Auckland Mayor Phil Goff has announced that he will not be seeking re-election

this year.In a statement issued on

February 14, 2022, he said that he has been in public life for more than 40 years and that it is time to ‘pass on the baton of leadership to the new generation.’Seasoned Politician and Minister

Mr Goff was a Member of Par-liament since 1981 and has held several ministerial portfolios under the Labour government, including such sensitive posts as Foreign Affairs and Trade.

He resigned from Parliament in 2016, leading to a by-election in Mt Roskill, allowing for the entry of Michael Wood, who is now Minister of Transport and Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety. Mr Goff served two terms as the Mayor of Auckland, which said was ‘an absolute privilege,’ and that he loves Auckland where he was raised.

“I want to thank the people of Auckland for having twice elected me by large majorities and for giving me the mandate to lead our city. I would like to thank my wife Mary, and our family for tolerating my absences at family occasions when Council work has taken precedence, and my mayoral office staff who have worked hard and competently,” he said.Challenges of the pandemic

“While the pandemic has cre-ated huge challenges, the City has made real progress over the last five and half years. We have made the biggest investments Auckland has ever seen in infrastructure for transport and water. This has reversed decades of underinvestment,

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However, his service could be tapped for diplomacy Venkat Raman

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff delivering the Welcome Address at the Eleventh Annual Indian Newslink Lecture on August 16, 2022, at which Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield was the Guest Speaker (INL Photo by Narendra Bedekar)

Phil Goff bids farewell to politics bowing out of Mayoralty

where infrastructure spending did not keep up with population growth.

“We have taken big strides towards creating a sustainable environment, with measures to end the century-long problem of wastewater spilling onto our beaches and into our harbours, steps to contain the spread of kauri dieback, and predator control to revive our native bush and birdlife. Over two million native trees have been planted as part of the Mayor’s ‘Million Trees Campaign,’ and the current budget proposes strong steps to tackle Climate Change.

“I will continue to give the role of Mayor my full energy and commitment for the next seven months and will consider options for my future in due course,” Mr Goff said.

Phil Goff has been a friend of Indian Newslink since the newspaper was established on November 15, 1999, and has supported us with his regular Columns and articles. He has attended almost all events organised by the publication and has been a lively participant at our Business Awards and Lecture series.

We will write a separate piece on our friendship and goodwill in due course.

National will overhaul Immigration but unsure of stranded migrants The current mess will pose a quandary for years ahead

The National Party will make mod-ernise the immigration system and make it more responsive to the needs of the country if elected to govern in

the 2023 general election but Immigration Spokesperson Erica Stanford is not sure if the issue of stranded migrants offshore can be effectively addressed.

Her concern is that the current government is too involved in clearing the estimated 165,000 applications coming under its ambitious, one-off, ‘Pathway to Residency Programme’ in itself will be a challenge. Broken, ineffective system

“Immigration New Zealand (INZ) is already far too behind in processing the applications. My concern is that it does not have the capacity. Every single resource available has been put on the ‘Residency 21 Programme,’ and officials do not have time to do anything else,” she said.

Ms Stanford, who is also National Party’s Education Spokesperson, was speaking at the ‘Indians Living in Auckland Facebook Group’ organised jointly with Indian Newslink on February 12, 2022.

She said that all other types of visas, including Work, Residence and Visitor Permits are on hold until at least October this year.

“The main reason for borders not opening sooner and for the serious backlog of applications in every category is because INZ does not sufficient human resources to handle them. The Labour government has closed all the INZ offices overseas and as a result, ironically, INZ itself is facing labour shortages. The Immigration Minister is expected to announce Immigration Resetting in July 2022 and hence we have to wait and see,” she said.Migrants stranded overseas

Ms Stanford said that her heart went out to thousands of migrant workers who are stranded overseas (about 790 of them in India) for the past almost two years and ac-cused the Labour government of ineffective management.

“The Minister is saying that people

Venkat Raman

Erica Stanford: National Party Spokesperson for Immigration and Education (Photo Supplied)

Clockwise from top: Rashna Tata, Venkat Raman, Vasu Kunapuli, Ishant Ghulyani, Erica Stanford and Paul Patel at the Indians Living in Auckland Facebook Group on February 12, 2022 (Screen Grab)

whose visas have expired should reapply. While other countries such as Canada and Australia have extended visas, New Zealand has done nothing. It is still unclear as to when the stranded migrants will be allowed to come back. My concern is that by the time we come into government over the next 18 months or so, will be too late to do anything,” she said.

She said that while a National government will not ‘change everything,’ there is a recognised need to improve the systems and procedures, provide more staff and money.

“New Zealand thrives on immigration and hence we should have a proper plan of

attracting talents from all over the world. We must provide certainty to migrants so that they can clearly see their pathway to residency. The current government is living in the past. Why would anyone want to come to New Zealand when other countries can attract them,” she asked.

According to Ms Stanford, the immigration system will eventually be changed to make it more responsive to the needs of the economy and the changes going on elsewhere in the world. Culturally-Arranged Marriages will go

“The Culturally-Arranged Marriage Visas for instance is a problem created by INZ. It does not work and the decline rate is huge. The tra-ditional understanding of arranged marriages has undergone significant changes. We must upgrade and modernise our system,” she said.

Ms Standford ruled out providing amnesty to overstayers, saying that it is ‘relatively easy’ for people to regularise their stay here.

On resuming parent category visas, she said, “National had put this on hold, hoping to revise it after the 2017 general election (which the Party lost). The situation has now been made more difficult by the huge number of Pathway 21 applications. While I personally welcome opening this category, we need to consider various other aspects,” she said.

The above is a shortened text. For more information on issues such as Work Visas, pathway to residence for international students, partnership visas and more, please read the story on our website: www.indiannewslink.co.nz

2 February 15, 2022

we all look to find our footing in a post-Covid envi-ronment. While the announcement is a great step forward, international airlines will be seeking clarity as to when travellers can expect to arrive without needing to self-isolate. “That’s when I expect you’ll see passenger volumes increase and air cargo becomes more affordable again,” she said.

A majority of businesses and politicians have welcomed the government’s measures to reopen borders, abolish the

notoriously unpopular MIQ system and allow migrant workers and international students in stages but not everyone is happy.

Full vaccinated passengers should be in self-isolation for ten days in their homes while those not vaccinated must enter the MIQ facility on arrival.Self-Isolation should go

Board of Airline Representatives of New Zealand (BARNZ) Executive Direc-tor Justin Tighe-Umbers said that some airlines have already stopped flying to New Zealand, while some have hung on with the help of cargo support.

“But the end of February is going to be crunch time. Self-isolation requirements need to go as soon as possible, or some airlines will cut New Zealand from their routes for the third summer in a row. The end of February is when airlines will assign planes to routes where there is some hope of financial recovery,” he said.

Describing the MIQ system as ‘the lottery of human misery,’ National Party Leader Christopher Luxon said that his Party has been calling on the government to end it.

“We are pleased that New Zealanders offshore now have some light at the end of the tunnel. Today’s announcement is a victory for the 100,000 people who signed the National’s petition to end MIQ and the one million Kiwis around the world who, for the last two years, have been blocked from coming home

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New Zealand to open borders for travellers in five stagesBy October 2022, everyone eligible to enter New Zealand will be welcome

Venkat Raman

After several months of discussions, procrastination and protests, the government has decided to open its international

borders which, beginning with travellers from Australia on February 27, 2022, will lead up to October 2022 when everyone with a valid visa can enter New Zealand from across the world.

Following is the Timetable announced by Jacinda Ardern first at the BusinessNZ breakfast in Wellington.

Ms Ardern said that the MIQ system

will be disbanded for all travellers who are fully vaccinated but they must self-isolate in their homes for up to ten days on their arrival.

However, high-risk travellers including unvaccinated people must undergo MIQ.The Timeframe rationale

“The gap of two weeks between each of the steps has been made at the request of public health advisors to give time for our systems to adjust for the likelihood of more cases in our community, and for our border systems to keep scaling up in the safest way possible. Health workers, farm managers, horticultural workers, tech sector professionals, those working for accounting services, in education and construction, will all be eligible to enter New Zealand, self-isolate for a short period and then go about their business,” Ms Ardern said.

According to her, more than 17,000 critical workers have come to

New Zealand since the borders closed almost two years ago.

The maximum impact of the opening of borders will occur on or before July 1, 2022. This stage (Four), will allow Australians,

business travellers and all other visitors who can normally enter New Zealand without a visa.

“This stage is likely to begin when we have much larger case numbers than we

have now. For planning, we anticipate this stage will begin no later than July. I want to place a strong emphasis on this being the latest we expect this to begin. There is a high likelihood of this date coming forward as we progress through the next stage of the pandemic,” Ms Ardern said.Accredited Employer Work Visa

The new Accredited Employer Work Visa will be open from July 1, 2022.

Available only to those whose earnings will be more than the median wage, this is stated to be a part of the ‘Rebalance Changes’ of Immigration New Zealand.

We await a detailed statement from Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi.

“While we will no longer require people to enter managed isolation, at this stage, travellers will be asked to follow broadly the same requirements that we have in New Zealand for close contacts at the time of their travel. That is because, as travel-lers, it is highly likely that they will come in contact with the highly transmissible

Omicron variant on their journey, a fact that can be seen in the current numbers at the border, even with pre-departure testing in place. That means New Zea-landers must self-isolate for 10 days. But as the isolation period drops for close contacts here in New Zealand, as it does in phase two of our Omicron response, so too will returnees only need to isolate for seven days,” Ms Ardern said.Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs)

All arriving passengers must take home three Rapid Antigen Tests on arrival at the port of arrival. These will be used on the day of arrival, the second on the fifth or sixth day and one as a backup, extra.

“If a positive result is returned at any point, returnees will be asked to get a follow-up Polymerase Chain Reaction

(PCR Test) at a Community Testing Station. This will help us to monitor any possible variants that may emerge. It will also help us assess when it is safe to lift self-isolation requirements. Overall, opening back up in this managed way balances inflows of travellers so that people can reunite and fill our workforce shortages, while also ensuring our healthcare system can manage an increase in cases. After all, our strategy with Omicron is to slow the spread,” Ms Ardern said. The MIQ dismissal

With the restricted use of MIQ, many hotels and motels thus far providing accommodation facilities will return to their traditional task of catering to travellers, international tourists and others. The New Zealand Defence Force will begin the process of withdrawal from MIQ.

Ms Ardern said that a core quarantine capacity will be maintained that can

be scaled up as required, which will form the basis of a future National Quarantine Service.

“We have been able to build our defences to (1) become one of the most vaccinated countries in the world (2) set up public health measures that we know work (3) get our children vaccinated and our adults boosted (4) keep our economy strong (5) see people stay in work with unemployment at a record low of 3.2% (6) return growth to pre-Covid levels and a return to surplus three years ahead of forecast (7) have debt well below many of the countries, using the IMF measure of 24.1% in 2024, compared to Australia at over 44%, the UK at more than 98% and the Euro Area at 80%,” she said.

Five-Stage opening of Borders: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaking at the BusinessNZ meeting in Wellington on February 3, 2022 (Screen Grab)

As travellers return, so will our smiles (Auckland Airport Photo)

The Duty-Free Zone will be busy again with customers (Auckland Airport Photo)

Decision gains currency among businesses and politiciansVenkat Raman

to their family and friends. It is also good news for businesses and workplaces that rely on New Zealand being open to the world so that they can get the critical workers they need into the country,” he said.MIQ is senseless

Mr Luxon said that MIQ no longer made sense.

“I know that there will be people who will be sceptical or nervous that the government might not keep to the announced schedule. Therefore, the National Party will hold them to account and ensure that they stick to these commitments,” he said.

ExportNZ Director of Advocacy said that while commodity exports have done remarkably well during challenging times, New Zealand’s manufacturing and tech

exporters have been facing tough times due to the inability to travel freely.

“They have navigated global logistics disruptions and price increases, and exporters will now finally be able to plan business travel with confidence. I know that they will be keen to reconnect with old customers and forge connections with new ones,” she said.Trade delegations important

Ms Beard also welcomed Ms Ardern’s intention to lead trade delegations to some of the most important markets for New Zealand.

“As she said today, New Zealand is in demand. By leading trade delegations to Australia, Asia, Europe and the United States, the Prime Minister has demonstrated the importance that trade will have in our economic recovery as

Mr Tighe-Umbers said that New Zealand used to earn $17 billion from international tourism but this plum-meted to $1.5 billion in 2020.

“New Zealand businesses that have worked hard to create that value have lost more than $15 billion and hence every day counts for the people running these businesses and the people who work for them. It is essential that New Zealand opens quarantine-free the minute our Omicron risk is the same as the rest of the world,” he said.

According to him, many countries that have seen a wave of Omicron are acknowledging that borders are no longer an effective tool to fight Covid and are moving to quarantine-free entry.

“The United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and a growing number of EU countries

Let us welcome the world again (Auckland Airport Photo)

Christopher Luxon, Leader of the National Party (Photo Supplied)

New Zealand is known for its hospitality and kindness (Auckland Airport Photo)

3February 15, 2022

Christopher Luxon can feel well pleased with how things have gone since he picked up the previously poisoned chalice of

Leader of the National Party just over nine weeks ago.

For the first time since going into Opposition more than four years ago, the Party has started to look as though it is serious about being a real contender for office again. It has begun to sharpen its focus on the main areas where it sees the Labour government as vulnerable – the ongoing management of the pandemic response and New Zealand’s reconnec-tion with the world, and the deteriorating economic situation.

