photo for Newsroom by John Sefton)<br />
relatives: exempt. Other extenuating<br />
circumstances: probably exempt.<br />
It is those occupying the “squeezed<br />
middle” who look most likely to be<br />
affected. A small number who are not<br />
in financial hardship, but generally<br />
live pay-check to pay-check, and would<br />
struggle to travel with this added cost.<br />
Given that there is such a long list of<br />
exemptions: why bother at all?<br />
The fees are expected to apply to just<br />
10% of those using managed isolation<br />
and the amount that the government<br />
expects to recover in costs is between $2<br />
million and $9 million.<br />
It will cost $600,000 to administer.<br />
It is about fairness<br />
When asked if the law was supposed<br />
to be a deterrent, rather than a revenue<br />
gatherer, Dr Woods said, “No, it is about<br />
fairness.”<br />
Sense Partners Economist Shamubeel<br />
Eaqub said that every policy needs to<br />
meet an efficiency and fairness test.<br />
“I suspect that efficiency is limited in<br />
this case, given regulatory burden and<br />
very low revenue likely to be generated,”<br />
he said.<br />
But not all the costs and benefits are<br />
financial, and the trade-off between<br />
fairness and efficiency are not equal.<br />
Some of it is about signalling that the<br />
government is using the country’s collective<br />
resources wisely and thwarting<br />
free-loaders.<br />
Mr Eaqub said that from a purely<br />
economic perspective, this Policy will<br />
Transparency comes to the fore as polling date nears<br />
Suzanne Snively<br />
On September 19, <strong>2020</strong>,<br />
New Zealanders will<br />
elect the government<br />
that will lead the<br />
economy towards recovery<br />
from the downturn caused by<br />
the unprecedented Covid-19<br />
pandemic crisis.<br />
Political parties are in election<br />
mode already. Candidate<br />
selections are being completed.<br />
The Parties’ list candidates are<br />
being confirmed. Parliament<br />
is sitting late into the evening<br />
to progress as much legislation<br />
as possible prior to the<br />
official beginning of the election<br />
campaign.<br />
Elections and the Economy<br />
In past election years, once<br />
the central Government campaigning<br />
starts, the economy<br />
has tended to march in place.<br />
It is only when the election<br />
outcome is clear, that activity<br />
begins to gear up again.<br />
The extent of the normal preand<br />
post-election slowdown<br />
may be allayed with the current<br />
coalition Government’s extension<br />
of the $5.2 billion business<br />
cash-flow loan scheme for<br />
Covid-19 impacted businesses<br />
until the end of the year.<br />
The challenge is to find<br />
timely economic data that is<br />
as transparent as the daily<br />
reporting of Covid cases. Such<br />
transparency to inform<br />
business decision-making will<br />
be the difference between the<br />
government stimulus package<br />
aligning with business.<br />
It is also a way to ensure that<br />
the business sector invests in<br />
future prosperity instead of<br />
resources being channelled into<br />
corrupt purposes.<br />
Politicians fill the vacuum<br />
generated by limited economic<br />
data with their own analysis of<br />
the likely outcome of economic<br />
policies. This is where transparency<br />
about the basis for<br />
their analysis and the integrity<br />
about their reasoning leading<br />
to outcomes, is important for<br />
voters.<br />
Addressing corruption<br />
As has become customary,<br />
Transparency International<br />
New Zealand (TINZ) has<br />
prepared a questionnaire for<br />
all major political parties about<br />
their approach to addressing<br />
corruption through strengthening<br />
integrity systems.<br />
There are two innovations in<br />
this year’s questionnaire. One is<br />
feedback from TINZ’s members<br />
to shape the questions. Secondly,<br />
the questions are designed to<br />
gain an understanding of how<br />
the different political parties<br />
are preparing to ensure that<br />
spending during the pandemic<br />
recovery is applied to support<br />
business recovery, rather than<br />
for corrupt purpose.<br />
Political parties have been<br />
asked to provide answers<br />
about their approach to<br />
preventing corruption through<br />
their principles, values, and<br />
practices in 7 broad areas: (1)<br />
Post pandemic recovery (2)<br />
Political party and campaign<br />
funding (3) Code of ethics (4)<br />
Protection for whistle-blowers<br />
(5) Sustainable development (6)<br />
Open government (7) Beneficial<br />
ownership<br />
The responses will be published<br />
in our <strong>August</strong> edition.<br />
Questions for voters,<br />
candidates<br />
Another TINZ initiative for<br />
this important pandemic-recovery<br />
election has been to develop<br />
a set of questions that members<br />
of the public can ask political<br />
candidates.<br />
These open-ended questions<br />
not be worth the bother.<br />
“But from a political economy perspective,<br />
it is,” he said.<br />
Dr Woods said that all Kiwis would<br />
agree a fee is fair “in the right balance.”<br />
Election strategy<br />
But with September 19 (general election)<br />
looming, this decision seems to be<br />
more about being seen to be fair, rather<br />
than actually enacting a fair scheme.<br />
Infometrics senior economist Brad<br />
Olsen agrees this needs to be seen in the<br />
context of the upcoming election.<br />
The government needs to have regard<br />
for financial prudence in the face of<br />
higher debt stemming from the pandemic,<br />
and it does not want to be seen as<br />
providing everything for free.<br />
There are no good options here, Mr<br />
Olsen said.<br />
But while the small amount of<br />
revenue generated hardly seems worth<br />
the while, it is important to remember<br />
the country does not have a money tree<br />
funding various Covid-related costs.<br />
Everyone benefits from isolation, he<br />
said.<br />
“If everyone benefits, it seems<br />
appropriate that everyone (taxpayers<br />
and those returning) both shoulder the<br />
cost,” Mr Olsen said.<br />
Debate and disagreement<br />
But those who have been excluded<br />
from the ‘Team of Five Million’ say that<br />
this Policy does not seem fair.<br />
While the debate began under the<br />
guise of cost burdens and the prudent<br />
use of taxpayer funds, it is become about<br />
values and a disagreement over what<br />
constitutes fairness.<br />
It is sad to hear those who are usually<br />
cheerleading for New Zealand (often ad<br />
nauseum) saying they have lost their<br />
pride in their country over the way the<br />
debate has played out.<br />
are broadly aligned with the<br />
topics above.<br />
The antidote for corruption is<br />
integrity.<br />
Parliamentarians have a<br />
major role to play in national<br />
leadership and in their electorates<br />
to contain the virus. The<br />
government has an important<br />
stewardship role.<br />
Transparently monitoring<br />
and reporting negative as well<br />
as positive economic trends<br />
enables everyone to see for<br />
themselves what is working<br />
and what is not working.<br />
Unknown factors<br />
There are many unknowns<br />
about the health consequences<br />
of the novel Covid Coronavirus.<br />
What is known from experience<br />
to date is that integrity of<br />
analysis about the number of<br />
cases and open communication<br />
with the wider public can<br />
reduce the spread of the virus<br />
and save lives.<br />
It can also build assurance<br />
and confidence about the<br />
future.<br />
As New Zealand moves<br />
through response to and<br />
recovery from the Covid-19<br />
pandemic, the government’s<br />
integrity when addressing<br />
corruption becomes more<br />
important than ever.<br />
New Zealand has demonstrated<br />
that our team of five<br />
million can work together<br />
to contain Covid-19. Now, by<br />
strengthening integrity systems,<br />
there can be a more robust economic<br />
recovery. Transparency<br />
leads the way to prosperity.<br />
Suzanne Snively is the Chair of the<br />
Wellington based Transparency<br />
International New Zealand Inc.<br />
The above article appeared in the<br />
July <strong>2020</strong> <strong>Edition</strong> of Transparency<br />
Times.’ Suzanne Snively (Photo<br />
Credit: David Dunsheath)<br />
There has been a string of comments<br />
from Kiwis saying people who abandoned<br />
their country not only did not<br />
deserve government-funded managed<br />
isolation, or call themselves citizens, but<br />
did not deserve to live.<br />
One expat said that they have never<br />
been more disappointed in New Zealand,<br />
another said they were embarrassed to<br />
be a Kiwi.<br />
“It’s a shame that the team of five<br />
million apparently do not care about<br />
anyone but themselves. I was so proud<br />
of you all before. Proud to be a Kiwi<br />
watching you come together to protect<br />
our country and our people. Now all you<br />
have done is show that Kiwis are not so<br />
kind after all,” one said.<br />
Throughout the pandemic, New<br />
Zealand spoke about working as a team;<br />
about coming together (apart).<br />
Looming separation<br />
Now, overseas Kiwis have detailed<br />
how this fee will keep them from<br />
their spouses, their children, and their<br />
parents, at a time when they felt they<br />
needed to be together.<br />
