Priyanca Radhakrishnan
Priyanca Radhakrishnan made headlines throughout this year for several reasons, including for being nominated at a much higher rank in the Labour Party list to eventually becoming the first India-born Labour MP in the parliament.
However, one another reason for which she singularly deserves a place in this list for this year is her stellar electoral performance on September 23 – the day when the nation went to the polls.
It was her performance in the electorate Maungakiekie that attracted a lot of attention, where she was able to give a close fight to National’s Denise Lee, who eventually won by a comparatively narrow margin of 1943 votes.
At one stage during the counting of votes, Ms Radhakrishnan was tantalisingly close to creating the history and become the first Kiwi-Indian electorate MP.
Eventually that did not happen. However, given the fact that Kiwi-Indian MPs have yet not been able to come so close to winning an electorate, it was a significant feat.
There might be a suggestion in some quarters that her electoral performance might have been augmented by the pre-election Jacinda wave that many experts believed was instrumental in turning Labour’s fortune on the election night.
However, that takes nothing away from Ms Radhakrishnan.
Her electoral performance gained much public and media attention.
On a different note, she was in the headlines again a bit later when she was mugged in broad daylight in the downtown Auckland, giving her a firsthand taste of what many in our communities experience on a day to day basis.
Possibly, giving her a cue on what needed her urgent attention in parliament as a Kiwi-Indian MP.
For now, she can very well rest on laurels of what she has achieved in 2017.
Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi
National List MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi, the first Kiwi-Indian MP in NZ had gone back to parliament for a record fourth term.
Once again no mean achievement in itself.
However, it was his appointment as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) at the beginning of this year, which made the most noise and attracted media and public attention.
In an announcement made by then Prime Minister Bill English, Mr Bakshi was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary to assist Minister of Police Paula Bennett.
In this role, it is believed that Mr Bakshi played an important role in impressing upon the Police Minister and the government about the need for urgent action on law and order, crime and robberies.
Mr Bakshi rightly deserves some share of the credit for the then government’s announcement of $1.8 million package for dairy security measures in June this year.
The initiative sought co-funding security measures such as security alarms, time-safe, fog cannon among others for about 600 dairies identified at high risk.
From a Kiwi-Indian perspective, any efforts leading to safety, security and robbery prevention especially for our small business owners are always welcome and much appreciated.
Dr Parmjeet Parmar
National Party List MP Dr Parmjeet Parmar entered the parliament for the second time this year.
No mean feat in itself, however, Dr Parmjeet Parmar was in the headlines for another reason as well – her private member bill was first pulled out from the ballot and then recently managed to pass the first reading in the parliament.
Dr Parmar’s bill is seeking all infants to be enrolled in a GP's practice before they are six weeks old.
It is important to note that the fact that an MP has created and introduced a private member bill in parliament is in itself a statement on their activism within the parliament.
Usually, a member is required to create a clear and well-defined proposal for a bill, setting out what the bill will entail and what it intends to achieve.
For the bill to progress further it must then be selected for introduction to the House and set down on the Order Paper. This is achieved through one of two methods: either by being selected via the ballot system or being introduced by leave. The most common method is through the ballot system.
In Dr Parmar’s case, the bill was first picked out of ballot in May, and then later in mid-December passed its first reading in the parliament.
If it becomes law, then it would be first such law based on a bill initiated by a Kiwi-Indian MP in the New Zealand parliament.
To be fair to the other Kiwi-Indian MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi, who was first to introduce a private member bill titled – Kirpan Authorisation Bill – which is still waiting to be picked from the ballot in the parliament.
The process of introducing a private member bill is dependent on an element of luck as the bill can only progress in parliament if it is picked out of the ballot.
However, from a Kiwi-Indian perspective, it is an important moment to cherish and celebrate the progress of Dr Parmar’s private bill in the parliament.