However, it has not all been plain sailing. The continuing mini controver-sies surrounding Harete Hipango are at this stage simply an irritant, but they could become more problematic if they continue, and Luxon is forced to act more bluntly than he has done so far to bring her into line or remove her altogether.Mounting pessimism on economy

The first opinion polls of the year suggest that Luxon is making headway with the public, at the expense of both the Prime Minister and the government. Also, they show mounting pessimism about the state of the economy and the overall direction of the country, normally fertile ground for an Opposition to hoe in its quest for votes.

Nevertheless, it is still very early days in the Luxon leadership, and a lot will change before the country goes to the next election in about eighteen months. Luxon will not want to get too far ahead of himself but can feel satisfied with the progress he has already made.

People are starting to talk once more about the prospect of the National Party

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National makes gains but still far away from Treasury benches

Peter Dunne

leading a future government, not just continuing to tear itself apart. National’s challenge now is to build on that emerging conversation and solidify the new interest in what it is saying into real support before the next election.

When Parliament begins sitting for the year next week the underlying dynamic will consequently be different from the last few years. If the Luxon momentum continues and builds, the

government will be tested in the House in a way that it has not been since pre-pandemic days. And with the public becoming increasingly grumpy about aspects of the pandemic response, things are unlikely to be as plain sailing for it as they have been.

The unprecedented partisanship of the Speaker notwithstanding, a more effective and hungry Opposition might force Ministers to give proper answers to Questions in the House for a start.Labour MPs face failure

Moreover, based on recent polls, a large number of Labour MPs, in the main those who came in on the back of the big swing in 2020, face losing their seats in 2023. Many of the 15 electorate seats won by Labour from National in 2020 will likely flip back to National, although some of those Labour MPs will probably make their way back to Parliament via the Party List.

Nevertheless, on current polling about a quarter of Labour’s present MPs are at risk of not being re-elected next year.

As that reality starts to sink in over

the next few months, those MPs and others who might also feel threatened will inevitably start to focus more on what they need to do to secure their re-election than they have needed to do so far.

That will place pressure on the govern-ment to be responsive to their needs, to ensure they keep playing for the whole team and not just themselves. It will make the internal management of the Caucus to retain a sense of unity, cohesion, and purpose that much more difficult.

This will be especially so if Labour’s fortunes continue to deteriorate – as they have been for the last few months – in the opinion polls.Internal Party focus

Luxon and his team will be keen, if they can, to establish in the public mind the contrast between a National Party on the way up, and a Labour government increasingly hunkered down and looking inwards to protect a shrinking patch. In

short, Luxon will be seeking to promote the vision of a positive National Party versus a stuck in a rut Labour govern-ment. Achieving that will require a level of internal party focus and discipline the party has not demonstrated since the halcyon days of the Key/English era.

Of the other parties, ACT, the Greens, and Te Paati Māori will all be seeking to consolidate their support to give them

good platforms for the coming election year. But each will have their own way of going about achieving that.ACT keen to consolidate gain

ACT will be wanting to lock in its gains of the last two years, knowing all the while though that at least some of National’s rise will be at its expense.

It will therefore most likely continue to be the government’s most aggressive Covid-19 critic to shore up the libertari-an vote to National’s right. ACT will also seek to promote itself as Luxon’s reliable support partner, whose ideological rigour will be needed to underpin a future centre-right government.The Maori Party drifts

Likewise, Te Paati Māori will be fo-cusing almost solely on its constituents, aiming to win at least one more of the Māori electorate seats, and boost its party vote support at the same time.

While the Party says that it has ruled

out working with National in a future governing arrangement, a careful reading of its position suggests a more ambivalent approach.

All it seems to have ruled out is a repeat of the previous 2008-2017 governing partnership with National, which still leaves a range of possible support options open to it if it wished to use its influence.

Greens in an awkward positionThe Greens are probably in the most

awkward position of all the smaller parties. Although not in a formal coali-tion with Labour, the Greens’ fortunes are nevertheless inextricably linked to Labour’s. Having emphatically ruled out ever working with National they have left themselves nowhere else to go. Consequently, the Greens will suffer more so than most support parties the taint of being bound to a government whose support is waning.

Compounding their problem is that if Labour’s support continues to slip, Labour will start to look towards cannibalising soft Greens support to bolster its faltering position.

These changing political fortunes confirm that the abnormal circum-stances that shaped the political environment at the time of the 2020 election have passed and that politics are now returning to their more normal state. While Covid19 will continue to be a significant influence, at least for the short to medium term, other more long-term issues like the state of the economy and climate change are starting to reassert themselves.

That means the convenient excuses of everything being on hold due to Cov-id19 are no longer relevant or credible. Political parties are being expected once more to offer their plan for New Zealand’s future.

This change creates Luxon’s opportu-nity to brand National as the party for the future.

The early polls suggest the public might be ready to listen to what he has to say. But there is still a long way to go to solidify that early public curiosity into something more tangible and lasting. That will only happen if National can develop a clear and attractive message to put before voters before the next election. Peter Dunne was a Minister of the Crown un-der the Labour and National-led governments from November 1999 to September 2017. He lives in Wellington.

National Party Leader Christopher Luxon (Photo Supplied)

International Management of National: Christopher Luxon with some of his Caucus Members at the Indian Newslink luncheon at Indian Newslink offices on April 30, 2022 (INL Photo by Narendra Bedekar

Authorised by Melissa Lee, Parliament Buildings, Wellington.

If you require any assistanceI and my office are always happyand ready to provide adviceand support.

Please get in touch on 09 520 0538 or atMPLee@parliament.govt.nz to make an appointment.

Melissa LeeNational List MP based in AucklandMPLee@parliament.govt.nzmelissalee.co.nz

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4 February 15, 2022Homelink

Climate Action Package in Auckland’s Budget

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Exit from Red Setting will follow MIQ but safety concerns remain Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has

said that the government decided to reopen borders and welcome people from overseas, connecting

the move with a majority of New Zealanders getting the Covid-19 booster.

Speaking to the media following the opening of a new Vaccination Centre at The Cloud in Auckland’s Central Busi-ness District on Friday, February 4, 2022, she said that ‘New Zealand is in demand and that businesses should benefit from the emerging opportunities.

She was accompanied by Covid-Re-sponse Minister Chris Hipkins, Correc-tions Minister Kelvin Davis and Maori Development Minister Willie Jackson.Determining factors

“We took into consideration several

factors including the level of vaccinations and the time of the year. The government wants to make sure that New Zealand continues to be an attractive place to come - including for tourists - because of the management of Covid-19. It is a constant effort to strike a balance and I think that we have got it right,” she said.

Dr Ian Town, leader of the Clinical Advisory Team on Vaccinations, had said earlier in the week that there was not enough data to show conclusively wheth-er the effects of booster doses wane in the same way as the two doses of vaccination.

Ms Ardern said that perhaps there has not been a high level of uptake with boosters until Omicron starts to spread in the community.

“People should not wait for their

booster shot,” she said.With a larger number of Omicron

cases expected, MIQ may not have the capacity to people arriving from overseas as experienced earlier, she said.

Home isolation has been introduced as a suitable alternative, she said. Criteria to move from Red

“The criteria for moving out of the current Red Setting under the Traffic Lights System is safety. We want to know that we are managing Covid within New Zealand in such a way that it is not plac-ing extra pressure on our health system, that we are not seeing the severe impact on our vulnerable communities. We are constantly monitoring the system,” she said.

Defending the Red Setting as Omicron

entered New Zealand, Ms Ardern said that the government will keep an eye on the settings in future to see whether it is safe to move.

New Zealand is in a good position compared to many other countries because of various factors, including moving early with health measures and high vaccination.

“The Jury is still out because not many countries have managed to slow it down but we will continue to make decisions that ensure that New Zealanders get the healthcare they need when they need it,” she said.

Ms Ardern is visiting various places around Auckland after confirming the opening of borders in five stages. Please read that story on our website www.

indiannewslink.co.nz Booster to support self-isolationThe government had announced

earlier that the interval between second and booster doses of the Covid-19 vaccine would be reduced from four months to three months.

That would allow an extra million people to get booster vaccinations this weekend, and vaccination clinics are planning for a large influx.

It would bring the total number of eligible people aged over 18 to more than three million, in the hope that it would curb the spread of Omicron as New Zealanders start to return from the end of February and skip MIQ and go home to self-isolate.Published under a Special Agreement with www.rnz.co.nz

Public Consultation from February 28 to March 28, 2022Phil Goff

yourself from the severe effects of the omicron variant, which is spreading in the community. The challenge of Climate Change

Later this month, the consultation process will open on Auckland Council’s Annual Budget 2022-2023. A key focus of this budget will be taking urgent action on climate change, which is the biggest challenge we currently face.

We are already seeing the impact of cli-mate change, with more extreme weather events including serious droughts in Auckland. Last year was the hottest year in New Zealand since records began 110 years ago, and seven of the past nine years have been among the warmest on record. For the third consecutive year, ocean temperatures worldwide have hit the highest levels ever recorded.

Last year, the United Nations issued a stark warning to the world that we need to act now to avoid a climate catastrophe. It was described as a ‘code red’ for humanity.

To tackle this challenge, I have proposed a billion-dollar Climate Action Package as part of Auckland Council’s Annual Budget 2022-2023.

It will help cut Auckland’s emissions by increasing access to fast, frequent and low-emissions bus services, accelerating the decarbonisation of our ferry fleet, delivering more walkways and cycleways, and increasing tree canopy coverage. These lay the foundation for reducing car-bon emissions but also have co-benefits such as reducing congestion.

Targeted Rate and Fares The Climate Action Package will be

funded by a Climate Action Targeted Rate (CATR) of around $1.10 per week for rate-payers with a median-value house worth $1.18 million and supported by subsidies from the government and fares from increased public transport patronage.

It is a small weekly amount but a big

and important investment in the lives of our children and grandchildren.

The CATR responds to Auckland Council’s Climate Emergency declaration and repeated feedback to the Council that Aucklanders want us to do more to tackle climate change.

While we have already made a start to tackle global warming, it is clear that we need to accelerate our emissions reductions efforts.

The Climate Action Targeted Rate will enable us to do so.

The benefits will be felt across the city: reduced emissions, more tree canopy for communities currently missing out, safer streets to walk and cycle on and more than one million people living within 500m of a frequent bus route. It will lay the groundwork for future transformational change that will be required not only from Council but also from government, business and the community.

Consultation on the Annual Budget and the Climate Action Targeted Rate runs from February 28, 2022, to March 28, 2022.

Please visit www.akhaveyoursay.nz to find out more and tell us what you think. Phil Goff is Mayor of Auckland. He writes a regular Column in Indian Newslink.

Image from Auckland Council Website

5February 15, 2022 Homelink

Christopher Luxon desires to fix the National Party that steered him towards Parlia-ment. It speaks to a game

plan that took him from backbench MP to Leader in just 13 months. He is convinced the party’s internal culture problem is on the mend.

In an interview with Newsroom at the Party’s caucus retreat in Queenstown, he said, “People orientate very quickly around the expectations of a new leader.”Modelling the behaviour

He is set on modelling the behaviour the Party needs to win in 2023.

“People will say, ‘That is different from how it used to be’ but then they will get on board and follow,” he said.

Luxon wants the “reality show of the National Party’’ put behind the Caucus as it turns its attention to the seven quarters ahead in the run-up to the election.

“We have been playing Cricket but have not been on the pitch. We have been sitting in the changing rooms, fighting with each other,’’ he said.

Luxon pinpointed a couple of areas where he thinks that culture improvements in both the Caucus and the wider party can be made.

“I am already working with the Party directly to say first-and-fore-most that I want a code of behaviour for members and MPs and a dispute resolutions process. We are drawing a line in the sand and saying that going forward this is what we are going to do.’’

Former Leader Judith Collins said that she is excited about the year ahead and has moved on from last year.

Luxon keen on a credible, strong alternative government

Jo Moir

Luxon said that he was not part of a faction in the National Party when he joined, although some would argue the newbie MPs of 2020 were their own faction. That has put him in a position where he can pick up the phone and discuss an issue if he can see someone has sensitivities.

“I am quite non-hierarchical and I will pick up the phone to anyone,’’ he said.Changing Parliamentary Culture

Luxon is fully supportive of the

recommendations from the Debbie Francis review into Parliament’s workplace culture, sparked by allegations of bullying and abuse of power.

“There is no choice on the Debbie Francis Review, we need to be relaxed on that. I don’t give a toss what they think about that, we are doing it,’’ he said.

Luxon admits that the Party was in “a lot worse” shape than he realised when he joined the Caucus in October 2020,

Asked how he wants voters to perceive him, he said, “They will say that Chris Luxon knows how to get things done and that he is highly competent and fundamentally he

cares deeply about people. That’s it, that’s why I came, that’s why I love doing turnaround jobs because that’s the challenge.

He said that he does not that he doesn’t shy away from making the tough calls but acknowledges that he’s the type of guy who ‘likes to be liked.’

“I am a people-person and I am a big extrovert.’’No-Confidence against Collins

Luxon said that there was plenty of commentary about when he should run for the leadership, and why it was too early to step up, but in the end, those choices were taken away when the Caucus voted no-confidence in former leader Judith Collins.

“We’ve ended up where we’ve ended up, is it the right time or wrong time? I don’t really care – it’s what was needed.’

“I used to say to Amanda (his wife) when I first started at Parlia-ment, ‘It is going to be a great week this week I can feel it, what a special place to be.’ Then you would get in there and there would be some discussion on some minutiae or something else and it would be like, ‘Right, let us start again next week; next week will be a better week.”