For someone like Yvette Webster, it is<br />
hard to sell this fee policy compromise<br />
as fair.<br />
Webster lives in Scotland with her<br />
husband, and has lost 80% of her income<br />
due to Covid.<br />
Earlier this year, her father was<br />
diagnosed with Stage 3 Cancer. He was<br />
too sick to attend Webster’s wedding in<br />
Scotland, and will undergo surgery later<br />
this year, after four rounds of intense<br />
chemotherapy.<br />
She was planning to travel home in<br />
December after being away for four<br />
years.<br />
Her husband has never met his<br />
father-in-law.<br />
“Paying for quarantine will cripple us<br />
financially and we would have to borrow<br />
09 620 6707<br />
parmjeet.parmar@<br />
parliament.govt.nz<br />
Funded by the Parliamentary Service.<br />
Authorised by Parmjeet Parmar MP,<br />
Parliament Buildings, Wellington.<br />
Businesslink<br />
New Windsor now<br />
part of Mt Roskill<br />
Electorate this<br />
election<br />
I am delighted the Mt Roskill electorate<br />
will include New Windsor and the main<br />
western boundary will be Whitney St. Go<br />
to www.vote.nz for detailed information.<br />
Dr Parmjeet Parmar<br />
National List MP<br />
based in Mt Roskill<br />
11<br />
money to be able to pay for it,” she said.<br />
The real costs<br />
Flights, managed isolation charges,<br />
and the time off work would put the trip<br />
at a cost of $14,000. She has no idea if she<br />
would be exempt from the fee.<br />
Ms Webster said that it is unfair that<br />
expats - and New Zealand-based Kiwis<br />
needing to travel overseas to visit family<br />
- should be lumped with costs when<br />
quarantine benefits everyone.<br />
“A majority of Kiwis are returning<br />
home for genuine reasons. I do not think<br />
that many Kiwis are just planning a<br />
holiday - we have a variety of reasons<br />
for coming home and the majority of<br />
us just want to see our loved ones. The<br />
law change is creating a second class of<br />
citizens who are deemed as ‘tourists’ in<br />
their own country,” she said.<br />
Like others, Ms Webster is eagerly<br />
awaiting further details on how the<br />
system will work.<br />
Team of Six Million<br />
Max Harris, one of the coordinators of<br />
advocacy group The Team of Six Million<br />
- Kiwis United Against Quarantine Fees<br />
said that the decision not to charge those<br />
returning permanently was good news<br />
for thousands of New Zealanders.<br />
For those affected by the scheme, the<br />
announcement was a “major disappointment,<br />
which could cause “significant<br />
hardship.”<br />
“We should not be disconnecting<br />
people from support during this global<br />
pandemic.”<br />
Mr Harris said that his advocacy<br />
group, which has about 3500 members,<br />
is calling on the government to leave the<br />
introduction of regulations until after the<br />
election, when it has a mandate for the<br />
changes.<br />
Laura Walters is Senior Political Reporter at<br />
Newsroom in Wellington, covering Justice,<br />
Education and the upcoming campaign. The<br />
above Report has been published under a<br />
Special Arrangement with Newsroom.
12<br />
AUGUST 1, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Viewlink<br />
Stringent defamation laws toughens editorial calls<br />
The English Fortnightly (Since November 1999)<br />
ISSUE 443 | AUGUST 1, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Police-Community<br />
Partnership gets stronger<br />
Police Commissioner<br />
Andy Coster has set a<br />
laudable target for New<br />
Zealand Police, namely,<br />
strengthening Partnership<br />
with communities.<br />
His objective gains added<br />
dignity since it encompasses<br />
inclusiveness, intensifying<br />
the importance of ethnic<br />
communities.<br />
Describing the Police as a<br />
‘genuine blue line,’ he said that<br />
New Zealand can become the<br />
safest country in the world<br />
only through community<br />
partnerships.<br />
“I am greatly heartened by<br />
the level of collaboration that I<br />
am seeing in communities and<br />
across the public service. We<br />
need to keep building on this,<br />
seeking genuine partnership<br />
to strengthen communities.<br />
There are a range of practical<br />
things that fall out of these<br />
priorities and we have already<br />
started,” he said, speaking at<br />
the Powhiri held in his honour<br />
in Wellington on July 31, <strong>2020</strong>.<br />
An exemplary example<br />
The need for Police-Public<br />
Partnership has never<br />
been stronger and the<br />
Police-Community relationship<br />
has never been stronger as it<br />
is now in New Zealand. The<br />
Christchurch massacre on<br />
March 15, <strong>2020</strong>, which took 51<br />
Electionlink launch<br />
opens battle gates<br />
The launch of ‘Electionlink’<br />
of this newspaper<br />
by Kelvin Davis on<br />
behalf of Labour Party<br />
on July 20, <strong>2020</strong> and by Simon<br />
Bridges on behalf of National<br />
Party on July 27, <strong>2020</strong> marked<br />
the beginning of what promises<br />
to be an honest carrier<br />
of news and views in a major<br />
battle for the ballot.<br />
We have started carrying<br />
views, opinions and features<br />
written by journalists, analysts,<br />
politicians, supporters of political<br />
parties and most important<br />
of all, our people every day.<br />
As in the past, this would be a<br />
no-holds-barred, free-for-all<br />
coverage. Those with strong<br />
political views would be able<br />
to use this veritable platform<br />
openly and frankly, keeping<br />
of course to the confines of<br />
decency and legitimate limits<br />
of propriety.<br />
Elections are fought in the<br />
free world with ferocity, with<br />
politicians and their supporters<br />
accusing their opponents<br />
of almost anything that they<br />
believe, without the obligation<br />
of having to provide any proof.<br />
lives, injuring another 51 or<br />
more persons reiterated the<br />
existence of that relationship.<br />
Looking at a few other countries,<br />
America in particular, it<br />
is evident that New Zealand<br />
can become a prime example<br />
of exemplary Police-Public<br />
Partnership. USA is engulfed in<br />
its most widespread, sustained<br />
unrest in almost 70 years.<br />
In the days since May 25,<br />
<strong>2020</strong>, Americans have seen<br />
their police forces look and act<br />
less like public servants sworn<br />
to protect their fellow citizens<br />
than like an invading army. A<br />
policeman in Brooklyn yanked<br />
off a protester’s mask to<br />
pepper-spray him in the face.<br />
A key part of the approach is<br />
for the Police and community<br />
leaders to identify the young<br />
people (generally males) most<br />
likely to commit crimes, and<br />
then to work together to stop<br />
them doing so. The ‘Mentor,<br />
Monitor, Minister’ strategy<br />
involves counselling, training<br />
and jobs.<br />
Nowadays, Police in some<br />
States actively seek out firms<br />
to offer work for young people<br />
they have been mentoring. All<br />
this goes much farther than<br />
New Zealand’s policy of Neighbourhood<br />
Policing, ramped up<br />
in recent years.<br />
Until recently, general<br />
elections in New Zealand were<br />
marked by humour, goodwill<br />
for each other, with hardly any<br />
personal references. But over<br />
the past few years, the gloves<br />
have come off and politicians<br />
have not only begun to punch<br />
but also resort to a war of<br />
words, which, according to<br />
many, is ‘Dirty Politics.’<br />
We are balanced<br />
Ministers, Parliamentarians<br />
of all groupings often tell us<br />
the New Zealand Media is<br />
biased but many of them are<br />
tilted. MPs and selected candidates<br />
of opposition parties<br />
say that their statements and<br />
speeches are always taken out<br />
of context by some in the print<br />
media and on the radio and<br />
hence the people do not get the<br />
benefit of balanced views.<br />
Indian Newslink has<br />
always been a newspaper<br />
that has been neutral in its<br />
approach towards politics. Our<br />
platform is open with leaders<br />
of political parties and others<br />
to promote their policies and<br />
programmes.<br />
Indian Newslink is published by Indian Newslink Limited from its offices located at 299A Riddel Road,<br />
Glendowie, Auckland 1071. All material appearing here and on our web editions are the copyright<br />
of Indian Newslink and reproduction in full or part in any medium is prohibited. Indian Newslink and<br />
its management and staff do not accept any responsibility for the claims made in advertisements.<br />
Managing Director & Publisher: Jacob Mannothra; Editor & General Manager: Venkat Raman;<br />
Production Manager: Mahes Perera; Accountant: Uma Venkatram CA;<br />
Phone: (09) 5336377 Email: info@indiannewslink.co.nz<br />
Websites: www.indiannewslink.co.nz; www.inliba.com; www.inlisa.com<br />
Hayden Donnell<br />
One of the things that destroyed<br />
Todd Muller’s National Party<br />
leadership was an apparent lie<br />
to reporters during the leaked<br />
Covid-19 patient data scandal.<br />
Why were so many media outlets<br />
reluctant to use the ‘L’ word to describe<br />
his dishonesty?<br />
On Thursday last week, Mr Muller<br />
said something which was not true, and<br />
on close examination, looked a lot like<br />
a lie.<br />
TVNZ reporter Thomas Mead was<br />
asking the National Leader if Michelle<br />
