The Indian Weekender, Friday 6 November 2020

4 NEW ZEALAND
Friday, November 6, 2020
The Indian Weekender
MICHAEL WOOD’S elevation as cabinet
Minister brings rejoice in Kiwi-Indian community
SANDEEP SINGH
The news of elevation of local
Auckland MP Michael Wood
as a cabinet minister in the
new government has been received
with much delight and rejoice within
the Kiwi-Indian community.
Undoubtedly, Wood who is MP
for Mt Roskill – an area that holds
the reputation of being the most
ethnically diverse electorate of New
Zealand with almost 40 per cent
voters having been born overseas
- is one of the great friends of the
Kiwi-Indian community, along
with other ethnic migrant minority
communities.
His connection, relative easy
accessibility, along with a passion for
supporting the members of the Kiwi-
Indian community has made him
immensely popular in a short span
of time, not only within Auckland’s
Indian community but also in rest of
New Zealand.
Wood was first elected to
Parliament at the 2016 Mt Roskill
by-election after it was vacated by
former Labour MP Phil Goff who
had nurtured the electorate for more
than two decades by maintaining a
personal connection with residents
and their representative associations
within the area.
Since then Wood has not only
filled into Goff’s shoes but also
continued with his style of politics
with an emphasis on personal rapport
and connections with people, which
has been generously rewarded by
the voters in successive elections by
sending him back to Parliament in
2017 & 2020 election.
Many community leaders and
representatives of major community
organisations and associations have
echoed similar sentiments with the
Indian Weekender.
Jeet Suchdev
of Bhartiya Samaj
Charitable Trust
told the Indian
Weekender that
he had known
Wood for a number
of years right from his days in
Puketapapa local board and his hard
work in connecting with people and
growing in politics.
“Over the years Wood has
remained easily accessible and a
great friend of our Trust at all times,”
Suchdev said.
“We deal with a number of cases
related to people in distress which
often requires urgent attention from
the government and Wood has always
ensured to remain connected,”
Suchdev said.
Narendra
Bhana, President
of Auckland
Indian Association
– one of the oldest
Indian community
organisations in
New Zealand,
said, “Michel
Wood has been closely connected
to vibrant and growing ethnic
communities in New Zealand. He
has been very supportive and more
importantly a very good friend of the
Auckland Indian Association Inc.”
“We are happy for him to become
a Minister of Transport and we
wish him all the best for his journey
ahead,” Bhana said.
V a i
Ravindran of
Auckland Tamil
Association
– a Tamil
community
organisation
which has
recognised its special connection
with Wood by honouring with a
special title of “Tamil – Selvan”
meaning “Son of Tamil” in 2018 also
expressed rejoice on his elevation as
a Cabinet Minister.
“It is a great pride and honour
for our “Tamil -Selvan” to be
elevated as Cabinet Minister. We are
confident that he will do well for the
community and the entire country,”
Ravindran said.
Wood was re-elected to Parliament
in 2017 and became Parliamentary
Under-Secretary to the Minister for
Ethnic Communities and became
Chair of the Finance & Expenditure
Select Committee.
He became Senior Whip in
mid-2019.
There is an anticipation that
his new portfolio of Minister of
Transport will soar expectations
within wider communities for quick
and decisive action on Auckland’s
public transport woes.
Wood is a self-avowed champion
of public transport (he and his family
are an avid public transport user) and
as local MP for Mt Roskill, which sits
at the heart of the much-hyped and
hugely anticipated light rail project,
it is expected that the project might
get off sooner than later.
HAPPY
DIWALI
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