As for the next steps, Luxon said that they would be about creating a “Credible strong alternative government.”

That means not just opposing ideas for the sake of it, but also proposing new ones to “build trust back’’ with voters.

“What I want from our MPs is that they should not become institutionalised to Wellington and think that their wood-panelled office is where things get done. We cannot be an old crusty National Party; we have to reinvent this Party,’’ he said.Jo Moir is the Political Editor of Newsroom based in Wellington. The above article has been published under a Special Agreement.

National Party Leader Christopher Luxon speaking to Media in Queenstown (Newshub Photo)

National Party Leader Christopher Luxon with his Deputy Nicola Willis (Newshub Photo)

6 February 15, 2022EducationlinkM

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International students free to travel overseas and return They must however meet the visa requirements; Five Steps explained again

International students who are currently in New Zealand, and have a valid visa with multiple entry conditions, can go home at any time from now to visit their friends and

family and return here after 11:59 pm on Tuesday, April 12, 2022.

To re-enter New Zealand, they will need to meet the requirements of their current visa.

They will also need to meet all relevant vaccination and other health requirements.

For example, they must be fully vaccinated, and self-isolate on their return to New Zealand.

They need not go through a Managed Isolation and Quarantine facility. The self-isolation period is currently ten days, but this may be shortened in the future.

Grant McPherson

Young Adwik Ghosh is literally flying high.

In mid-January, 17-year-old Adwik received his Private

Flying Licence, completing over eighty hours of flying and twenty hours of solo flight, with dedication.

I was fortunate enough to see the video of his first solo flight in 2021.

As a person who has known Adwik from his formative years, it gave me immense pleasure to see my Hindi student land so smoothly. Multiple achiever

He is an achiever in many other fields.

Adwik holds a Professional Asso-ciation of Diving (PADI) Instructors Certificate in diving.

He was recognised for his services

Grant McPherson, Chief Executive, Education New Zealand

We know how hard it has been for so many students who have been caught by the border closure and how much they have missed their friends and families.

This is great news for them and the sector. Summary of Step 3

This clarification is a part of Step 3 of the Re-connecting New Zealand plan and is summarised

on the Immigration New Zealand website.

New Zealand’s border reopens to

vaccinated New Zealand citizens and residents and other eligible travellers from Australia at 11:59 pm on February 27, 2022, and New Zealand citizens and residents and other eligible travellers from the rest of the world on March 13, 2022.

MIQ will be removed for most travellers in steps over 2022, replaced by self-isolation and tests on arrival. Unvaccinated travellers, and those who do not meet New Zealand’s vaccina-tion requirements, who are eligible to enter New Zealand will continue to enter MIQ.

The Five Steps againStep 1: From 11:59 pm on February 27, 2022. The following fully vaccinated people can enter New Zealand from Australia and self-isolate upon arrival (a) New Zealand citizens and residents (b) Other eligible travellers under current border settings (c) Unvaccinated New Zealand citizens and those who do not meet New Zealand’s vaccination requirements for self-isolation, who are eligible to enter New Zealand will continue to enter managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ).

If you travelled to Australia from another country (excluding New Zealand), you must spend 14 days in Australia before you travel to New Zealand.

Step 2: From 11:59 pm on March 13, 2022: The following fully vaccinated people can enter New Zealand from anywhere in the world and self-isolate upon arrival (a) New Zealand citizens and residents (b) Other eligible travellers under current border settings (c) Skilled workers earn-ing at least 1.5x the median wage (d) Travellers on a working holiday scheme (e) Partners and dependent children of New Zealand citizens and residents, provided they meet the usual visa and vaccination requirements (f) A family group does not have to travel to New Zealand together (g) Unvaccinated New Zealand citizens, and those who do not meet New Zealand’s vaccination requirements for self-isolation, who are eligible to enter New Zealand will continue to enter managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ).Step 3: From 11:59 pm on April 12, 2022: The following fully vaccinated people can enter New Zealand from anywhere in the world and self-iso-late upon arrival (a) Current temporary work and student visa holders with a valid visa who can still meet their visa requirements; this includes both visa holders currently offshore, and those in New Zealand who choose to travel overseas and wish to return (b) Up to 5000 international students for Semester 2Step 4: From July 2022: The following fully vaccinated people can enter New Zealand and

self-isolate upon arrival (a) All travellers from Australia (b) Visitors from countries who do not need a visa (visa waiver visitors) (c) Visitors from other countries who already hold a valid visitor visa (d) Travellers arriving under the Accredited Employer Work Visa categories.Step 5: From October 2022: (a) All visa categories will reopen from October 2022, including visitor and student visas (b) Self-isolation requirements (c) Self-isolation is only available for fully vaccinated travellers who are eligible to enter New ZealandVaccination requirements for travel to New Zealand

You must self-isolate for 10 days in New Zealand. If New Zealand’s self-isolation period changes, such as a drop to 7 days, the self-isola-tion period for travellers will also change.

Travellers will be given three rapid antigen tests at the airport, one for use on day 0/1, and one for use on day 5/6, with one extra for backup.

Anyone who tests positive will need to take a PCR test at a Community Testing Centre or GP for whole-genome sequencing in order to quickly identify and respond to new variants coming across the border.

We will provide more information about self-isolation requirements when it is available.

Sky is the limit for teenager reaching for the stars

Sunita Narayan

to Hindi by the High Commission of India during Vishwa Hindi Divas and Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebrations

held on January 9, 2022, in Wellington. He received an Award from former Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand.

He was selected as a School Leader for 2022, at Scots College where he has been teaching basic Hindi to his junior colleagues every week. Versatile linguist

Born in Singapore to doctor parents, Adwik moved to New Zealand in November 2012 and joined the Wellington Hindi School to retain fluency in Hindi, which he had already learnt.

As well as learning Bangla and Telugu (respectively the language of his father and mother), his interest in languages encouraged him to learn Mandarin, Japanese, French and Spanish.

“A student like Adwik is a teach-er’s Best Reward. He is always ready to learn anything and everything. His poise is his glory,” his Bangla

teacher Sunayana Mukherjee said.I am extremely honoured to be a

very small part of his journey. I wish him well. Go and get the

stars, Adwik. With his continued high perfor-

mance in several areas of Hindi edu-cation and Wellington Hindi School, Adwik was elected to the School Board as a Student Representative in 2021.

In this role, he shines again by contributing fully to all aspects of gov-ernance and taking on small projects, delivering a high standard of service.

He has been invited to speak at several forums in recent months.

All these achievements are in addition to his academic excellence.

Adwik is preparing for the year 2022 with much excitement. Undoubtedly, he will continue to excel with the dedication and commitment which seems to come naturally to him.

Well done, Adwik.Wishing you a successful journey in

aerospace!Sunita Narayan runs the Wellington Hin-di School. She is also the Co-Founder of Bharatiya Bhasha Evam Shodh Sansthan

Adwik Gosh near his Piper PA-38-112 Tomahawk aircraft (Photo Supplied)

Adwik Gosh received his ‘Youth Hindi Award’ from Sir Anand Satyanand on behalf of the Indian Government on January 9, 2022, in Wellington (Photo Supplied)

7February 15, 2022 Educationlink

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Health and Safety at work evolve to protect people

The requirements of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 con-tinue to apply to Covid-19-related and usual workplace risks.

All workers (including volunteers) should have access to the right informa-tion about keeping themselves well. This will mean that they are able to maintain good work and hygiene practices. It cannot be assumed that workers will just know how to do this. They need to have or know where to get official information.Work processes and risk controls

Businesses and workers should be pre-pared to learn and adapt to find the best ways to maintain physical distancing, and good hygiene and cleaning practices.

This will involve engaging with work-ers to learn what is working and what is not working and how things could be improved. Businesses should have good

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processes in place to encourage workers to engage in work health and safety matters.

The Health and Safety at Work Act requires businesses to ask their workers and health and safety representatives about health and safety issues, not just assume that they will speak up.

Many businesses and organisations will already have effective incident

reporting approaches that can be adapted to assess how well their Covid-19 controls are working.

If a business does not have an incident reporting approach or its usual practices are not right for the circumstances, then it must find a way to ensure that Covid-19 controls are working.Wearing face masks at work

Face masks can help reduce the spread of Covid-19 and public health rules require face masks in certain situations. More information about what is required by the public health orders is available on the United against Covid-19 website.

Face masks may be necessary at work because a public health order requires workers to wear a face mask at work or a business may set its own policies on face masks for its own reasons.

Where face masks are necessary, be-cause of a public health order, employers should consider providing them and

ensure workers wear them while working.If the health order does not require

face masks but a business has set its own policy on face masks, the businesses should provide them to workers who need them.Other safety measures

A face mask is not the only means of dealing with the risk of Covid-19.

Social distancing, tracking and good hygiene must also play a role regardless of whether masks are necessary or not. Businesses and workers need to think about how they can effectively deal with the risks of Covi

There are new face mask requirements from February 4, 2022. Face masks must cover a person’s nose and mouth and be secured to their head by ear loops or a head loop.

At Red Setting under the Traffic Lights System, a worker must wear a medical-grade face mask when they are

in contact with customers to which a vaccine mandate applies. This includes workers undertaking customer-facing work at (a) food and drink services (b) events and gatherings (c) proximity services (d) education entities (e) gyms and other physical activity facilities that require membership or are otherwise controlled (except those for exclusive use by residents of the premises).Some exemptions

Some people do not need to wear a face mask. These include people with a disability or health condition that does not allow them to wear a face mask safely or comfortably. In these circumstances, businesses should work with their staff in good faith to see if there are other actions that could be taken to keep their staff safe.

If you cannot wear a face mask, your employer must assess how else to keep you safe and if they cannot, alternative arrangements may need to be agreed upon.

Source: Employment New Zealand, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

(Image from Careers NZ)

Protest rally disintegrates into a chaotic carnivalLet us have a decent, frank conversation

Tim Wilson

Frankly, the anti-mandate protest-ers who illegally camped outside Parliament have done themselves, and their message, few favours.

While the protests began peacefully, they quickly disintegrated into a chaotic carnival. Illegally parked cars jammed inner-city streets – one preventing a local from getting to the hospital.

Parliamentary Speaker Trevor Mallard ordered the protesters out of Parlia-ment’s grounds, because they were living in tents. When they didn’t go, the Police arrested 120 of them. Local business owners have seen their trade (already

diminished by Red Light Settings) drop by up to 70%. A pub owner was in tears; journalists have been spat at; and yes, Trump flags were waved. A rabble narrative

Such actions make the construction of a “rabble” narrative quite straightforward, and that has quickly become the con-sensus. If you fail to behave properly, you

erode your ability to be taken seriously, and your message is lost.

Go home. Shut up. Let people get back to their lives.

But vaccine mandates are clearly affecting these protesters’ lives, jobs, and

businesses already. That is why they are doing this. Might it be that politicians have failed those protesting?

These are disenfranchised people crying out to be heard, yet both Jacinda Ardern and Chris Luxon refused to meet them. The National Leader said, “We do not want to be associated with any anti-vaccination messages.”

While likely true (and politically prudent), this statement ignores that the protests are not actually about vaccination, so much as the mandating of vaccination.

Blazing issue overseasThat has been a blazing issue overseas. For some New Zealanders, it remains

incendiary. Massey associate professor Grant

Duncan has noted, “...these restrictions are controversial. Even though I am a fully vaccinated person, I am concerned about the legalised discrimination in the vaccine mandate.”

“Legalised discrimination.” Strong words for an academic; and

surely a necessary subject to debate? Meanwhile, the PM observed, “...

it would be wrong in any way to characterise what we have seen outside (Parliament) as a representation of the majority.”

The same could have been said of Civil Rights protesters in the 1960s.

Majorities are not automatically moral.

I am not attempting to assign, or dilute, blame.

There is already plenty of that. What we need is a mode that applies to how we engage during the pandemic’s collateral bedlam, and beyond.

Civility in action neededWe need to be able to disagree better.

How?Civility goes a long way. No spitting,

ever; after all, we tell our children not to do it.

Fewer slogans, more explaining. Give people on both sides the dignity of being understood rather than miscategorised.

The protesters are not unilaterally rabid anti-vaxxers; politicians are not suited, fascists.

Oh, and can we please spare a thought for the Police Officers who have an unenviable job?

Don’t dismiss people out of hand. Then what? Talk. A conversation

that involves listening, humility, then response.

There were always individuals in the team of five million. And it would be a surprise if everyone agreed about measures taken to combat Covid.

That has been the case overseas; it is the case here. We can disagree; let us disagree agreeably.Tim Wilson is Executive Director of Maxim Institute based in Auckland.

Protestors in Parliament RNZ Photo by Angus Dreaver

Some of the Protestors in Wellington over the weekend (RNZ Photo by Nate McKinnon)

8 February 15, 2022Fijilink

If you require advocacy, information or support please contact me

Authorised by Dr Anae Neru Leavasa MP, Parliament Buildings, Wellington

Dr Anae Neru Leavasa MP for Takanini

Takanini Office takanini.mp@parliament.govt.nz0800 997 527 317 Great South Road, Takanini 2112

/DrAnaeNeruLeavasa

Fiji Commission investigates irregular allotment of housing lots

The Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) is investigating how several former employees of the Housing

Authority of Fiji acquired housing lots for themselves.

Acting Prime Minister, Attorney-Gen-eral and Minister for Housing, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum made the statement during the question hour in Parliament.