Boag was a source for his health<br />
spokesman Michael Woodhouse.<br />
Wrong denial<br />
“Have you spoken to him?” Mead<br />
asked.<br />
Mr Muller was unequivocal. “No.”<br />
The following day, he admitted that<br />
he had spoken to Mr Woodhouse before<br />
that denial.<br />
His Health Spokesman had given<br />
him a “heads-up” that he had received<br />
information from Ms Boag, a former<br />
National Party President, on Tuesday.<br />
They had had another conversation<br />
on Wednesday.<br />
Mr Muller also deliberately omitted<br />
details during the press conference,<br />
repeating Ms Boag’s claim to have only<br />
interacted with Clutha-Southland MP<br />
Hamish Walker when he knew that was<br />
not true.<br />
Despite those inconsistencies, the<br />
word “lie” did not appear in the TVNZ 1<br />
News coverage on Friday.<br />
Sharp contradictions<br />
Political Reporter Maiki Sherman<br />
put Muller’s statements throughout<br />
the week in order and showed their<br />
contradictions, but stopped short of<br />
calling them deliberately dishonest.<br />
Instead the National Leader was<br />
labelled “evasive at best” and accused<br />
him of saying something he “knew<br />
wasn’t true.”<br />
Other media also wrestled with the<br />
question of whether to directly accuse<br />
Mr Muller of lying to them. Newstalk<br />
ZB’s Heather du Plessis-Allan got close<br />
to using the word but stopped just short,<br />
saying that Mr Muller suffered a “lack<br />
of honesty“.<br />
On TVNZ’s Q+A host Jack Tame put<br />
the claim in the form of a question to<br />
National’s deputy leader Nikki Kaye:<br />
“Did your leader lie?”<br />
The New Zealand Herald’s Amelia<br />
Wade led on Muller’s own answer to<br />
that same question.<br />
Monday’s issue of The Bulletin by The<br />
Spinoff also zeroed in on the question<br />
of whether Mr Muller lied. It concluded<br />
he had not, but acknowledged that he<br />
had chosen not to reveal pertinent facts<br />
when given the opportunity.<br />
Outright accusation<br />
Business Desk’s Pattrick Smellie was<br />
the only columnist to accuse Mr Muller<br />
of dishonesty outright, saying that the<br />
National Leader had been “trapped<br />
in a lie” due to Mead’s persistent<br />
questioning.<br />
Former National Party Leader Todd Muller (RNZ Picture by Dom Thomas<br />
Smellie told Mediawatch that he had<br />
used the phrase because it was the best<br />
description of what took place.<br />
“It was very clear what he was being<br />
asked and it was very clear he didn’t<br />
want to answer it.”<br />
Blatant mistruths<br />
After Mr Muller’s resignation on<br />
Tuesday, New Zealand Herald Political<br />
Editor Audrey Young also accused him<br />
of “blatant mistruths” in Monday’s press<br />
conference.<br />
The question of when and whether<br />
to use the word ‘lie’ has been a matter<br />
of heated debate in journalists’ circles<br />
since the rise of Donald Trump.<br />
Dean Bacquet, Editor of The New<br />
York Times, has ordered his reporters<br />
to use the word judiciously when<br />
describing the US President’s hurricane<br />
of misinformation and false claims.<br />
Repeatedly accusing Trump of lying<br />
opens the Times up to claims that it is<br />
partisan, he cautioned.<br />
The obvious counter-argument, made<br />
by commentators including the NYU<br />
Journalism Lecturer Jay Rosen, is that<br />
reporters should describe things accurately<br />
whether or not it is convenient<br />
for them to do so.<br />
CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale, who<br />
has reported extensively on Trump’s<br />
falsehoods, defends using the term ‘lie.’<br />
“It is not a departure from objective<br />
journalism to use these words,” he told<br />
The Washington Post. ”Why should<br />
the rules of objective journalism mean<br />
we have to dance around the obvious,<br />
objective truth? If we are going to<br />
get readers to trust us, we have to be<br />
straight with them.”<br />
Muller’s statements were not as clearcut<br />
as some of Trump’s more outlandish<br />
deceits.<br />
But there may be an element of that<br />
Bacquet-style reticence, or even just<br />
human sympathy, in some journalists’<br />
decisions not to name his comments as<br />
a lie.<br />
Proven intent<br />
Another potential issue is proving intent.<br />
Lying implies setting out to deceive<br />
and Business Desk’s Patrick Smellie<br />
accepted that Mr Muller may have<br />
overstepped while trying to obfuscate.<br />
“I used [trapped in a lie] because it<br />
seemed to me that expressed what had<br />
occurred rather than that he set out to<br />
be mendacious,” he said.<br />
“He just did not want to give that<br />
answer and he tried various ways of not<br />
giving it, and in the end he got trapped<br />
into answering in a way that made it<br />
appear he was saying he had not been<br />
briefed, and then the very next day we<br />
The Iain Lees-Galloway saga ripples<br />
Venkat Raman<br />
Iain Lees-Galloway, a young Minister<br />
with plenty of promise has gone from<br />
the Cabinet.<br />
The 41-year-old Minister for Immigration,<br />
Workplace Relations & Safety<br />
and ACC was dismissed by Prime Minister<br />
Jacinda Ardern on July 22, <strong>2020</strong> after he<br />
admitted to an ‘inappropriate relationship’<br />
with a member of staff employed in an<br />
agency related to his portfolio in the<br />
recent past.<br />
Ms Ardern told a press conference<br />
that she took the decision to sack Mr<br />
Lees-Galloway during a meeting with him<br />
the previous evening.<br />
Untenable position<br />
“I sat down with the Minister and asked<br />
him questions and his answers made it<br />
Iain Lees Galloway<br />
clear that his position has become untenable.<br />
He told me that the relationship that<br />
he had with a staffer in one of the agencies<br />
connected with his ministerial duties<br />
ended several months ago. I have taken<br />
into account all factors and decided that<br />
he was not fit to continue as a Minister. He<br />
was the Workplace Relations and Safety<br />
Minister,” she said.<br />
“It became clear that his position as a<br />
find out he has.”<br />
Defamation Laws<br />
New Zealand’s strict defamation laws<br />
are also a factor influencing editorial<br />
calls on whether to use the word lie.<br />
The Bulletin’s writer Alex Braae said<br />
that the potential defamation threat<br />
influenced his decision not to apply the<br />
word to Mr Muller’s comments.<br />
“In my view, Mr Muller’s statements<br />
did not meet the threshold of calling<br />
him a liar in print, which - because of<br />
New Zealand’s defamation laws - is a<br />
real high bar. People can make their<br />
own minds up about whether he was<br />
totally honest,” he said.<br />
These concerns also restricted the<br />
show Mediawatch, which has not<br />
directly accused Mr Muller of lying in<br />
this story.<br />
Other news organisations were less<br />
forthcoming with their reasons for not<br />
using the word. 1 News said it would<br />
rather keep its editorial conversations<br />
private.<br />
However, the potential for defamation<br />
action is an ever-present factor in<br />
media decision-making.<br />
It influences the stories newsrooms<br />
choose to cover and the way their<br />
reports are presented.<br />
Threat to freedom<br />
Wellington lawyer Graeme Edgeler<br />
told Mediawatch in April that defamation<br />
laws are among the greatest threats<br />
to freedom of speech in New Zealand.<br />
He said that they do not give enough<br />
protection to “simple opinion” and put<br />
too much emphasis on maintaining<br />
powerful people’s reputations - at the<br />
expense of free speech.<br />
It is unlikely it would have made a<br />
difference if more media outlets had<br />
accused Muller of lying.<br />
The National Leader tendered his<br />
resignation on Tuesday.<br />
But the reasoning behind their<br />
reporting may still be significant.<br />
If news organisations did not want to<br />
make a call because they did not want<br />
to appear partisan, or out of genuine<br />
doubt, that is at least an arguable<br />
position.<br />
But if the threat of defamation<br />
loomed large in their decision-making,<br />
it may be worth questioning whether<br />
that law is serving as intended.<br />
Instead of protecting the right to free<br />
speech, could our laws be making liars<br />
of our media?<br />
Hayden Donnell is Mediawatch Producer at<br />
Radio New Zealand. The above article and<br />
pictures have been published under a Special<br />
Agreement with www.rnz.co.nz<br />
Minister was untenable as it opened up<br />
allegations of improperly using his office.<br />
I have lost confidence in him,” Ms Ardern<br />
added.<br />
Ms Ardern said that she had to inform<br />
the Governor General of the decision and<br />
withdraw his ministerial warrant and<br />
hence it took several hours to make her<br />
decision effective.<br />
Mr Lees-Galloway returned to his home<br />
in Palmerston North and announced that<br />
he would not contest in the general election<br />
on September 19, <strong>2020</strong>.<br />
He said that he accepted the decision of<br />
the Prime Minister.<br />
“I have acted completely inappropriately<br />
in my position and cannot continue as a<br />
Minister. I have apologised to my family for<br />
letting them down. Please appreciate their<br />
privacy. I also apologise to anyone who has<br />
been hurt by my actions,” he said in the<br />
Statement.
