The Indian Weekender, Friday 6 November 2020

The Indian Weekender Friday, November 6, 2020
NEW ZEALAND 3
PRIYANCA RADHAKRISHNAN
becomes first ever Kiwi-Indian Minister in NZ
SANDEEP SINGH
History created: Labour Party’s MP
Priyanca Radhakrishnan has created
history by becoming the firstever
Kiwi-Indian Minister in New Zealand
government.
The second time MP Priyanca has been
appointed as Minister for the Community
and Voluntary Sector, Minister for Diversity,
Inclusion and Ethnic Communities, Minister
for Youth, Associate Minister for Social
Development and Employment.
This is an incredible elevation for
the second term MP to be given
the responsibility with three fullfledged
Minister roles and one
Associate role in the cabinet.
In the last term (2017-2020)
Radhakrishnan was Private
Secretary to the then Minister
for Ethnic Communities Jenny
Salesa, who has been dropped
from the executive altogether and
moved into Assistant Speaker role in
this second term labour government.
Exclusive interview with the Indian
Weekender after becoming Minister
In an exclusive interview with the Indian
Weekender from Wellington immediately after
Prime Minister’s announcement on cabinet
reshuffle on Monday, November 2, Priyanca
expressed rejoice on the news of her elevation
as the first-ever Minister of Indian-descent in
any New Zealand government.
“This is a great privilege and I am humbled
by this opportunity to serve the community,”
"The
community
& volunteer sector
is a sector in which I
worked primarily in my
working life. The other role
of ethnic communities, I have
been parliamentary Private
Secretary for a year and
a half in the last
term."
Radhakrishnan said.
On being asked when was the first time
she was informed by the Prime Minister
about getting the new role in the cabinet
Radhakrishnan sagaciously deflected the query
with a smile and saying, “Look there was a bit
of process ... and I got to know before today.”
“As you would appreciate there is a bit of
process to follow within caucus and nothing is
certain till the actual announcement. So finally,
it was confirmed just before Prime Minister’s
media stand up,” Radhakrishnan said.
One the question of incredible responsibility
being thrust upon her with full
Ministerial responsibility for
three different portfolios along
with an additional Associate
responsibility Radhakrishnan
said, “This is a great
privilege to have Ministerial
responsibilities. These roles
as you may know I am quite
passionate about for a number
of years.”
“The community & volunteer
sector is a sector in which I worked primarily
in my working life.
"The other role of ethnic communities, I have
been parliamentary Private Secretary for a year
and a half in the last term.”
“These all roles I am incredibly excited about
and it is a great privilege,” Radhakrishnan said.
Can Kiwi-Indian community
facing immigration challenges
expect more support from her?
When the Indian Weekender asked her
on what can the Kiwi-Indian community
experiencing a myriad of challenges in
negotiating with immigration system
expect Radhakrishnan responded
reassuringly that she was aware
of community’s plight and will
continue to advocate for
them with the Minister for
Immigration.
Notably, among
many other
issues facing the
Kiwi-Indian
community,
immigration
continues to be
one of the most
pressing ones,
with often lives
of thousands
and thousands of
migrants being held
hostage to lack of
policy and procedural
clarity from the government,
particularly from the last term.
In this regard, Radhakrishnan’s
elevation as the first-ever Kiwi-
Indian Minister in any NZ
government would raise immense
hope and expectation from the
members of the community.
The Indian Weekender
congratulates Radhakrishnan
on this historic achievement
and wishes her a successful
tenure ahead.
Diwali
Happy
शुभ दीपावली
Enjoy a great Diwali celebration
with family and friends
Whether it’s decorating your home, adding lights
or sprucing up the garden, we have everything
you need for a special Diwali celebration.
Get sorted at mitre10.co.nz