The question was on an update of the Special Purpose Audit (Special Investiga-tion) on several allotments and tenders

awarded by the Housing Authority.Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said that several

weaknesses were found in the operational side of the Housing Authority, in the management and middle management level, where people who should not have acquired those lots, had acquired them.

“Also, files related to the allocation of lots to several former employees have also been submitted to FICAC itself for them to investigate as to how the staff acquired these lots. That is the status. We have a new Board of Directors, chaired by the Fiji National Provident Fund Chief Executive Viliame Vodonaivalu. The Deputy Chair is

Sourced Content

(Image from the Fiji Sun)

the Chief Executive of Fiji Development Bank Saud Minam and Renee Duguivalu (an Engineer) from Nadi,” he said.New Board of Directors

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said that Susan

Naidu, Manager of Koroipita Homes in Lautoka, Florence Takinana a lawyer and a Member of the real estate fraternity are among the directors.

“This board is currently finalising action plans and we hope to improve these processes within the Housing Authority of Fiji itself,” he said.

He admitted that much more can be done by the Office of the Auditor-General and that the Terms of Reference (TOR) of the audit were not met.

“We had asked them to verify all information by checking the titles office, FNPF and others. This was not done. We

are informed that perhaps some people from the Auditor-General’s Office may have acquired some of those lots too and not necessarily entitled to it.

“So, there are a lot of things in the closet that is yet to be leaked out, but as a result of being proactive about it, the current board is in the process of final-ising a draft lot allocation policy, which is going to be reviewed by the ministry and the board, a mechanism periodic declarations by Board Members also and all other staff,” Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said.

Report and Picture Source: The Fiji Sun

Direct partnership with the US for Climate Security

We are the crossroads of a 40 million square kilometre patch of the Pacific Ocean that is governed by the Pacif-

ic Islands and our neighbours, Australia and New Zealand.

Most world maps cut our region right down the middle, so you may not know by looking, but we are the largest ocean-con-tinent in the world.

That big, blue responsibility is linked to the wellbeing of every person on Earth. Despite that, Fiji and our small state neighbours have felt, at times, to borrow an American term, like “fly-over” coun-tries. Small dots were spotted from plane windows of leaders en route to meetings where they spoke about us rather than with us if they spoke of us at all. When the USA signalled its intent to leave the Paris Agreement, we felt forgotten by a superpower.A new era in the Blue Frontier

We welcomed President Joe Biden’s promise to the world that America was back.

We have just held the most historic and comprehensive meeting ever between Fiji and the USA and a wider meeting with our fellow Pacific leaders. We believe that both mark the start of a more direct

Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum

Fiji’s Acting Prime Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khai-yum with the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) in Nadi on February 1, 2022 (Fiji Government Photo)

partnership between Fiji and the USA and a new era for America in the Blue Frontier of the Pacific.

The last significant American presence we felt in Fiji were the soldiers we welcomed here during the Second World War. We face a new war today –– a cli-mate war that is devastating our people, unlike any conflict before it. There is no region of the world, not in the Pacific, not

in Europe, not in the Americas, that will be spared its consequences.Natural disasters

Fourteen cyclones have struck Fiji since we signed the Paris Agreement, each storm driving home the urgency of adapting and curbing global emissions. Recently, Ba Town was flooded for

the third time in three months. Six communities in Fiji have been moved to escape the rising seas with 40 others in the queue. Not to mention the bleaching reefs and erratic weather patterns that threaten our people’s livelihoods and ways of life.

We are not alone. When Pacific Islands are sinking, Texas is freezing, California is burning, and New York City is flooding.

When a superstorm misses Fiji, American Samoa is in the crosshairs. And Hawaii, Guam and the FSM know many of Fiji’s struggles because they live them.

Fiji and America are both working in support of a more secure, stable and peaceful region, but there is far more we need to do together as partners in this battle of our lives. As a nation that shares many of our struggles and our values, America is uniquely positioned to be a direct partner to Fiji for peace and climate security not only across the Indo-Pacific but here in the Blue Pacific. And not only because America is a large emitter that must cut its carbon emissions, but because it is an innovator that can create climate solutions. And we need American might and its minds – as well as pioneering solutions and investments -- here, at the shores of this Blue Frontier.

Exploration and Our discussions covered our

commitment to upholding the rule of law in our region, including the Law of the Sea. As we move to sustainably manage and protect our ocean, we have sought to jointly up our game through our navies, militaries, and our Fiji Police Force through maritime surveillance cooperation to end illegal fishing, combat transnational crime, and ensure that this is an ocean decade of exploration and discovery –– not exploitation and destruction. In this respect, we also discussed the opportunities for greater participation from the USA in the Australian-funded Blackrock facility in Fiji to coordinate joint responses to a catastrophic event, not just in Fiji, but in the wider Pacific.

We welcome America’s net-zero commitment as well as Mr Blinken’s recent pledge to decarbonise operations within the State Department.

Fijians believe in leading by example as well, which is why, despite our emis-sions being negligible, we committed to achieving net-zero by 2050.

Mitigation and adaptation both re-quire access to technology we do not have and which major market powers like the USA can help us deploy, including in blue shipping. And that means jobs for

Fijians, jobs in cutting edge technology and from nature that both can build the future.Vaccination Programme

Fiji’s is leading a regional recovery from the pandemic. With the support of the US and our development partners, over 90% of Fijians over the age of 15 are fully vaccinated, which allowed us to wel-come American visitors from December 1, 2021, and we hope to welcome many more, including you, your families and the many Americans watching us today.

We are also keen to open more of the US export market to our farmers. We would love to export more of our kava as well as ginger, taro, turmeric, sugar, Fijian chocolates, cosmetics and other Fijian-grown and Fijian-made products to the US.

We also welcome US firms looking to participate in our growing outsourcing services sector. We have young, well-spo-ken, English speaking, tech-savvy and frankly, very friendly, people who would love the opportunity.

Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum is the Acting Prime Minister, Attorney General and Minister of the Economy of Fiji. The above was an extract of his speech at a meeting held to welcome the visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Nadi on February 12, 2022.

Japan grants F$6 million to fund national development programmes

The Government of Japan recently formalised two Grant Agreements, valued at ¥300 million (approxi-

mately F$6 million) funding to the Fiji government through Japan’s Economic Social Development Programme (ESDP).

The financial support will enable procurement of heavy ma-chinery equipment for Fisheries, Agriculture and Waterways. The provisions of heavy machinery will be utilised in post-disaster recovery, rehabilitation and ultimately support Fiji’s national development priorities.

Japan’s Ambassador to Fiji Kawakami Fumihiro formalised his country’s assistance to Fiji with an Agreement signed with

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Japanese Ambassador Kawakami Fumi-hiro signing the Financial Agreement with Permanent Secretary Yogesh Karan in Suva on February 8, 2022 (Fiji Government Photo)

the Permanent Secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister and Permanent Secretary Foreign Affairs Yogesh Karan.Agriculture, Fisheries promotion

The signing ceremony was held at the Japanese Embassy in Suva on February 8, 2022.

Conveying his government’s sympathy to the people of Fiji who

were affected by recent natural disasters such as Tropical Cyclone Cody, the Tsunami and the airborne ash generated by the volcanic eruption in Tonga, as well as the third wave of Covid-19, Mr Fumihiro said that financial support was in response to the needs for agriculture and fisheries development and waterways management by the concerned Ministries.

“I am happy that we have been able to formalise this funding assistance as it is the tangible realisation of Japan’s commitment to the initiatives titled, “Strengthening the Foundation for Sustainable and Resilient Economic Development” and “Climate Change and Disaster Resilience.’ These are two of the five prioritised cooperation areas under the Japan-Pacific Bond Policy or Ki-zuna Policy, as announced by then Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide, at the Ninth Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM9), held in July 2021, attended by Prime Minis-ter, Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama,” he said.

Mr Fumihiro said that Japan will stand by Fiji in the face of difficult times and expressed his confidence that this assistance will further strengthen the friendship between Japan and Fiji.

Exemplary PartnershipDescribing his country’s relationship

with Japan as an ‘exemplary partnership,’ Mr Karan said that the financial assistance will generate socio-economic development opportunities and complement the government’s commitment to rebuild the economy by empowering local businesses and promoting investments in the fisheries and agriculture sectors.

He said that the collaboration is a testament to the strong bonds of friendship and commitment in advancing resilience and sustainability through the challenges imposed by the pandemic and climate change.

Japan has supported Fiji in areas of disaster risk reduction through funding including ESDP and Stand-by Loan, Detailed Design for the Project for Reconstruction of Tamavua-i-wai Bridge, and support in Fiji’s national response to Covid-19 through funding including ESDP and Emergency Yen Loan.

It is understood that the next phase of the Emergency Yen Loan and the Construction Phase of the Tamavua-i-wai Bridge Project is under consideration.

9February 15, 2022 Businesslink

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Imagine this: a family has car loan repayments to make.

To do so, they ration food. They only have $20 left to feed a whole family

with three children under the age of six. Nappies and baby formula are unafforda-ble, so sugary water becomes food and old sheets are nappies.

Their car is essential for travelling to work and commuting, so missing loan re-payments is not optional. The loan absorbs a large part of their weekly income, often leaving them without daily essentials.

How did this happen? If we dig a little

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Staff shortages put New Zealand’s health system in jeopardy

New Zealand’s critical shortage of spe-cialist nurses made headlines again this week, but that is not the country’s only pressing medical need.

The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) has estimated that 3000 more GPs and specialist doctors and 12,000 more nurses are needed to match Australia’s per-capita staffing levels. The predicted impact of Omicron adds to the urgency, but since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, there have been regular reports of a medical workforce in crisis, with longer waiting times and patients being turned away.

Border closures and immigration restric-tions have made the doctor shortage worse.

Therefore, we need to ask why many foreign-trained doctors currently living in New Zealand are still not allowed to work.Brain drain and brain gain

Doctors have always moved around. It has been an important aspect of the medical profession for centuries to learn new skills and knowledge.

According to a 2019 Medical Council workforce survey, around 40% of New Zea-land-trained physicians from the 2005 cohort

Sharon McLennan and Johanna Thomas-Maude were living overseas after ten years.To compensate for this “brain drain,” which

leads to roughly one in six New Zealand-trained doctors working overseas, doctors from other countries are encouraged to immigrate.

New Zealand’s health system depends on this migrant “brain gain.”

Before the pandemic, almost 43% of New Zealand doctors were from overseas. But many have joined a general exodus of skilled workers,

with some blaming delays over residency. To make matters worse, not all of those who stay can work as doctors in their adopted country.

Long pathways to practisingThe reason lies in the way New Zealand

licenses foreign doctors depending on where they

trained. Those with training and experience in ‘comparable health systems’ can generally practise as soon as they receive a job offer.

That comparability is measured by indicators such as life expectancy and doctors-per-capita in other countries. It is hardly surprising that only wealthier countries are on the list.

Doctors who cannot claim comparability must first complete a medical knowledge exam from Australia, the UK, the US or Canada, pass

Image from The Conversation

New lending laws and other villains disrupt lives

‘Alapasita Teu

deeper; someone granted this family a high-interest car loan, despite the financial hardship risks.

Unfortunately, this is the reality for many families in our backyard. A reality propagated by unscrupulous and harmful credit lending, leaving many in vulnerable circumstances with unmanageable debt. These harsh realities, addressed through the new lending regulations, are absent from the public discourse. Declined mortgages

Media stories of declined mortgages due to Netflix subscriptions and Kmart trips have pointed to apparent failings in the new lending laws. However, the new lending laws are only one part of the story. Somehow, they have become the sole villain. Other characters? Global inflation, monetary and fiscal policies, a lowered cash rate, debt-to-income ratio income limits, lowered interest rates, loan-to-value restrictions, and banks reducing overheads.

The public backlash towards recent lending changes is in contrast to the “team of 5 million” throughout the pandemic. Sentiments of kindness, the collective, and “loving thy neighbour,’ once in abundance, are absent here. Frustrations appear to be justified when the banks are declining peo-ple who can afford home loan repayments.

But let us not forget the intent of the laws, and who they protect.

For some in our team of 5 million, this disgruntled posture isn’t an option.

Those who become victims of predatory lending – leading to financial hardship – have not featured in the frenzy surrounding new lending requirements.New Zealanders are losers

Discretionary expenses like a gym membership, Disney Plus subscriptions, and dining out now affect an individual’s lending eligibility. However, for many New Zealanders, having extra spending money and being eligible for a mortgage will never

be a possibility in their lifetime.Don’t get me wrong, concerns around

homeownership and the ability to finance mortgages are warranted. However, what of those in our families, neighbourhoods, and communities who fall prey to irresponsible lending actions? Do they not matter as well?

The new lending legislation intends to protect vulnerable consumers from having to choose between feeding children and

making loan repayments. It aims to curb the predatory and

unethical lending that traps people in unmanageable debt, financial strife, and generational poverty. It aims to promote responsible lending practices that ensure a family or person can repay a loan without sacrificing living essentials.‘Alapasita Teu is a Researcher at Maxim Institute based in Auckland.

Image from MBIE Website

an English test, and pass the New Zealand Registration Examination (NZREX).

This process can cost more than $10,000 and take years, especially since Covid-19 has meant half of the exam offerings were cancelled in 2020 and 2021, adding to wait times.

A hurdle too farOnce a doctor has passed the exams and met

the required standard, they must still complete two years of supervised work before being licensed.

This is where the catch comes: first-year supervised positions are limited, prioritised for New Zealand medical graduates and rarely offered to foreign-trained doctors.