AUGUST 1, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Businesslink<br />
13<br />
Namaste!<br />
Happy Indian Independence Day!<br />
Best wishes to our Kiwi Indian Communities on<br />
the 73rd anniversary of Indian Independence<br />
Hon Jenny Salesa<br />
MP for Manukau East<br />
Minister for Ethnic Communities<br />
j.salesa@ministers.govt.nz<br />
04 817 8714<br />
Freepost PO Box 18 888<br />
Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160<br />
Priyanca Radhakrishnan<br />
Labour List MP based in Maungakiekie<br />
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister for Ethnic Communities<br />
priyanca@parliament.govt.nz<br />
09 622 2660<br />
Level 1, Crighton House, 100 Neilson Street<br />
(entrance on Galway Street), Onehunga, Auckland<br />
Authorised by Priyanca Radhakrishnan MP, Parliament Buildings, Wellington
14<br />
AUGUST 1, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Businesslink<br />
Matariki could replace Queen’s Birthday as National Holiday<br />
Peter Dunne<br />
The period of Matariki, the<br />
celebration of the Māori<br />
New Year, which began<br />
earlier this week, is being<br />
celebrated increasingly as an<br />
important national event.<br />
While many other countries<br />
have their own form of New Year<br />
celebrations, Matariki is uniquely<br />
New Zealand. As such, it deserves<br />
special recognition.<br />
We already celebrate great annual<br />
events from other cultures, such<br />
as Diwali and Chinese New Year,<br />
which is good, but now is the time<br />
to give Matariki the prominence it<br />
deserves.<br />
Largely local<br />
Yet most of the celebrations<br />
around Matariki are locally organised.<br />
Usually local communities<br />
and councils play their part in<br />
putting together local festivities<br />
such as fireworks displays or other<br />
celebratory events. Unlike Waitangi<br />
Day, or even ANZAC Day, the two<br />
New Fund offers $500,000 to<br />
Auckland charities<br />
Supplied Content<br />
Large numbers of community<br />
groups are struggling to<br />
meet basic operating costs<br />
including; power bills, PPE<br />
and water rates according to new<br />
figures.<br />
New funding application data<br />
show that the average amount of<br />
funding sought by Auckland charities<br />
to cover their current overheads<br />
is almost $8000.<br />
The figures also reveal that operating<br />
expenses were higher among<br />
community and wellbeing groups<br />
as well as environmental and arts<br />
charities.<br />
The new initiative<br />
Over 100 charities who have seen<br />
a significant increase in demand for<br />
their services, and are struggling to<br />
meet their operating costs as a result<br />
of Covid-19, will now receive a share<br />
of more than $500,000, thanks to a<br />
new emergency fund.<br />
The diverse range of community<br />
organisations which operate in<br />
The Trusts CEO Allan Pollard<br />
(Picture Supplied<br />
the Auckland region have applied<br />
for a grant from The Trusts Your<br />
West Support Fund to cover a wide<br />
range of expenses.<br />
Trusts CEO Allan Pollard said<br />
other uniquely New Zealand special<br />
days which we commemorate each<br />
year, there is no national occasion<br />
organised to celebrate Matariki.<br />
The time has come to change<br />
that. Matariki deserves its own<br />
special day of celebration and is<br />
worthy of a public holiday in its<br />
honour. Even though there is a general<br />
wariness in New Zealand about<br />
creating more public holidays, as<br />
the debate a few years ago about<br />
‘Mondayising’ Waitangi and ANZAC<br />
Days showed, we are still on the<br />
light side of the number of public<br />
holidays most countries celebrate.<br />
Adding another holiday to celebrate<br />
a significant national event is<br />
unlikely to bring the economy to its<br />
knees as some critics might argue.<br />
Replace Queen’s Birthday<br />
In any case, the establishment<br />
of a national public holiday to<br />
mark Matariki need not entail the<br />
creation of an additional public<br />
holiday. It could be done by simply<br />
replacing an existing public holiday<br />
that has become obsolete. An obvious<br />
candidate in this regard is the<br />
current Queen’s Birthday holiday at<br />
the start of June.<br />
As New Zealand culturally diversifies,<br />
the celebration of the British<br />
Monarch’s birthday, with full military<br />
honours and all the trappings<br />
besides becomes more and more<br />
incongruous. At a time when New<br />
Zealand is trying to shake off the<br />
final vestiges of its colonial past<br />
and assert its identity as a modern<br />
Pacific nation nothing can continue<br />
to appear more absurd than the<br />
annual official celebration of the<br />
birthday of a hereditary ruler on<br />
the other side of the world.<br />
Queen’s Birthday Holiday is an<br />
occasion whose time has well and<br />
truly past, and it should be replaced<br />
with an event far more relevant<br />
to the lives and world views of<br />
contemporary New Zealanders.<br />
Perfect substitute<br />
Matariki Day would be the perfect<br />
substitute for the anachronistic<br />
Queen’s Birthday.<br />
Occurring at about the same time<br />
of year as Queen’s Birthday, Matariki<br />
would also have the practical<br />
advantage of ensuring that New<br />
Zealanders still get a public holiday<br />
during the long winter months.<br />
The Queen’s Birthday Honours<br />
List could easily become the Matariki<br />
Honours List, which would be a<br />
that the high volume of funding<br />
requests received in the past two<br />
weeks suggests many local charities<br />
are struggling to stay afloat.<br />
Covid impact on income<br />
“We know that the pandemic has<br />
had a significant impact on the normal<br />
income streams of community groups.<br />
These are organisations providing<br />
blankets, food and support services to<br />
the most vulnerable members of our<br />
community,” he said.<br />
Mr Pollard said that what was<br />
particularly concerning to see was<br />
that many of these organisations<br />
have asked for help to cover their<br />
fundamental operating needs such as<br />
power, internet and rent.<br />
“For many of these groups, this<br />
funding will be an essential lifeline to<br />
help them continue to support their<br />
community in a post-Covid environment,”<br />
he said.<br />
Mr Pollard said that the requests<br />
for support exceeded more than $1.1<br />
million and cover a wide range of<br />
organisations including food charities,<br />
whanau-based support, elderly and<br />
youth support services, hospice as well<br />
as environmental and sporting groups.<br />
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nice counterpoint to the New Year’s<br />
Honours List released in January.<br />
And the dwindling pageantry now<br />
associated with Queen’s Birthday<br />
could be incorporated into the<br />
wider celebrations of Matariki, if it<br />
be so wished. In short, Matariki has<br />
a far more New Zealand ring about<br />
it than Queen’s Birthday ever did.<br />
Timid assertion<br />
Bicultural New Zealand has<br />
been engaged in an often too timid<br />
assertion of its national identity for<br />
some generations now.<br />
Yet while our population has<br />
become more diverse, and our<br />
absorption of aspects of other<br />
cultures more extensive, especially<br />
since the 1990s, we have been too<br />
slow to move to ensure that our<br />
national structures reflect both that<br />
emerging diversity and our own<br />
bicultural environment.<br />
Despite successive Prime<br />
Ministers piously acknowledging<br />
the inevitability that New Zealand<br />
will become a republic, none has<br />
done anything to advance that. And<br />
notwithstanding Britain’s abrupt<br />
casting aside of New Zealand when<br />
it wanted to join the European Community<br />
in the 1970s, New Zealand<br />
has rushed to be near the top of the<br />
queue in negotiating a free trade<br />
agreement with Britain now that it<br />
has decided it no longer wants to be<br />
part of Europe after all.<br />
Progressive identity<br />
The time has come for this country<br />
to start matching its lofty and<br />
bold talk about our progressive and<br />
independent identity with some<br />
action that shows we take that talk<br />
seriously.<br />
Continuing the way we are, with<br />
no substantive action to follow,<br />
will, over time, led to more and<br />
more alienation and potential social<br />
division.<br />
Moving now to replace Queen’s<br />
Birthday with the far more relevant<br />
Matariki Day would be a simple,<br />
but important step forward and a<br />
signal that as a country we were<br />
genuine in our desire to establish<br />
and promote our identity and pride<br />