Most doctors from comparable health systems, on the other hand, don’t need to take the NZREX or complete two years of supervised work. By not competing with New Zealand medical graduates to be licensed, they don’t experience the same bottlenecks.

Of the foreign doctors who passed the NZREX between 2016 and 2021, just over half now have provisional registration and can work. This leaves 94 who have passed the exam in the past five years but are still not licensed to practise medicine.

For those who passed the exam earlier, the results are valid for only five years. If they haven’t been able to secure a supervised position in that time, they are back to square one.A wasted workforce

The government has an ongoing recruitment campaign to lure overseas doctors.

The Medical Council is also looking for ways to simplify the pathway for doctors from comparable

health systems.Despite the obvious need, qualified immigrant

doctors have reportedly been denied work opportuni-ties at understaffed hospitals during the pandemic.

It is difficult not to see an apparent assump-tion that a doctor’s competency as a physician is associated with the country they are from. This is not an unusual phenomenon – migrant physicians from non-Western backgrounds often experience barriers to registration and licensing in their destination countries.

But in New Zealand the disadvantage some foreign doctors face also extends to the licensing pathways. To register, those from non-Western countries must demonstrate clinical skills, including Māori cultural competency, while those from “comparable health systems” don’t.

One might ask if cultural competency is important in the context of New Zealand’s inequitable health outcomes, why shouldn’t all foreign doctors be required to demonstrate this before being licensed?

With so many foreign-trained doctors in New Zealand unable to work, even after passing their licensing exams, we argue the problem is less about brain drains or brain gains. Rather, it reflects a “brain waste” for both the doctors them-selves and Aotearoa New Zealand, as Omicron threatens to stretch a system already in crisis.Sharon McLennan is Senior Lecturer (Development Studies) and Johanna Thomas-Maude is a PhD Candidate at Massey University. The above article and picture have been published under Creative Commons Licence.

11February 15, 2022 Businesslink

12 February 15, 2022

Having floated the prospect of intro-ducing rent controls just last week, it seems that the government has already

ditched the proposal.In tentatively raising the idea, Associate

Minister for Housing Poto Williams linked the need for policy solutions to the problem of rapidly rising housing costs. However, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has now adamantly stated: “We are not considering rent controls.”

There will undoubtedly be some disappointment at this, given the state of New Zealand’s housing and rental markets. In the year to September 2021, rental rates rose between 3.2% and 7.8%, while annual wage growth was just 2.6%.

On the face of it, controlling rents might be an attractive option for a government looking to tackle declining housing affordability. Unfortunately, the evidence does not support the use of these policies.

Economists have carefully studied rent-control policies for more than 50 years and found they are often ineffective, poorly targeted, and with many unintended consequences.What rent control can’t control

While rent-control policies vary from place to place, one way or another they aim to limit increases in housing costs. For example, New York was once famous for essentially holding rents frozen in time (recall Monica’s apartment in the TV show Friends). Rents in Sweden are negotiated between tenant and landlord associations, and rental rates in Germany are tied to rents on similar housing units.

In the first place, rent control certainly seems to lower the cost of affected rentals.

Studies using data from New York in the 1960s show tenants in rent-controlled apart-ments paid less for their housing than tenants in similar non-controlled apartments.

Similarly, studies of the end of rent control in Massachusetts in 1995 and the introduction of rent control in Germany in 2015 both show reduced rental rates paid by tenants, although these effects appear to have been short-lived.

Many other studies, however, show the response of landlords to rent control under-mines the goals of the policies. One careful analysis of San Francisco, for example, found an expansion of rent control in 1994 led to a 25% decline in available rental units among the newly rent-controlled apartments.Ways of escaping rent control

Rather than lease their units at sub-market

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The English Fortnightly (Since November 1999)

ISSUE 478 February 15, 2022

Indian Newslink is published by Indian Newslink Limited from its offices located at 24 Roberta Avenue, Glendowie, Auckland 1071. All material appearing here and on our web editions are the copyright of Indian Newslink and reproduction in full or part in any medium is prohibited. Indian Newslink and its management and staff do not accept any responsibility for the claims made in advertisements. Managing Director & Publisher: Jacob Mannothra; Editor & General Manager: Venkat Raman; Production Manager: Mahes Perera; Accountant: Uma Venkatram CA; Phone: (09) 5336377 Email: info@indiannewslink.co.nz; Website: www.indiannewslink.co.nz

India stands apart among Quad members on Ukraine threat

India’s External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has split from his Quad counterparts over the threat of a Russian invasion in Ukraine,

declaring that he wants the group to focus on cooperation and collaboration rather than confrontation.

Foreign Ministers from India, Australia, Japan and the United States met in Melbourne on Friday (February 11, 2022) to discuss how they could coordinate efforts on a vast range of areas, including maritime security, pandemic recovery, vaccination, cyber security and global supply chain challenges.The Russian challenge

The Ministers also discussed the looming crisis in Ukraine, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling Russia’s military threats a challenge to the rules-based order, and saying it mattered to the Quad even though it was “half a world away.”

“What is at stake is not simply, as important as it is, Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty independence, but very basic principles,” he told reporters after the meeting,” Blinken said.

“Principles like ‘one country’ cannot simply change the borders of another by force. Prin-ciples like ‘one country’ can’t simply dictate to another its choices, its policies, [or] with whom it will associate. If we allow those principles to be challenged with impunity, even if it’s half a world away in Europe, that will have an impact here as well, he said.”

However, Dr Jaishankar pointedly refused to be drawn into the conflict.

“I would just add that, as my colleagues have observed, we are for something not against someone. If the four of us cooperate practically and efficiently, I think the world will be a much better place,” he said at a press conference.

Position not a surprise India’s position is unsurprising. It retains

a strong relationship with Russia, which provided vital support to India during the Cold War.

Moscow also still sells large quantities of military equipment to New Delhi and the two countries maintain deep defence ties.

During a recent UN Security Council debate over Russia’s aggression, India called for peaceful dialogue and declined to criticise Moscow, simply reiterating that the “legitimate security interests” of all countries should be recognised.

Dr Jaishankar’s tone on Russia was also strikingly different to that taken by Austral-ian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and her Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi.

Australia and Japan criticised China and Russia.

Senator Payne took aim at the “no limits” partnership unveiled earlier this month by China and Russia.Undermining liberal democracy

Analysts say that the new agreement sig-

nals that both authoritarian states are intent on undermining the legitimacy of liberal democracy and US-led military alliances.

Senator Payne said that Russia and China’s vision was antithetical to those of liberal democracies.

“It is concerning because it does not present a global order which squares with those ambitions for freedom ... and openness and sovereignty,” she said.

But the four countries have still found common ground across a vast range of other topics and vowed to intensify efforts to preserve maritime security and roll out Covid-19 vaccines.

Mr Hayashi said all four countries would work together to counter the challenges to maritime security posed by China in the South and East China seas.

The Quad countries also declared their opposition to coercion, in a clear reference to Beijing’s campaign of economic punishment against Australia.

Source: ABC; -Published under a Special Agreement with www.rnz.co.nz

Sourced Content

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne, Indian External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Melbourne on February 11, 2022. (AFP Photo)

Rent control goes out of the window but the supply issue remains

James Graham

rates, landlords either sold property into the owner-occupied market or demolished and reconstructed the apartments to escape rent control. Unfortunately, many apartments that had previously been rented by low-in-come tenants then shifted into the hands of higher-income tenants and homeowners.

A further problem is that controls can lead to higher rents on non-controlled housing.

Research suggests landlords may com-pensate for losses on their rent-controlled units by raising rents on units not covered by rent controls. Although controls may keep a lid on the cost of individual rentals,

they’re unlikely to reduce housing costs overall.Good for some, but not all

There is no doubt that rent-controlled houses are great for tenants – if they can find them.

In Sweden, rent-controlled apartments are in such great demand the government man-ages decade-long waiting lists of prospective tenants.

Of course, renters won’t simply wait in the cold, so existing tenants sublet their apart-ments to new tenants (without government permission) at prices much closer to market rates.

Landlords are also known to charge what is called ‘key payments’ before possession of a rental changes hands. A part of the reason

why it is so hard to find rent-controlled housing is that tenants tend to stick around for much longer than they otherwise would have stayed.

Studies from San Francisco and Denmark show that rent control significantly reduces the likelihood of a tenant moving out of their apartment.

While those tenants might be quite happy

staying put, there are costs involved. A 2003 study of New York showed many

tenants and dwellings were ‘mismatched,’ with their rent-controlled apartments too big, too small or too far from the right amenities.

Tenants subject to rent control can face longer commute times and are less likely to search for work outside their local area if they become unemployed.Property owners discouraged

Another potential problem is that rent control may discourage landlords from main-taining properties, leading to lower-quality housing for tenants. Massachusetts land-lords subject to rent control skimped on upkeep, failing to maintain paint, plaster or damaged floors and walls.

In New York, landlords allowed housing quality to deteriorate faster when the differ-ence between market rents and controlled rents was larger.

Housing supply remains the best solutionRent controls could exacerbate New

Zealand’s housing issues. Rental accom-modation may be harder to find, no less expensive, and in worse condition than many rentals are already today. But this begs the question of what the government should do instead.

The goal should be well-targeted policies that do not significantly disrupt the func-tioning of the rental housing market. Policies that too readily interfere with the rental market are likely to be worse for tenants than they are for landlords.Subsidies for low-income households

Subsidies for low-income households are one possible solution. But, as has been argued elsewhere, accommodation subsidies tend to raise rents further when housing supply is limited. Rather, the government needs to work faster on fixing the various roadblocks to increasing New Zealand’s housing supply. While this poses significant challenges, they cannot be avoided with a quick-fix policy like rent control.

And while previous governments should have started work on housing supply 20 years ago, the next best time to get started is today.James Graham is Lecturer in Economics at the University of Sydney. The above article and pictures have been published under Creative Commons Licence

Image from The Conversation (New Zealand)

An expansion of rent control in San Francisco in 1994 led to a 25% decline in available rental units (Shutterstock)

One study of New York showed many tenants were ‘mismatched’ with their rent-controlled apartments (Shutterstock)

Public patience wanes as fatigue intensifies

At first glance, Andrew Little’s admission that he does not know when the country will move to the Orange Traffic

Light System, or even what it will take to make such a move, seems utterly disingenuous. After all, he is the Minister of Health and a senior member of the Cabinet.

It would be expected he would be receiving the same briefings from the Director-General of Health, his Departmental Chief Executive, that the Prime Minister is getting.The Podium of Truth

By way of contrast, throughout the Covid-19 crisis, the Prime Minister has projected a consistent image of confidence and certainty about the course of the pandemic and the risks it posed. Whenever she has seemed momentarily uncertain, she has quickly been bolstered by the Director-General, lest the mask of omniscience slip. The pair have never allowed themselves to be caught or derailed by the uncertainty, basking in the description by another Minister that their daily press conferences are “the podium of truth.”

Their absolute determination to always be right has led on occasion to the ridiculous extent of saying something, just for the sake of saying it. This week’s earnest Prime Min-isterial observations to Parliament that Omicron “will not be the only variant” and we can expect ‘to face new and different variants this year” told us nothing new. Even worse was the comment after the protests at Parliament that vaccine mandates will be removed “when they are no longer needed!’ But a lapping media duly reported these “profundities” faithfully and uncritically as new facts, despite the fact they were hardly deep insights nor even news. Overseas commentators and experts have been saying the same for months now.

The Prime Minister’s determina-tion to always appear in control is at increasing variance with what others close to the inner circle are doing. Dr Bloomfield, it seems, is having increasing difficulty remembering whether his Ministry disrupted or not the purchase of Rapid Antigen Test kits by New Zealand businesses, and his role in it, changing his recollection from day to day almost, leaving the Covid19 Minister struggling to know what to believe. Public confounded and baffled

Meanwhile, the various teams of modellers allegedly modelling the likely course of an Omicron outbreak produce different sets of figures and explanations every time they offer a prediction, leaving the public confused and uncertain as to what is likely to happen if or when Omicron takes hold. Little over a fortnight ago modellers and epidemiologists were predicting thousands of Omicron cases in the community by the last weekend, with the public health system teetering to cope. Now, when the actual figures are so far much lower, Professor Michael Plank said that the original projections were

overseas figures that did not take account of the level of vaccination in New Zealand.

Be that as it may, they were still trotted out from the “podium of truth” as authoritative evidence of the immediate risk Omicron posed to New Zealand when the government’s top health advisers and the modellers knew they were at the very least not the full story as far as New Zealand was concerned, if not completely wrong altogether.Elimination strategy eliminated

Against that backdrop of obfus-cating and trivialising the situation all the time so that the government and its advisers always look to be in control, Andrew Little’s honest admission is refreshing. He deserves to be congratulated, not pilloried, for his candour which appears as a genuine recognition that we are still in challenging and constantly changing times, the likes of which we have not seen before. The one thing all the reputable international experts agree is that there is a while to go yet before Covid-19 in all its forms is either controlled or gotten rid of completely. All of which makes the singular absolutism of the New Zealand government that much harder to keep taking seriously.

However, there is no shame in admitting there are things that we do not know, or that have not worked out quite as expected or intended. Yet the government and its advisers seem to think that only they know what they are doing and that to admit otherwise is some form of failure. Given the mounting criticism that the government is shutting out people, from business leaders to the wider community, who do not accept its position uncritically, there is much to be gained from a more open and honest approach.

New Zealanders have endured a lot over the last two years – from the lockdowns and restrictions on personal freedoms to the separation from family and friends, family events without loved ones present, busi-nesses closing and jobs lost – and are increasingly impatient for the return to more normal circumstances which the Prime Minister foreshadowed last week. It is hardly surprising though, that given the tortuous path she set out, public impatience is now giving way to public fatigue.

That is likely to intensify over the next few months, particularly once Australia re-joins the world. The tolerance for continuing trite statements and instructions from the “podium of truth” will continue to erode, no matter what the situation is. In that environment, more of Andrew Little’s blunt honesty could be just the antidote which the country needs to the platitudes and half-truths we are being fed at present.

Peter Dunne was a Minister of the Crown in the Labour and National-led governments from November 1999 to September 2017. His rich experience and sound knowledge of national and international affairs make him an important guest at current affairs shows and talkback programmes through-out New Zealand. Mr Dunne, who lives in Wellington, writes regular columns, one of which was this article, which we have taken as our Guest Editorial in this issue.

Guest Editorial by Peter Dunne

13February 15, 2022

Over the past two years, New Zealand has witnessed a grow-ing number of financial scams which have impacted customers

across the country. In fact, data from shows that Kiwis

lost $5 million to scammers in just three months in 2021.

WorldRemit, a leading global payments company, has identified the top four money transfer scams occurring in 2021 that Indian-New Zealander residents, especially those new to the country, should look out for.Four Scams

The four scams include email scams such as taxation scams where scammers are impersonating the ATO, online dating scams where scammers can play on emotional triggers to get you to send money, online shopping scams such as overpayment scams where scammers ask you to ‘refund’ an overpayment before you realise the credit card has been stolen or a payment receipt is fake, and Facebook impersonation scams including money flipping scams that promise quick money if you invest.

WorldRemit Director, Regional Compliance APAC David Dry said that the Company takes online security very seriously and is aware of many of the tricks and techniques behind some of the most popular scams.

“We want to educate our Indian-New Zealanders on what scams look like so that residents can understand what to avoid and stay vigilant to protect themselves. Always double-check who is asking you to send money, and if you are not comfortable with the transaction, don’t pursue it. Also avoid using third-party intermediaries, or agents who offer to make transactions on your behalf, and if you need to transfer money overseas, once you have checked the recipient, use a trusted money transfer service like WorldRemit to ensure that your money does arrive in time.”

Mr Dry shared top tips to avoid these four popular money transfer scams.

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Ardern asks Wellington protestors to go home

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had a simple message for the protestors in Wellington: “Go home and take your children.”

Despite being trespassed from Parliament grounds several days ago, protesters are not showing any sign of leaving the scene.

Ms Ardern told Morning Report on February 14, 2022: “What has become very clear is this is not any form of pro-test that I have seen before. As we have said time and time again, ‘New Zealand is a place where protest is part of who we are. Some of our greatest movements have been born of people movements, many of which have entered the forecourt of Parliament. But I am seeing an imported form of protest. We have seen Trump flags, Canadian flags, people who are moving around the outskirts of the area with masks are being abused,” she said.

Ms Ardern said that children and young people on their way to school are being abused and that businesses are seeing people occupy their spaces.

“This is beyond a protest. Do I believe that they should be there? No. Should they go home? Yes. Especially, the children,” she said.No olive branch

Ms Ardern defended Speaker Trevor Mallard, who had ordered sprinklers and loud music tuned on over the weekend.

“His job is to maintain a safe place to work. Right now it is a very difficult place for people to enter. This has not been a si-lent protest. What I have heard are clear anti-vaccination messages that do not align with a majority of New Zealanders. The Media have been abused, chased and called liars. So, some of the rhetoric and noise coming from the protest has been poor,” she said.

Is there an olive branch? According to Ms Ardern, the protestors

have not left any space for dialogue.

Sourced Content

Tips for avoiding email scams: Don’t click on links or open attachments in an unsolicited email. Check the sender’s email address matches the website ad-dress of the organisation it says it’s from. Be wary if the email doesn’t use your name and says something like “Dear customer.” Avoid emails with a sense of urgency, asking you to act immediately. Beware of emails with poor grammar and spelling mistakes. Never share personally identifiable information with someone who has contacted you unsolicited. This includes banking and credit card information, your birth date, and Social Security/ Social Insurance numbers. Keep your devices updated with antivirus software to protect yourself from any malware.Tips to avoid online dating scams: Don’t trust those asking for you to share money, gifts or your bank account/credit card details. Use social media channels and online to see whether their dating profile is consistent with their other online profiles. As a general rule, we advise that you shouldn’t send money to someone unless you have met them in person or via video. Tips for avoiding online shopping

scams: Make sure that the website has ‘https’ in the URL (the extra ‘s’ is for ‘secure’) and a small lock icon on the address bar. Even then, the site could be unreliable. Read reviews about the quality of the merchandise, and make sure you’re not buying cheap and/or counterfeit goods. Check on the website for a clear refund policy and method of contact should you have a customer query. The website should not include an option to use an IMT to make the payment.Tips for avoiding impersonation scams: Don’t accept friend requests from people you don’t know and have never met. Don’t share your password with others. When logging in, use two-factor authentication. Avoid connecting to public and free Wi-Fi networks. Keep your browser and apps updated. Add a layer of security and use proactive cybersecurity software.About WorldRemit

We are a leading global payments company and, along with Sendwave, part of Zepz, a group powering two global payments brands.

We disrupted an industry previously dominated by offline legacy players by taking international money transfers online – making them safer, faster and lower-cost.

We currently send from 50 countries to recipients in 130 countries, operate in more than 5,000 money transfer corridors worldwide and employ over 1,200 people globally.

On the sending side, WorldRemit is 100% digital (cashless), increasing convenience and enhancing security. For those receiving money, the company offers a wide range of options including bank deposit, cash collection, mobile airtime top-up and mobile money.

Backed by Accel, TCV and Leapfrog – WorldRemit’s headquarters are in London, United Kingdom with regional offices in the United States, Poland, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Africa, Somaliland, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Belgium.

“What I have seen on that forecourt does not suggest that this group is inter-ested in engaging in policy development. There are signs calling for the death of politicians,” she said.

Ms Ardern said that New Zealand is in the middle of a growing pandemic and hence this is not the time to move away from doing things that will keep New Zealanders safe.

She said that it was up to the Police to manage the situation.The Police Plan

The Police have been appealing to protesters to work with them and clear the streets.

Wellington Police District Command-er Superintendent Corrie Parnell said that there was no plan to wait for the protesters to move out on their own.

“It is absolutely for the Police to determine how they manage any form of occupation or protests. I hate to see in the future a situation where you have politicians seen to be instructing the Police on how to manage any type of protest and that extends to not passing judgement on operational decisions that are for them,” he said.

Wellington Police District Commander Corrie Parnell (Stuff Photo by Jericho Rock-Archer)

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (RNZ Photo by Angus Dreaver)

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National will reap rich dividends with Luxon’s bipartisan approach

National Party Leader Christopher Luxon wants to work with the government on an appropriate time to end vaccine mandates.

He has asked each of his MPs to identify areas in their portfolios where there is an opportunity to collaborate with ministers.

Luxon said that vaccine mandates, rapid antigen testing and mental health are at least three areas where the Opposition and the government could easily work together.

“I don’t care if our ideas get stolen, we should not be precious about that,’’ he told Newsroom.Leadership with a difference

It is a very different style of leadership to what the National Party has had in recent years, and Luxon says that is deliberate because he is not a politician and did not come to the job with years of Parliament under his belt.

“I would love mental health to be a collabo-rative space, I genuinely mean it,” he said.

He said that finding the right end for vac-cine mandates is another example, especially now that both he and the Prime Minister are on record saying that the time will come to scrap them.

“It would be great if we could work that out together and be smart about it. Honestly, I have not felt that this government has an appetite for bipartisanship. I appreciate the tone sometimes from the Prime Minister, I want to talk and listen, but the reality is different,” he said.

This was not the first time that Luxon has spoken of wanting to take a more bipartisan approach, but now he has clear ideas of where that could actually happen.

In December 2021, he told us that he wanted to work with the government when the situation allowed for it.

Luxon was hand-picked by Ardern to chair her Business Advisory Council when he was chief executive of Air New Zealand. But he said that he has not spoken to her either by phone or in person this year but is not averse to doing so.

Jo Moir “Covid and Rapid Antigen Tests are among such issues.

Luxon said that it might “seem odd’’ to have his MPs thinking about where National could work with the government but accord-ing to him, it makes sense if you want policies that last beyond an election cycle.Changing the tune

Successive National leaders since the departure of Sir Bill English in 2018 have tried

and failed, to focus and unite the Party on get-ting back into a position to be in government. The culture of the Party, the infighting and the leaking have dominated, and Luxon told Newsroom that it was clear to him when he came to Parliament in 2020 that before any work could be done, the Caucus had to find common ground again.

He said that his priority in the last ten weeks has been making Caucus expectations clear and modelling the type of behaviour he expects from his MPs.

“I know that I have been saying for the past 10 weeks that we have reset and turned the

page, but I think you are seeing an acceptance that the conversation in a political sense is now moving to National and Labour. My phi-losophy is different on pulling teams together. I am from outside politics and there is a bunch of things that I bring to the leadership and we are getting a different outcome from the same team,” he said.Convincing voters

His next job is to introduce himself to voters and convince them to vote for him.

“This job for the next 18 months is a big job interview because ultimately, people are going to decide who they want to be the next Prime Minister of New Zealand. That will be partly about the respective qualities of the leaders of individual parties, and partly about the strength of that team and whether they have the right policies, plans and proposals,’’ Luxon said.

It is also about voters knowing what Luxon’s leadership of the country would look like.

He says that is the job ahead.The other job is explaining to voters during

next year’s election campaign what the National Party stands for, something that has been lost in recent years, he admitted.

“In my head, it is there, but I am not ready to talk too much about it at this point. I think that we have got a good sense of what that will look like,” he said. Introspection and State of the Nation

Luxon draws from 80 years of National Party’s existence and when it was at its best.

“For me, it is just making sure that we rediscover, express it again and make sure that it right for the times in which we live,” he said.

Some of that will become clearer when he delivers his ‘State of the Nation’ speech later this month. It was set down for the beginning of the year but the event had to be significantly scaled back due to the new Omicron Red Light Settings.

Luxon said that he is concentrating on being a part of the daily conversation and making sure that he is across all the issues.

“I am answering as a person who is new to politics, so I do not always have the political answer per se, but I am going to say it as it is and how I think about it,” Luxon said.Jo Moir is Political Editor at Newsroom based in Wellington. The above article has been published under a Special Arrangement.

Christopher Luxon with Seniors at a special meeting of Waitakere Indian Association on February 13, 2022 (Facebook Photo)

Christopher Luxon is gaining popularity among middle New Zealanders (Facebook Photo)

Businesses near Parliament in Wellington said that they are only just holding on, with customers scared off by the massive group of protesters occupying

the grounds. Some bars and cafes near the precinct have

already been forced to temporarily close their doors, while others have had customer numbers more than halved.

There are now calls for the government to enter dialogue with the protesters in an attempt to break the deadlock and open the city back up.

There are no signs people are going anywhere. There were at least 1000 people at the protest on February 14, 2022, and the number of illegally parked vehicles blocking streets and tents on the grounds and in the surrounding areas increased.Hospitality sector suffers

The Backbencher Pub is slap bang in the middle of it, forcing co-owner Alistair Boyce to shut its doors.

“It is bloody hard, I don’t know like we are in real trouble - everyone is. Hospo businesses have only got weeks left, like seriously, it is just dire, we are on our knees,” he said.

Boyce said that the only way out of the deadlock was for the Prime Minister to meet with protesters to show she was listening.

A local business owner, who did not want to be named, said that takings nose-dived since the protest started.

She said that most of the protesters were nice to her but she also feared for her safety at times. Some people became aggressive when she told them to wear a mask in her store.

“We are a small business, we have to remain open, but at the same time I feel my health and my safety as well are at risk as well,” she said.Fear grips commoners

Rae Julian, 80, lives in an apartment block in the thick of the occupation.

Her age and asthma mean that she is immunocompromised.

“And that’s bothering me more because I don’t have a car and therefore if I want to go anywhere I have to walk through the middle of them,” she said.

“I wear my mask, I’m not afraid of them and I have got into conversation with a number of them. It hasn’t had much of a useful effect I should add, but I’m bothered because of Covid.”

Julian is a former New Zealand Human Rights Commissioner and is no stranger to protests - having hit the streets just two weeks

Businesses suffer as protestors foreclose precinctHamish Cardwell ago. But she said that the protesters were going

too far.“They are breaking the law, they are infringing

people’s rights. I might want to protest again within the next few weeks, what is what they are doing, and getting away with, saying for other protests or issues. It is very important that we should have the right to protest but ... there are boundaries - and they have gone beyond those boundaries.”

Chris Roberts, who also lives near the precinct, said that the protesters had taken over that part of town. He said that he had to negotiate with the protesters to get his car in and out of the building over the weekend.

“We have not seen anyone at any of the intersections around here controlling traffic. It is the protesters who are controlling traffic in the streets of Wellington right now,” he said.

A number of large local employers including the nearby Victoria University Pipitea campus had also shut, and public transport was being diverted away from the area with the busy Molesworth Street and side streets totally blocked by trucks, campervans and other vehicles.

In an bid to ease the situation, the protesters were being given free parking at nearby Sky Stadium from 6.30 pm.

Michelle, a protester, doubted there would be a mass exodus of vehicles.

“It is about all of New Zealand and if the shops on Molesworth Street and stuff have been affected, I don’t think that is good. Therefore, it would be awesome if they move their cars. A lot probably won’t, but I think a lot will probably do so,” she said.