in all facets of what it means to be a<br />
New Zealander today.<br />
Peter Dunne was a Minister of the Crown<br />
under Labour and National-led governments<br />
from November 1999 to September<br />
2017. He lives in Wellington.<br />
Restricting freedom of<br />
speech is harmful to society<br />
Danielle van Dalen<br />
I<br />
do not particularly love<br />
confronting people.<br />
But I know that when it is<br />
done well, disagreement can<br />
be incredibly powerful.<br />
An open letter On Justice and<br />
Open Debate published last week,<br />
suggests the 150 signatories think<br />
similarly. The letter claims that an<br />
increasingly hostile environment<br />
and growing restriction to freedom<br />
of speech and expression is<br />
harmful to society.<br />
Open Letter<br />
It says: “The free exchange<br />
of information and ideas, the<br />
lifeblood of a liberal society, is daily<br />
becoming more constricted. While<br />
we have come to expect this on<br />
the radical right, censoriousness is<br />
also spreading more widely in our<br />
culture: an intolerance of opposing<br />
views, a vogue for public shaming<br />
and ostracism, and the tendency<br />
to dissolve complex policy issues<br />
in a blinding moral certainty. We<br />
uphold the value of robust and<br />
even caustic counter-speech from<br />
all quarters. But it is now all too<br />
common to hear calls for swift and<br />
severe retribution in response to<br />
perceived transgressions of speech<br />
and thought.”<br />
After the letter was published,<br />
however, some of its signatories<br />
denounced it – one even saying “I<br />
am so sorry” – due to some of the<br />
views of other signatories. (Notably<br />
JK Rowling, who has recently<br />
received significant criticism for<br />
her comments on transgenderism,<br />
was a signatory).<br />
Ironic response<br />
This response seems somewhat<br />
ironic.<br />
It is an example of the failure to<br />
listen to opposing ideas that the<br />
letter tried to address.<br />
In fact, some of the signatories<br />
have since said as much.<br />
Author Malcolm Gladwell, for<br />
example, tweeted: “I signed the<br />
Harpers letter because there were<br />
lots of people who also signed<br />
the Harpers letter whose views I<br />
disagreed with. I thought that was<br />
the point of the Harpers letter.”<br />
Or Thomas Chatterton Williams,<br />
who spearheaded the letter, tweeted:<br />
“this letter is not a statement<br />
about everyone agreeing with<br />
every position every signatory has.<br />
The diversity of its signatories is its<br />
strength – not a weakness.”<br />
Agree to disagree<br />
We need to be brave enough<br />
to agree with the ideas of people<br />
we regularly disagree with on<br />
other issues. We could even learn<br />
to have conversations about<br />
the issues we disagree on. The<br />
conversation will likely end with<br />
both people holding their original<br />
position and that is okay. What is<br />
important is that everyone leaves<br />
with a deeper understanding of the<br />
person they disagree with and why<br />
they disagreed in the first place.<br />
While that is easier said than<br />
done, it is incredibly important for<br />
the functioning of society.<br />
In fact, without healthy disagreements,<br />
strong societal divisions are<br />
much more likely to arise.<br />
The Coddling of the American<br />
Mind, by Jonathan Haidt (another<br />
signatory) and Greg Lukianoff,<br />
confronts this very issue.<br />
They suggest that having<br />
conversations with people you<br />
disagree with are essential for<br />
building resilience and learning to<br />
adapt and grow.<br />
Of course, this does not mean<br />
that anything goes. Bullying is<br />
never okay.<br />
But there is a difference between<br />
bullying and thorough intellectual<br />
debate.<br />
So, as someone who does not<br />
particularly enjoy confrontation or<br />
disagreement, it is important that<br />
I learn to do it well – even when it<br />
is difficult.<br />
The stakes are too high to say no.<br />
Danielle van Dalen is a Researcher at<br />
the Auckland-based Maxim Institute.
AUGUST 1, <strong>2020</strong><br />
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16<br />
AUGUST 1, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Communitylink<br />
Papatoetoe Rotary plans more community projects<br />
Venkat Raman<br />
Rotary Club of Papatoetoe<br />
Central is planning to<br />
increase its community<br />
welfare projects to bring<br />
relief to the poorer and vulnerable<br />
sections of the society, Public<br />
Relations Director Raj Pardeep Singh<br />
has said.<br />
He said that as one of the<br />
youngest Rotary Clubs (established<br />
in November 2015) in the District,<br />
Papatoetoe Central is keen to pursue<br />
the objectives of Rotary International<br />
with vigour.<br />
Annual fundraiser<br />
“We are working on our Annual<br />
Fundraising Dinner which, apart<br />
from mobilising financial resources<br />
for worthy causes, will provide fun<br />
and entertainment to the entire<br />
family. Our Club is a real potpourri<br />
of cultures and people, with current<br />
members from different walks of<br />
life like doctors, teachers, financiers,<br />
businessmen, consultants, publishers<br />
and health professionals. I am<br />
looking forward to making it a place<br />
where people who want to make<br />
difference by providing volunteer<br />
services can meet and share their<br />
views and thoughts,” he said.<br />
Mr Singh said that his aim is to<br />
lead, motivate and inspire club<br />
members while ensuring that<br />
the Club’s focus and values are<br />
maintained.<br />
Raj Pardeep Singh (File Photo)<br />
Some members of the <strong>2020</strong>-2021 team<br />
“The Club is bridging the gap between<br />
the communities by offering<br />
volunteer services and getting involved<br />
in community projects. We<br />
welcome new members who have a<br />
passion for serving the community<br />
while making new friends along the<br />
Rotary Papatoetoe President Kulbir Singh with<br />
Immediate Past District Governor Gary Langford<br />
way,” he said.<br />
Members meet at 7 pm every<br />
Monday at Haveli Indian Restaurant<br />
located at 736 Great South<br />
Road, Manukau.<br />
About Rotary Papatoetoe<br />
Established in October 2015, the<br />
Rotary Papatoetoe comprises people from diverse communities<br />
Rotary Club of Papatoetoe Central<br />
works with local professionals to<br />
raise funding for good causes.<br />
Although a majority of its members<br />
are professionals from the Indian<br />
community in South Auckland,<br />
the Club is open to all ethnic groups<br />
and cultures. It is also represented<br />
by women with excellent leadership<br />
qualities.<br />
Mr Singh said that during the past<br />
five years, the Club completed many<br />
community projects and served the<br />
wider South Auckland community.<br />
Professionals and community<br />
workers<br />
“On July 18, <strong>2020</strong>, the Rotary Club<br />
of Papatoetoe Central had their<br />
changeover function at Mehman<br />
India Restaurant in Howick,<br />
Auckland. Kulbir Singh, the first turban-wearing<br />
Sikh became President<br />
of a Rotary Club in New Zealand. His<br />
team includes philanthropist professionals<br />
who are lawyers, teachers,<br />
financial advisors and businessmen,”<br />
Mr Singh said.<br />
He is among the professionals in<br />
the team. Among them are Manu<br />
Singh, Yashveen Singh, Sunil<br />
Aggarwal, PJ Dhatt, Deepak Sharma,<br />
Gurjinder Singh, Raj Chand, Akhilesh<br />
Chaudhary, Praveen Chand, Nek<br />
Mohammed, Gurjinder Ghuman,<br />
Karnail Singh, Daman Kaur, Nikita<br />
Chand, Naleen Chand, Jaspinder<br />
Kaur, Gurpreet Kaur, Aloka Peacock<br />
and Mustaq Sheikh.<br />
“Rotary values diversity and celebrates<br />
the contributions of people of<br />
all backgrounds, regardless of their<br />
age, ethnicity, race, colour, abilities,<br />
religion, socioeconomic status,<br />
culture, sex, sexual orientation, and<br />
gender identity. The Club belongs to<br />
New Zealand, District 9920,” he said.<br />
Death of young Akash Anthony throws community into grief<br />
Venkat Raman<br />
There are times when a<br />
journalist is too emotionally<br />
charged to report on an<br />
incident.<br />
There are times when the subject<br />
of a report is someone close to the<br />
journalist’s heart and that of his<br />
family.<br />
Akash Anthony was a son as<br />
much to my family as he was to<br />
that of the late Wenceslaus Anthony<br />
and his wife Susan and a darling<br />
brother to Sneha and her husband<br />
Mario Saverimuttu.<br />
Unbelievable and painful<br />
That Akash died on Saturday, July<br />
18, <strong>2020</strong> in Sydney while on a visit<br />
was too difficult to fathom.<br />
That the ever-smiling, well-mannered<br />
young man- he was only<br />
27- is gone, is excruciating.<br />
That this child of God went beyond<br />
the clouds to which he soared<br />
as a pilot is unbelievable.<br />
And that he died within the<br />
same week of his father’s third<br />
anniversary (Wenceslaus Anthony<br />
passed away in Chennai on July 23,<br />
<strong>2020</strong> following a sudden illness) is<br />
even more tragic.<br />
Relationships are sacred and<br />
when people are united in a bond,<br />
the pain is insufferable when<br />
one of them leaves- the reason is<br />
immaterial.<br />
Good habits, manners<br />
Akash, as I knew him, was a bubbling<br />
young man- he had simple<br />
habits and achievable objectives.<br />
He was a great son, even a greater<br />
brother and an ambitious pilot<br />
who wanted to be on air all the<br />
time- flying an aircraft and carrying<br />
people in it.<br />
We spent more than 20 hours<br />
Akash Anthony: Unbelievable, harsh reality<br />
A great Cricketer but the innings were<br />
very short: Akash Anthony with his Coach<br />
Nazeem Smith in 2010<br />
together travelling to Chennai to<br />
attend first anniversary prayer<br />
at his tomb and attend other<br />
meetings and services in Chennai<br />
in July 2018. Those hours gave me<br />
an insight to the mind and heart<br />
Akash with his mother Susan, Sister Sneha and father (the late) Wenceslaus Anthony<br />
of the fine young man that Akash<br />
had become.<br />
“I want to see my sister married<br />
and settled and look after my<br />
mother,” he had said, apart from<br />
detailing his attitude towards life<br />
and people.<br />
Little did I (for that matter even<br />
Akash) knew that the situation<br />
would change so much for the<br />
worse.<br />
Message from Sister<br />
His sister Sneha wrote the following<br />
upon his death:<br />
“I really don’t know how we are<br />
going to even put one foot in front of<br />
the other without you. Each minute<br />
feels like the biggest challenging<br />
nightmare. Still grieving the loss<br />
of dad and then this happens. One<br />
of the happiest most generous<br />
kind-hearted non-judgemental<br />
funniest people and the best little<br />
brother ever. I have no words and<br />
no idea what to do.<br />
“Let us all be kind to each other<br />
and know that hard times don’t<br />
last forever and we need to push<br />
through and look after our mental<br />
health. He was always the happiest<br />
and most cheerful person we were<br />
so close as a family who talked<br />
always, he called my mum multiple<br />
times a day and told her everything<br />
and no one ever thought his mind<br />
would take him so quickly down a<br />
dark spiral from which he could not<br />
return. Please pray for him and the<br />
family we just don’t know what to<br />
do.”<br />
About Akash Anthony<br />
Akash was just a boy of six<br />
when he migrated to New Zealand<br />
with his parents and sister and I<br />
remember him as an energetic boy<br />
interested in Cricket, music and of<br />
course flying.<br />
Indian Newslink carried a story<br />
in its September 15, 2010 issue, with<br />
the title, ‘Exciting future awaits<br />
young Cricketer.’<br />
He was described as a Cricketer<br />
with a promise and a growing list<br />
of admirers.<br />
Avondale College First XI Cricket<br />
Coach and former Provincial and<br />
International Representative Player<br />
Nazeem Smith said that Akash had<br />
unique qualities and attributes<br />
that could see him as a star and<br />
that he followed the style of Indian<br />
batsman Rahul Dravid.<br />
“I think that he has all the<br />
potential and makings of an<br />
international Cricketer if he keeps<br />
working hard at it. He is a dream<br />
player of any coach and always has<br />
more to offer than offers.”<br />
Like his father Wenceslaus,<br />
Akash inspired, motivated and<br />
brought out the best in others.<br />
He built an extremely good<br />
rapport and popularity amongst his<br />
peers, members of the family and<br />
everyone he knew.<br />
I am grateful to friends- more<br />
than 100 of them- who called,<br />
texted and emailed mourning the<br />
death of Akash. More than 600<br />
people prayed at a Mass held on<br />
Sunday July 26, <strong>2020</strong> at Catholic<br />
Church of Christ the King in Mt<br />
Roskill, Auckland.<br />
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AUGUST 1, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Communitylink<br />
17<br />
We should prepare for the next emergency<br />
Danielle van Dalen<br />
The Covid-19 pandemic<br />
saw New Zealand enter its<br />
second nationwide state of<br />
emergency.<br />
This gave the government access<br />
to levels of power not seen in New<br />
Zealand since the 1950s, perhaps<br />
ever.<br />
As a nation, we got lucky this<br />
time; the pandemic exposed constitutional<br />
weaknesses that might<br />
have been exploited if we had<br />
leaders with a more totalitarian<br />
bent.<br />
When an extraordinary event<br />
like this occurs, it is important that<br />
we take the time to learn from our<br />
experience. There will always be<br />
another emergency and we need to<br />
be prepared for next time.<br />
Christchurch Earthquakes<br />
New Zealand’s first nationwide<br />
state of emergency was declared<br />
in response to the Christchurch<br />
earthquakes of February 2011.<br />
After the emergency, a<br />
Royal Commission of Inquiry was<br />
established to ensure that the<br />
City would be better prepared for<br />
another earthquake. Following<br />
this example, our recently released<br />
paper Civic Defence: Defining roles<br />
and preparing our democracy for<br />
the next emergency joins lawyers,<br />
academics, and politicians in their<br />
call to establish a Royal Commission<br />
of Inquiry and investigate the<br />
response to the Covid-19 pandemic<br />
and state of emergency.<br />
In the face of the scary unknown<br />
of an emergency, it is easy to accept<br />
the actions of those in charge as<br />
essential to protecting us, and as<br />
a result New Zealanders put a<br />
lot of trust in the government’s<br />
response, readily accepting extreme<br />
restrictions on our freedoms. And<br />
so, in the wake of this historic<br />
moment, it is worth investigating<br />
what happened, and why.<br />
Recognising government actions<br />
I am certainly not suggesting that<br />
our government is authoritarian.<br />
In fact, we would do well to<br />
recognise the success of the government’s<br />
response and celebrate<br />
that New Zealanders currently live<br />
in relative freedom compared to<br />
much of the world.<br />
However, that may be down to<br />
the luck of who was in charge and<br />
that those people were respectful<br />
of the power they held rather than<br />
sufficient constitutional protections.<br />
While this is not an argument in<br />
favour of a written constitution,<br />
no defence against the misuse of<br />
power should depend upon the<br />
goodness of our politicians’ intent.<br />
Both history and international<br />
experience have shown that<br />
without strong democratic practices<br />
and protections there is significant<br />
risk that government control can<br />
extend beyond what is appropriate.<br />
Ensuring that any restrictions to<br />
our freedom are justifiable and<br />
short-term is necessary for sustaining<br />
the democratic values we enjoy<br />
on a daily basis.<br />
Checks and balances<br />
That is why we need the (perhaps<br />
tedious) checks and balances to<br />
protect against any misuse of<br />
power or unnecessary restrictions<br />
BNZ receives Living Wage accreditation<br />
Supplied Content<br />
Bank of New Zealand Ltd<br />
(BNZ) has achieved Living<br />
Wage accreditation.<br />
The achievement<br />
indicates that the bank pays all its<br />
people a Living Wage of no less<br />
than $22.15 per hour and that all<br />
people who regularly undertake<br />
work on its premises and on behalf<br />
Angela Mentis (Photo Courtesy: Stuff)<br />
of the company, including suppliers,<br />
pay their people a Living Wage.<br />
The announcement comes as<br />
banking becomes New Zealand’s<br />
first fully living wage accredited<br />
industry.<br />
Chief Executive Angela Mentis<br />
said that BNZ believes that everybody<br />
should be paid a fair wage<br />
that can support them and their<br />
families to meet the cost of living.<br />
“Paying the Living Wage is the<br />
right thing to do, it supports gender<br />
pay equity and helps people lead<br />
better lives. Suppliers and partners<br />
are also part of our wider family.<br />
They help us support our customers<br />
and if you’re undertaking work on<br />
our behalf of BNZ then we want to<br />
ensure you’re getting looked after<br />