Time would tell whether the trucks and vehicles move away, but it did not look like the protest would end any time soon.Hamish Cardwell is a Senior Journalist at Radio New Zealand. The above report has been published under a Special Agreement with www.rnz.co.nz

Protestors near Parliament in Wellington (RNZ Photo by Angus Dreaver)

15February 15, 2022 Communitylink

Every good cause stem from inspiration and so was mine when I became a first-time grandmother.

In mid-April 2019, I was fortunate to be with my son and daughter-in-law to welcome their first child. It was an eye-opener to my professional learning and experience in maternal and infant nutrition.

It was an exciting journey over the next few months to see young women during their pregnancy and post-deliv-ery. They were flooded with information, often influenced by the sentiments of social media with a possibility to miss the finer details, critical for making healthy lifestyle choices during the first 100 days of life!

Added to this, came the pandemic and challenges of not having one’s family at times of need.Moment of truth

The moment of truth and an opportu-nity to blend my passion with purpose led to the establishment of the Wahine Charitable Trust in 2021, with the support and help from inspiring women and organisations. It was a moment of truth and a reason to pursue excellence in achieving social and national goals.

Our guiding North Star is in the proverb, “If you educate a man, you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman, you educate an entire nation.”

It is not a cliché, but the truth. Wahine will inspire the well-being of Her (wahine), her family (whanau) and her community (Hapori).

Our Purpose: As a not-for-profit, charitable trust, we vision ourselves to be the catalyst for motivating behaviour change, through healthy lifestyle choic-es that help women make Informed Decisions.

New entity addresses nutritional and holistic wellness of women

Mallika Janakiraman

Moment of truth as a grandparent: Mallika Janakiraman with her grandson Riaan Karthik (Photo Supplied)

Our Promise: Together, we dream and go beyond to provide (a) Information to inspire (b) Programmes to personalise and (c) Experiences to empower.

Our Approach: (a) To design and implement programmes and services to nourish the mind and body (b) To partner with stakeholders and community organ-isations (c) To influence the influencers to frame specific policies and guidelines relevant to the ethnic population to whom we cater (d) Empower women through social enterprise in the area of food and nutrition

“I hear and I forget. I see and I remem-ber. I do and I understand.”

This is a famous proverb of Confucious, a famous Chinese philosopher.

This is interpreted as, “Not hearing is not as good as hearing, hearing is not as good as seeing, seeing is not as good as knowing, knowing is not as good as acting; true learning continues until it is put into action.”Be informed and be inspired

At Wahine Charitable Trust, our programmes and services are inspired to inspire, and our mantra is, “Be Informed! Be Inspired!”

We do this best by conceptualising ideas using reliable and evidence-based nutrition information to address nutrition issues of importance and translate this through creative expressions in ways and forms that will inspire wahine wellbeing!

We make sure to keep the ethnic sensitivity and nutrition requirement of our target population while adapting to the nutrition guidelines outlined by the Ministry of Health.

Our areas of interest and priority include

(1) Raising awareness on the critical window of opportunity during the first

1000 days of life (starting from conception of pregnancy to the second birthday of your child) (2) Emphasising the need for micronutrient nutrition and its role in hidden hunger through our expert panel discussions, social media and on-ground events. Each of our programmes has branded

identity to motivate engagement. Supporting Indian women

Yet another start at Wahine is a unique, personalised service to support ethnic Indian women in Auckland, as they welcome their bundle of joy into this world.

For the first time, our personalised nutrition service, “New Mama Meals - served with Love!” is available in the Auckland area.

Nutritious home-cooked vegetarian meals for the first ten days of post-delivery, free of cost (pickup only). This includes planning and preparation of meals with traditional wisdom at no cost. We promise that 50% of the new mama’s daily serves of vegetable food group and plant-based proteins are from the lentils and nuts food group.

Traditional recipes for two main meals (lunch and dinner) freshly home cooked to nourish the new mama in accordance with the nutrition guidelines for breast-feeding mothers by the Ministry of Health under the supervision of a team of Registered Nutritionists

As Helen Keller, American author, dis-ability rights advocate, political activist and lecturer said, “Alone,

we can do so little; together we can do so much.”

Wahine Charitable Trust partners with organisations to bring a holistic approach to nutrition.

Mallika Janakiraman is a Nutritionist with extensive global experience, having worked with international corporate giants. She is the Founder of Wahine Charitable Trust based in Auckland, where she lives with her husband.

For tickets and further information, please contactMana Andhra Telugu Association NZ: Dr Reginald Samuel, President: 021-1089357; president@matanz.org; Ghouse Majeed, General Secretary: Ghouse Majeed: 021-393466; gmajeed@yahoo.co.nz; Telangana Association of New Zealand: Narendra Reddy Patlola, President: 021-2345886; president@tanz.co.nz; Prasanna Kumar Mekala, General Secretary: 022-1211312; generalsecretary@tanz.co.nzNew Zealand Telugu Association: Srilatha Magatala, President: 021-02750346; president@nzta.co.nz; Anitha Mogilicharla, General Secretary: 022-5432007; generalsecretary@nzta.co.nz Muthamil Sangam Auckland: Sadasivam Kutty, President; 021-710180; sadakutty@gmail.com; Kathir Sam, Secretary: 021 1665166; muthtamilsangam@gmail.com Auckland Tamil Association: Vai Ravindran, President: 027-2758266; vairavindran@gmail.com; Latha Ravindran: 021-0709609; latharavindran2002@gmail.com; Karthikeyan RC, Secretary: 020-4213141; rckarthikeyan@gmail.com

New Zealand Kannada Koota: Vishu Lokapal: President; 021-1324980; presidentnzkk@gmail.com; Praveen Shankarappa: Treasurer: 021-983834; ps.nz@yahoo.comAuckland Malayali Samajam: Soby Bernard Thomas: President; 021-1214148; president@aucklandmalayalisamajam.org.nz Dr Abin Matthew: Secretary 022-1071817; secretary@aucklandmalayalisamajam.org.nzAuckland Malayali Hindu Samajam: Chelat Divakara Menon, President: 021-02560500; Email: president@amhs.org.nz; Soumini Varma, Secretary; 021-1452280; secretary@aucklandmalayalisamajam.org.nzIndian Newslink: Ravi Nyayapati: 021-950975; ravi@peaceconsulting.co.nz; Madhavi Priya Nyayapati: 021-1829056; priya@peaceconsulting.co.nz; Hemant Parikh: 021-629359; hemantparikh@gmail.com; Nagesh Nemani: 022-0757842; nageshnemani@gmail.com; Sindhur Jagadeesh Gowda: 022-5329942; sindhur.sg@gmail.com; Venkat Raman; 021-836528; venkat@indiannewslink.co.nz

Tickets $34.50 (inclusive of GST) per person; Tables seating ten persons at $345.00 are also available. Contact details below. Entry only for persons above 15 years of age.

A rare cultural and culinary bonanza An Evening of Regional Costumes, Cultural Shows and

Pure Vegetarian Cuisine Traditional Performances that distinguish the five

States of South IndiaNo-Alcohol, No-Smoking Event for everyone

above 15 years of age.Hurry! Tickets are now on Sale!

Support Sponsors:Sponsors:

Present

The actual date of the event will be announced when Alert Levels change allowing large gatherings.

At Mahatma Gandhi Centre145 New North Road, Eden Terrace, Auckland (Free but limited Car Park)

16 February 15, 2022Communitylink

High Commission supports airlift of deceased Indian nurse

Indian Newslink would like to acknowl-edge the timely financial support provided by the Wellington-based Indian High Commission enabling the

airlift of the body of a young woman who died in Hamilton earlier this week.

Thirty-One-Year-old Divya Manoj died on January 30, 2022, at the Waikato Hospi-tal in Hamilton, reportedly succumbing to cardiac arrest.

Her body was sent to Kerala on February 7, 2022, by an Emirates flight.

The Sacred Heart Syro Malabar Catholic Mission of Hamilton and the Knanaya Catholic Association of New Zealand arranged for a Memorial Service respectively at St Pius X Catholic Church, Hamilton and SAFS Funeral Services Limited, Otahuhu, Auckland, on February 3, 2022.

Venkat Raman Several hundred people attended the two Services held in the two cities.

Divya left behind her husband Manoj Jose and their two small children- son Johan Joseph (3) and Katherine Ann (2), who have since left for India.

Communities raised more than $107,000 through Give a Little Page but procedural delays would mean that the family will receive

the funds only after a month.Timely help by Indian High Commis-sioner

Meanwhile, following a request from Indian Newslink and Manoj Jose, supported by the Hamilton Kerala Samajam, Auckland Malayali Samajam, Knanaya Catholic Association of New Zealand and Sacred Heart Syro Malabar Catholic Mission, Indian High Commissioner Muktesh Pardeshi ordered payment of the air transport charges (costing about $12,000).

Thereafter, Head of Chancery and Second Sec-retary Doss Jeyakumar contacted SAFS Funeral Services Limited to have the body released for air transportation to India.Tragedy hits family

While Divya arrived in New Zealand in January 2021, Manoj came into the country in November. The young family were together in New Zealand for less than three months when fate took away the young woman.

Divya was a qualified nurse and was employed at Tamahere Eventide Home and Village, a Rest Home for the Elderly. She had earlier worked

at Fortis Health Care in Hamilton and a few medical centres in India. She hailed from Ramamangalam, Piravam, while Manoj is from Adimali, both in the South Indian State of Kerala.

Auckland Malayali Samajam President Soby Bernard Thomas, Hamilton Kerala Samajam President Rajesh Raveendran and Knanaya Catholic Association of New Zealand told Indian Newslink that Manoj is still under shock and that he comes from a modest economic background.Communities pour generosity

The Hamilton Kerala Samajam has been offering support to the grieving family and set up an appeal On Give A Little Page.

“The money collected will be useful to cover some of the costs associated with this extremely sad time. Travel costs are very high in these Covid-19 times and we hope to make this difficult time more bearable for Divya’s family,” Soby, Rajesh and Joby said

Memorial Service for Divya Manoj arranged by Sacred Heart Syro Malabar Catholic Mission, Hamiton at St Pius X Catholic Church, Hamilton on February 3, 2022 (Photo Supplied)

Hamilton Community leader Suman Kapoor bereaved

We are sorry to report that Pradeep Kapoor, wife of popular community leader Suman Kapoor passed away

in the late hours of Thursday, February 10, 2022, due to heart failure at the Waikato Hospital in Hamilton.

He was 75 years old and left behind his wife Suman, their daughter Richa Kapoor Solanki (who lives in London with her husband and their two sons) and son Saurabh Kapoor (who lives in Melbourne with his wife and their two sons).

A man of goodwill and an eternal smile, Mr Kapoor has had a distinguished career in the hotel and food industry in India and New Zealand and was a pillar of strength to his wife in rendering community and social welfare services.Extensive tours of duty

Born on October 26, 1946, in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, Mr Kapoor had opportunities to study and work in many cities throughout India, partly

Venkat Raman because of his father’s employment in Military Engineering Services and partly because of his hotel career. A graduate of the Institute of Hotel Management in Bombay (now Mumbai), he was employed at the hotels of the Taj Group and India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) and other properties and later in the food processing and airline catering sectors.

Mr Kapoor has worked in major properties of ITDC in Bangalore

(Karnataka), Kulangot Beach Resort (Kerala), Mamallapuram (Tamil Nadu), Mumbai and Aurangabad (Maharashtra), Delhi, Srinagar (Kashmir), Delhi, Gujarat (Ahmedabad), Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Among the highlights of his career was hosting (at Ritz, Mumbai) the Cricket Teams of India and Pakistan in March 1987. It was at this Test Match that Gavaskar scored his first 10,000 runs in Test Cricket.Life in New Zealand

Migrating to New Zealand in 2001, Mr Kapoor managed the Commercial Hotel in Hamilton before retiring a few years ago.

“Pradeep’s illustrious career in the ho-tel industry allowed for the husband-wife team and hence I had the opportunity of working with him at many five-star properties throughout India. It is an experience that I will always cherish,” Suman Kapoor told Indian Newslink.

We have known Mr Kapoor since

he arrived in New Zealand more than 20 years ago and we have always been captivated by his robust personality and the goodwill he had for people.

Suman Kapoor is the Founder-Presi-dent of the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) in Waikato and Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. She is also the Hindi Section Editor of ‘Dhanak,’ the annual magazine of the Urdu- Hindi Cultural Association of New Zealand.

We will miss him and we offer our condolences to the grieving family.

Suman Kapoor said that her family is among the many affected by the closure of borders.

“My son Saurabh is in Melbourne and he is unable to travel to New Zealand. My daughter is also keen to visit me but cannot do so because she will not be allowed. Both of them are New Zealand citizens,” she said.

Funeral arrangements are being made, details of which will be announced shortly.

A sparkling life and career: Pradeep Kapoor (26.10.1946- 10.02.2022)Forty-eight years of love and marriage: Suman and Pradeep Kapoor (INL File Photo)

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17February 15, 2022 Communitylink

Take control of your

HEALTHThe Natural Way.Bid farewell to Fatigue, Chronic Aches and Pains, Allergies, PMS, Menopausal Symptoms, Stomach Problems, Hay Fever, Stress, Anxiety etc.

Call or email me to get started on your health journey today!

Herbal Medicine Supplements Health Coaching Reiki Diet Advice Mineral Therapy And more...

021 070 9243sandhyanaturopathy@gmail.com

Stimulate the brain to enhance health and wellbeing

In the past couple of years, we have all spent long periods in lockdown.