and have what you need to live and<br />
pay for necessities,” she said.<br />
of freedom.<br />
It is time to learn from what<br />
has happened and prepare for the<br />
future.<br />
Establishing a Royal Commission<br />
of Inquiry will provide an<br />
important avenue for beginning<br />
this work. We need to identify the<br />
gaps in our constitutional response<br />
and strengthening the checks and<br />
balances to sufficiently protect<br />
against abuse of power, whoever<br />
holds that power.<br />
Another emergency will come,<br />
the task now is to reflect, and<br />
alongside our work to ensure the<br />
long-term survival of our economy,<br />
public health and safety, work to<br />
ensure the long-term survival of<br />
our democracy.<br />
Danielle van Dalen is a Researcher at the<br />
Auckland based Maxim Institute.<br />
Ms Mentis said that BNZ is<br />
pleased to join other good New<br />
Zealand businesses supporting this<br />
positive change.<br />
At $22.15 per hour, the Living<br />
Wage allows people to pay for<br />
the necessities of life by ensuring<br />
they can cover expenses such as<br />
food, transportation, housing and<br />
childcare.<br />
What are the<br />
referendum questions?<br />
Know before you vote<br />
Authorised by the Secretary for Justice
18<br />
AUGUST 1, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Communitylin/Entertainmentlink<br />
Top In Town Restaurant opens in Christchurch<br />
Shirish Paranjape<br />
The wait is finally over.<br />
When Housing Minister<br />
Dr Megan Woods cut the<br />
ribbon on Friday, July 10,<br />
<strong>2020</strong>, she was doing much more<br />
than declaring open the Top in<br />
Town Restaurant in Christchurch.<br />
Her action marked the end of a<br />
long wait for entrepreneur Tanveer<br />
Jahangir Mohammed, his family,<br />
colleagues and friends.<br />
Out of the Ordinary<br />
The opening marked the<br />
beginning of business of a new<br />
type of restaurant in the heart of<br />
Christchurch, serving Hyderabadi<br />
Mughlai style cuisine including a<br />
buffet with a large variety of dishes<br />
all days of the week.<br />
Top in Town in Christchurch is<br />
open from 12 pm to 10 pm every<br />
day and Tanveer plans to extend<br />
those hours in due course.<br />
Tanveer is a New Zealand citizen.<br />
He established ‘Top in Town’<br />
takeaway restaurant and ‘Food City’<br />
Attention<br />
Eros<br />
Now/Eros<br />
Entertainment<br />
Victims<br />
Venkat Raman<br />
Eros Now/Eros Entertainment<br />
offers a number of films<br />
other features in several<br />
languages.<br />
They lure customers offering a<br />
trial subscription with the promise<br />
that 'You can cancel the subscription<br />
anytime.'<br />
Are you a victim of Eros Now/Eros<br />
Entertainment having taken a trial<br />
subscription but continue to receive<br />
monthly debits on your credit card<br />
despite cancellation and continuous<br />
emails to them?<br />
Have you tried to stop your credit<br />
card payment with your bank but<br />
unable to do so because of the regulations<br />
around this procedure?<br />
Are you at the end of your nerves,<br />
because of the irresponsible behaviour<br />
of this company?<br />
If yes, please respond to this<br />
post and we will continue our fight<br />
against this company as a team.<br />
I look forward to hearing from<br />
you.<br />
venkat@indiannewslink.co.nz<br />
Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods speaking at the opening of Top in<br />
Town in Christchurch<br />
An extensive range of dishes every day of the week<br />
Poor mental health is one<br />
of New Zealand’s biggest<br />
societal issues but not a<br />
political management tool.<br />
National Party’s approach is not that<br />
of a government-in-waiting.<br />
Another day, another National MP<br />
gone.<br />
In just two short weeks, the Opposition<br />
has lost a leader and five MPs.<br />
Add to that a senior MP stripped<br />
of the crucial health portfolio, and<br />
poll numbers that do little to inspire<br />
confidence.<br />
This is not a government-in-waiting,<br />
this is a Party in disarray.<br />
Deplorable behaviour<br />
The latest personal transgression<br />
by a National Party MP was deplorable,<br />
and the way it was dealt with<br />
adds to valid criticism of the party’s<br />
recent political management.<br />
National’s attempt to use<br />
mental health as a shield was not<br />
only disingenuous (at best), it also<br />
undermined the progress New<br />
Zealand is making in talking about,<br />
and understanding, mental health<br />
and wellbeing.<br />
On Monday afternoon (July 20),<br />
Rangitata MP Andrew Falloon issued<br />
a statement saying that he would not<br />
contest the upcoming election.<br />
The press release focused on Mr<br />
Falloon’s mental health challenges.<br />
He spoke about friends who had<br />
died by suicide, the impact that had<br />
on him, and his unresolved grief.<br />
One short line hinted there was<br />
more going on: “I have made a<br />
number of mistakes and I apologise<br />
to those who have been affected.”<br />
Minutes later, a short press release<br />
from new National Leader Judith<br />
Collins also spoke about Mr Falloon’s<br />
“significant mental health issues.”<br />
She asked that his privacy be<br />
respected.<br />
The toll politics takes<br />
Ms Collins’ statement also alluded<br />
to another reason for Mr Falloon’s<br />
resignation: “The National Party<br />
was advised of an issue relating to<br />
Andrew late on Friday afternoon<br />
Restaurant Owner Tanveer Jahangir Mohammed explains the concept of<br />
Top in Town<br />
on Sandringham Road and later opened a Restaurant<br />
in Papatoetoe in South Auckland. He left for Australia<br />
about ten years ago.<br />
After running successful restaurants on either side<br />
of the Tasman, Tanveer decided to return to New<br />
Zealand this year and settle down in Christchurch to<br />
support his brother Ahmed Iqbal Mohammed, who is a<br />
victim of the terrorist attach Mosques in Christchurch<br />
on March 15, 2019.<br />
However, various stages of lock-down meant that<br />
the inauguration could not happen till now.<br />
The Christchurch massacre<br />
Following the terrorist attack, Tanveer arrived from<br />
Australia and stood in the hospital for 12 days while<br />
his brother was recovering.<br />
“Everyone concerned, including<br />
the government, the New Zealand<br />
Police, the Muslim and other<br />
communities did a great job. I<br />
invited a large number of people<br />
who helped during the post-attack<br />
days to my restaurant for a free<br />
lunch on the opening day,” Tanveer<br />
later told Indian Newslink.<br />
Concerned Police Officers were<br />
also invited to the opening night.<br />
Noble gesture<br />
Dr Woods congratulated and<br />
thanked Tanveer for his gesture of<br />
providing free food to members of<br />
essential services.<br />
She said it was only fitting that<br />
such a fusion restaurant had now<br />
opened for business in the suburb<br />
of Riccarton, which is home to<br />
multicultural communities,<br />
Gamal Fouda, Imam of Al-Noor<br />
Mosque and Community Board<br />
Member, blessed the Restaurant<br />
with recitation of Islamic verses.<br />
The opening ceremony was<br />
covered live on Facebook by Radio<br />
Sadeaala with compering by Yitesh<br />
Sharma, and Habib Mirvat from<br />
the Office of Ethnic Communities.<br />
Shirish Paranjape is our Correspondent<br />
in Christchurch. He is a<br />
member of the Community Board.<br />
Mental Health is not a political management tool<br />
Laura Walters<br />
National Party Leader Judith Collins with Party President Peter Goodfellow and her Caucus<br />
colleagues soon after her election to the post (Picture by Sam Sachdeva for Newsroom)<br />
and we have dealt with it this<br />
morning,” she said.<br />
Neither were upfront about what<br />
the first-term MP had done, or the<br />
severity of his actions.<br />
Instead, the weight was placed<br />
on his mental health issues.<br />
In the following hours, Mr Falloon<br />
received messages of support<br />
- a sign the country is coming to<br />
better understand the toll politics<br />
can take on MPs’ mental health and<br />
wellbeing.<br />
This is something New Zealand<br />
witnessed last week when Todd<br />
Muller resigned as leader after just<br />
53 days in the job, citing the pressures<br />
of the role, and the impact on<br />
his mental and physical health.<br />
To New Zealand’s credit, Mr Muller<br />
was commended by many for<br />
putting his health, and his family’s<br />
health, before his job.<br />
It appears that Ms Collins saw<br />
the way the country supported<br />
Muller, and was tempted to try that<br />
approach for a second time. But Mr<br />
Falloon’s situation was different.<br />
The full story<br />
By Monday evening, the full<br />
story had emerged: Mr Falloon<br />
(he reportedly claims someone<br />
else, using his phone) had sent an<br />
unsolicited sexual picture - not of<br />
himself - to a teenager. The girl’s<br />
parents told the Prime Minister’s<br />
office, which referred it to the<br />
National Party.<br />
Police investigated, but said<br />
it did not reach the prosecution<br />
threshold.<br />
These revelations showed that<br />
the Party had not been upfront<br />
with the whole story. No-one had<br />
signalled the nature of what Mr<br />
Falloon - a 37-year-old MP - had<br />
done, or the severity of his actions.<br />
Unfortunately, lying by omission<br />
is par for the course in politics.<br />
But using mental health as a<br />
shield - a way to keep scrutiny at<br />
bay – is not.<br />
This is not a question of whether<br />
Mr Falloon is experiencing mental<br />
health issues, or whether he should<br />
get the privacy, treatment and<br />
support he deserves - that goes<br />
without saying.<br />
Eroding public trust<br />
But using one of the country’s<br />
biggest social and health issues as<br />
a tool for political management<br />
further erodes public trust in the<br />
Party - something that is already<br />
taken a dive.<br />
Mental health issues are a very<br />
real problem in politics, but not<br />
something to be used as an excuse<br />
for bad behaviour.<br />
It does a disservice to all New<br />
Zealanders who live with mental<br />
health issues, but continue to make<br />
the right decisions, and stand<br />
accountable for their mistakes like<br />
everyone else.<br />
This serious mis-judgment is the<br />
latest in an increasingly chaotic<br />
month for the National Party.<br />
Just two weeks ago, first-term<br />
Clutha-Southland MP Hamish<br />
Walker announced his resignation<br />
from politics after leaking private<br />
health information of Covid-19<br />
patients to the media.<br />
Loss to National<br />
Since then, National has been<br />
bleeding MPs.<br />
Two days after the Walker scandal,<br />
list MP Jian Yang announced he<br />
would retire at the election.<br />
Then Mr Muller announced his<br />
decision to step down as leader.<br />
This sparked an emergency<br />
Caucus meeting, where Ms Collins<br />
was elected as leader, and it was<br />
clear the party would change, with<br />
beltway watchers expecting a surge<br />
to the right and the adoption of a<br />
Crusher Collins ’win at any cost’<br />
mentality.<br />
Her leadership resulted in the loss<br />
of two more MPs - Amy Adams and<br />
Nikki Kaye.<br />
The departure of the two senior,<br />
and more socially liberal, MPs was<br />
not a surprise to many, but it would<br />
be a loss to National. Both have<br />
experience as ministers, and are<br />
trusted and effective MPs.<br />
The mass exodus of those before<br />
Mr Falloon likely speaks to an<br />
unsettled and divided caucus.<br />
If it is an attempt by Collins to<br />
clean house, she has got the timing<br />
wrong.<br />
Cleaning house usually comes<br />
after an election loss - not before.<br />
Right now, Ms Collins needs to<br />
be doing all she can to mount a<br />
strong contest come September 19.<br />
Covering for an MP’s bad behaviour<br />
does not achieve that.<br />
Where to get help<br />
1737, Need to talk? Free call or<br />
text 1737 any time for support from<br />
a trained counsellor<br />
Lifeline – 0800 543 354 or (09)<br />
5222 999 within Auckland<br />
Samaritans – 0800 726 666<br />
Suicide Crisis Helpline – 0508 828<br />
865 (0508 TAUTOKO)<br />
thelowdown.co.nz – or email<br />
team@thelowdown.co.nz or free<br />
text 5626<br />
Anxiety New Zealand - 0800<br />
ANXIETY (0800 269 4389)<br />
Supporting Families in Mental<br />
Illness - 0800 732 825<br />
Laura Walters is Senior Political Reporter at<br />
Newsroom in Wellington, covering Justice,<br />
Education and the upcoming campaign. The<br />
above Report has been published under a<br />
Special Arrangement with Newsroom.
AUGUST 1, <strong>2020</strong><br />
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AUGUST 1, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Sportslink<br />
Badminton Club brings up sporting talent in Christchurch<br />
Rajeswar Peddisetti<br />
The Telugu Badminton Club<br />
of Canterbury Inc held its<br />
S V Ranga Rao Memorial<br />
Badminton Tournament on<br />
July 19, <strong>2020</strong> in Christchurch.<br />
This annual event this year had<br />
48 players from diverse ethnic<br />
backgrounds, including India, Sri<br />
Lanka, Thailand and Japan.<br />
It was divided into rounds with<br />
four groups made up of 24 pairs.<br />
The top eight pairs with the<br />
highest points were placed in Grade<br />
A grade, the next eight in Grade B<br />
and the remaining eight in Grade C.<br />
The Winners: Grade A: Ajesh Jose<br />
and Martin Thomas; Runners-Up:<br />
Shane Andrew Dominic and<br />
Renchu George. Grade B: Anand<br />
Sathish Kumar and Ashil Joy; Runners-Up:<br />
Dinesh Kumar and Raam<br />
Kumar. Grade C: Abhilash Suja and<br />
Anand Gopakumar. Runners-Up:<br />
Sandesh Chandra and Vignesh<br />
Makkada.<br />
Tournament Highlight<br />
The highlight of the prize<br />
distribution ceremony was that all<br />
the players who participated in the<br />
Tournament had a chance to win a<br />
Yonex Badminton racquet.<br />
The lucky winner was player<br />
Jewel Jolly.<br />
Prizes were presented by Shirish<br />
Paranjape (Community Board<br />
Member and Indian Newslink<br />
Christchurch Correspondent), Uma<br />
Varma (Director of Revathi Performing<br />
Arts) and Venkat Pulakanam<br />
(MBA Programme Director at<br />
University of Canterbury).<br />
Encouraging talent<br />
Distributing prizes to Grade A<br />
Shirish Paranjape with Grade A Winners<br />
Uma Varma with Grade B Winners<br />
winners, Shirish shared his memories<br />
of attending the Tournament<br />
as the Chief Guest from 2017. He<br />
said that it was inspiring to see an<br />
increase in players participating<br />
this year, with the number of teams<br />
doubled.<br />
Uma thanked the Tournament<br />
organisers, saying that it was<br />
Venkat Pulakanam with Grade C Winners<br />
providing the community an opportunity<br />
to watch and encourage<br />
sporting talent.<br />
Venkat said that when he started<br />
to play Badminton in Christchurch,<br />
there no Club like the Telugu<br />
Badminton Club to conduct regular<br />
games and organise tournaments.<br />
He offered several useful tips to<br />
players on how they can improve<br />
their game from being a mid-range<br />
player to being a performance level<br />
player.<br />
It was great to see the competition<br />
grow not only as a sporting<br />
event, but also as a community<br />
gathering.<br />
I hope that the Club will conduct<br />
more Tournaments in the future.<br />
I thank volunteers, sponsors and<br />
people of Christchurch for their<br />
patronage.<br />
Rajeswar Peddisetti is Director of The<br />
Telugu Badminton Club of Canterbury<br />
Inc and organiser of the Tournament,<br />
based in Christchurch.<br />
Teenager wins ABA<br />
Boxing Tournament<br />
Haransh declared winner against Qurban<br />
Sharif from Nabby’s Boxing Gym<br />
Haransh with his brother Ridhwan Deep Singh,<br />
mother Sachi Kaur and father Jasjit Singh<br />
Staff Reporter<br />
A<br />
teenager from East<br />
Auckland became the<br />
first Sikh amateur to win<br />
in the Auckland Boxing<br />
Association (ABA) Tournament held<br />
at the ABA Stadium, Eden Terrace<br />
on July 11, <strong>2020</strong>.<br />
Haransh Singh (16), a Year 12<br />
student at Pakuranga College, is also<br />
the first Sikh Boxer to be signed by<br />
Revills Gym and ABA. He participated<br />
in the 65 Kgs category.<br />
Haransh with his Coach Lance Revill after<br />
the win<br />
“I am grateful to my Coaches at<br />
Revills Boxing Gym, particularly<br />
Lance Revill. My win is due to their<br />
excellent efforts, guidance and<br />
support,” Haransh said.<br />
ABA is the principal Boxing organisation<br />
in Auckland for amateur<br />
boxing.<br />
About Haransh<br />
Haransh moved to New Zealand<br />
two years ago with his family comprising<br />
his parents and younger<br />
brother Ridhwan Deep Singh. He<br />
has shown interest in athletics since<br />
his formative years in in India, and<br />
has participated in 400 meters at<br />
school events.<br />
Haransh has been training for<br />
past one year in Auckland under<br />
the guidance of Lance Revill, a<br />
Commonwealth Medal Winner and<br />
former President, New Zealand<br />
Professional Boxing Association.<br />
His idol is Mohammad Ali and his<br />
goal is to participate and win in the<br />
Nationals next year and qualify for<br />
Commonwealth Games.<br />
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