Substantial parts of our lives ground to a halt or were moved

online. We worked from home while

caring for our children and other family members. Those who lived alone became completely isolated without any physical contact with others. And even now, we are facing the possibility of weeks of self-isolation.

In a situation such as this, it is very important that we take steps to practice self-care by making a conscious effort to pay special attention to our physical, mental and emotional wellbeing, both now, as well as during any period of self-isolation that we might be required to undertake. Emotional stress

One of the greatest threats to our well-being is physical and emotional stress. This stress has a negative impact on our immune system, our energy levels, our emotional well-being, as well as our overall health, and our self-care practices can help reduce this stress.

My article “Self-Care stressed as Omicron makes inroads into wellness” discussed some important aspects of physical self-care. In this article, I will be discussing various proactive steps that we could potentially take to improve our mental wellbeing and keep our brains stimulated. Just as good nutrition is of utmost importance to our physical wellbeing, the way we think and the things that we fill our minds with greatly influence our psychological well-being.

Mental self-care includes allocating enough time in our day for activities that stimulate, activate or enrich the mind. Some examples of such activities

Sandhya Govind

are (a) Doing puzzles such as crosswords, sudoku, word searches, brain teasers and jigsaw puzzles (b) Learning a new language (c) Learning a new skill (d) Doing a course on any subject that interests you. There are numerous free courses offered by various universities and institutions that you can explore (e) Playing strategy board games (f) Learning to play a musical instrument (g) Reading books that inspire you or introduce you to new ideas (h) Listening to a new genre of music (i) Engaging in sports j) Trying your hand at creative writing.Exploring new activities

If you already routinely do any of these activities and are already proficient in them, try something new. This is because,

for any activity to be mentally stimulating, it needs to challenge us in new ways. It is also equally important to make sure that you actually enjoy whatever new endeavour you are embarking on, rather than regard it as a tiresome chore.

Another aspect of mental self-care is finding the time to introduce leisure activities into your schedule, as this will go a long way in helping you feel and function better in all areas of your life. Leisure activities could include anything that makes you feel relaxed and happy, such as gardening, painting, drawing

or any other creative hobby, listening to music, dancing, singing, reading, cooking, baking and most importantly, socializing and interacting with other people.

Now, you may wonder how you are going to be able to make time in your busy schedule for these activities. Devoting just 30 to 60 minutes of your day to mental self-care will go a long way in reducing your stress levels and keeping you mentally stimulated. Limiting time on social media

One easy way to find the time for mental self-care is to limit the time spent on social media and electronic devices. Most of us look at our phone as soon as we wake up, usually to turn off the alarm and check on our social media accounts such as Facebook. Twitter, Instagram and Whatsapp. As a result, we are faced with an onslaught of information before we have even had a cup of coffee.

To recapture some of the time we lose to the numerous apps on our phone, we can start by deleting and unfollowing any account that doesn’t provide us education, joy, or inspiration. Allocating the first hour after we wake up as a device-free period allows us time to relax and mentally prepare and plan for the day ahead rather than subjecting ourselves to a barrage of news, random information and other people’s views and emotions on social media.

As the day progresses, we could try to restrict the amount of time we spend on social media by scheduling specific time slots to check Whatsapp and Facebook

messages and reply to them. These actions will free up sufficient time in our schedule for beneficial brain-stimu-lating and leisure activities.Improving interpersonal relations

Having an effective mental self-care routine can reduce stress and anxiety and help us to deal with difficult situations and problems. It can also increase our energy levels, reduce burnout, help us build stronger interpersonal relationships with people who matter and contribute to our overall happiness. Mental activity increases the flow of blood, oxygen and nutrients to the brain which can help promote health, prevent disease, and help us cope better with illness. Mental self-care

does not necessarily need to take much time and effort. However, it can have a tremendously positive effect on our health and wellbeing.

Self-care is very a personal exercise and each one of us will approach it in different ways depending on our personal and professional commitments. The activities

and suggestions in this article are only meant as a guide to help you choose activities that are meaningful to you and your particular circumstances. Ultimately, what we all need to remember is that, making self-care a priority helps us to not only look after our own needs but also to better look after the needs of others in our family, as well as our friends and people in the wider community.

Sandhya Govind is a qualified and trained Naturopath and runs the ‘Sandhya’s Naturop-athy Clinic,’ an integrated Natural Medicine facility, which helps people rediscover optimal health, radiance and vitality naturally. Email: sandhyanaturopathy@gmail.com; The above article should be read for general information purposes only and not taken as individual advice. Please always consult your GP or other authorised persons or agencies for personal advice. Indian Newslink and Sandhya Govind absolve themselves of all responsibility or liability in this connection.

Emotional Stress is a great challenge (Photo Courtesy: Economic Times, India)

Optical Illusions can be interesting: Find nine faces here

Creative Hobbies can improve physical and mental wellbeing (Sweet Softies)

Improve interpersonal relations (Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash)

18 February 15, 2022

Sowjanya Vinitha Rajaraman, another student of the Natraj School of Dance based in Wellington, will be performing her Bharata Natyam Arangetram (from

4 pm) at Little Theatre, Lower Hutt, on March 27, 2022.

This will be the fourth Arangetram for the School within a year.

Despite Covid challenges, Prabhavathi Ravi (popularly known as Prabha Ravi), Founder and Director of the School and Guru of Sow-janya successfully staged three Arangetrams with a live orchestra – a pool of local talents that she assembled from across the country for rehearsals and the performances during 2021.

The forthcoming Arangetram of Sowjanya will be one such event, planned to take place amidst many uncertainties and restrictions including the Red Settings under the Traffic Lights System of the Covid-19 Protection Network.

“With the ever-flowing Grace of God and Gurus, all the Arangetrams have gone well and were live-streamed across the globe with at least 1000 viewers for each of them which made it bigger and more diverse.

Sowjanya is the tenth student completing her Arangetram at the Natraj School of Dance. About Sowjanya Vinitha Rajaraman

Sowjanya migrated to New Zealand from Chennai with her parents when she was seven years old. She is currently a year 11 student at Hutt Valley High School.

Ms Ravi said that she started learning Bharata Natyam from the age of 8 under her tutelage and that of her daughter Radhika Maisuria, a graduate of the Natraj School of dance.

“Sowjanya has always had a keen interest in Bharata Natyam and has given numerous solo and group performances all across Wellington for different events throughout her dance journey. At school, she enjoys studying Maths, Science, and French. Apart from dance, Sowjanya’s other activities include Indian classical music, Badminton, Netball, Bhajans, Slokas. She is also currently learning Tamil, her mother tongue and is so pleased to be able to learn her language in New Zealand,” she said.

Entertainmentlink

Across1A Style of moustache sported by Charlie Chaplin (10)6A Satin was originally made from this fibre (4)8A Appropriate (3)9A Sea witch, the main antagonist in Disney’s Little Mermaid (6)10A Central European river that rises in the northern Czech Republic (4)12A Actor who played Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original Star Wars trilogy - ______ Guiness (4)13A Beam of light (3)14A Small lumps or swellings under the skin (7)16A Dye prepared from the plant Lawsonia inermis (5)17A Halfway point or position of a range (3)20A TV series starring Priyanka Chopra as Alex Parrish, an FBI agent who becomes a prime suspect (8)22A Male cat (3)25A Area in a store fitted with terminals and systems to process cash and card payments where the customer pays for goods purchased (abbr.) (1, 1, 1)27A Motif generally formed by using the combined initials of a name (8)30A Flag carrier airline of South Africa (abbr.) (1, 1, 1)31A Treat someone in a violent or cruel manner (5)33A Brand of paracetamol used in countries such as Brazil, Canada, China, South Africa, Switzerland, USA etc. (7)35A 1975 hit by ABBA, their first one since Waterloo (1, 1, 1)36A Small hard seeds in fruits such as apples and pears (4)38A Abbreviated name of the fifth book of the New Testament (4)39A Harbour where pleasure yachts and small boats are moored (6)40A Largest social units in Māori culture (3)41A Official endorsement in a passport granting the holder permission to enter, leave or stay in a country for a specified period of time (4)42A Mexican businessman who was the world’s richest man from 2010-13 (6, 4)

Indian NewslinkCrossword Puzzle 23Solutions bySandhya GovindPlease see our February 1, 2022Edition

Down1D Tightly compressed bandage (10)2D Black volcanic glass formed when lava cools quickly (8)3D Meat prepared as permitted by Muslim law (4)4D River flowing through Russia and Kazakhstan in the continental border between Europe and Asia (4) 5D Small axe (7)6D Breastbone (7)7D North African country that comprises the three historical regions of Tripolitania, Cyrenaica and Fezzan (5) 11D Network of computers in organizations such as schools, offices etc. that are linked together via ethernet or Wi-Fi (abbr.) (1, 1, 1)12D Independent commission of the Australian Government that regulates company and financial services (abbr.) (1, 1, 1, 1)15D Fixed payment made by a borrower to a lender at a specified date each calendar month (abbr.) (1, 1, 1)18D University halls of residence, usually made up of a large room containing many beds (5)19D Old Major and Napoleon are non-human characters in this allegorical novella by George Orwell (6, 4)21D ‘Zwei’ is the German word for this number (3)23D In 1969, John Lennon formally changed his middle name from Winston to this (3)24D Medical term to denote something that is related to eating a meal (8)25D In 1866, the Seven Weeks War took place between Austria and this kingdom (7) 26D Person who questions or doubts accepted opinions (7)28D Healthy and nutritious breakfast cereal with the scientific name Avena sativa (4)29D Archaic word for ‘no’ (3)31D Standard code, made up of 128 7-bit combinations to represent letters, numbers, punctuation marks and control characters to be stored in a computer or transmitted between computers (abbr.) (1, 1, 1, 1, 1)32D Software application designed to automate tasks on its own without human intervention (3)34D Untruthful people (4)37D The first gift in The Twelve Days of Christmas song is a partridge in this tree (4)

Indian NewslinkWord Search 20Solutions by Sandhya GovindPlease see our February 1, 2022 issue

Indian Newslink Word Search 21

Indian NewslinkCrossword Puzzle 24 by Sandhya Govind

1. Advance 1a. Australia 1b. Fair 2. Angola 2a. Avante 3. Amar 3a. Shonar 3b. Bangla 4. Bilady 4a. Bilady 4b. Bilady 5. God 5a. Defend 5b. New Zealand 6. Ha Tikvah 7. Il Canto 7a. Degli 7b. Italiani 8. Indonesia 8a. Raya 9, Jamaica 9a. Land We 9b. Love 10. Jana

Gana Mana 11. Kimigayo 12. La Marseillaise 13. Lied 13a. Der 13b. Deutschen 14. O Canada 15. South 15a. Sudan 15b. Oyee 16. Wilhelmus

NATIONAL ANTHEMSLocate the words from the themed word list in the puzzle grid. Words may be found going Locate the words from the themed word list in the puzzle grid. Words may be found going

forwards, backwards, up, down or diagonally.The theme for this week is National Anthems with the national anthems of various countries

from around the world in the word list.Once all the words are found, the name of the national anthem of Iceland will be revealed

SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS

Indian Newslink February 15, 2022 Entertainmentlink Images

INL Crossword 24 Clues by Sandhya Govind

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15 16

17

18

19

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ACROSS 1A Style of moustache sported by Charlie Chaplin (10) 6A Satin was originally made from this fibre (4) 8A Appropriate 9A Sea witch, the main antagonist in Disney’s Little Mermaid (6) 10A Central European river that rises in the northern Czech Republic (4) 12A Actor who played Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original Star Wars trilogy - ______ Guiness (4) 13A Beam of light (3) 14A Small lumps or swellings under the skin (7) 16A Dye prepared from the plant Lawsonia inermis (5) 17A Halfway point or position of a range (3) 20A TV series starring Priyanka Chopra as Alex Parrish, an FBI agent who becomes a prime suspect (8) 22A Male cat (3) 25A Area in a store fitted with terminals and systems to process cash and card payments where the

customer pays for goods purchased (abbr.) (1, 1, 1)

Indian Newslink February 1, 2022 Entertainmentlink Image

INL Crossword 23 Solutions by Sandhya Govind

1 K

A

K

2 A

D

3 U

4 H

U

G

O

5 C

H

6 A

V

E

7 Z

O

R

R

U

A

M

E

8 L

A

L

A

L

A

N

D

9 W

A

SW

A

B

I

I

K

B

N

S

I

S

U

T

A

I

U

10 O

P

T

I

O

N

S

G

11 T

I

12 N

A

S

N

C

C

13 H

Y

P

E

A

U

14 H

H

K

I

D

A

15 S

16 T

E \

17 E

18 F

S

19 P

R

E

T

Z

E

L

20 S

21 S

E

D

I

M

22 E

N

T

R

E

23 Y

E

N

L

R

R

O

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Indian Newslink February 15, 2022 Entertainmentlink Image

INL Word Search 20 Solutions by Sandhya Govind

SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS

Indian Newslink February 15, 2022 Entertainmentlink Image

INL Word Search Clues 21 by Sandhya Govind NATIONAL ANTHEMS Locate the words from the themed word list in the puzzle grid. Words may be found going forwards, backwards, up, down or diagonally. The theme for this week is National Anthems with the national anthems of various countries from around the world in the word list. Once all the words are found, the name of the national anthem of Iceland will be revealed

H L Y D A L I B L A N D W E

A I S E N O D N I D E R I S

T E O U L A C I A M A J L I

I D Y T O H T U O S A D H A

K O E S A R F S C N U N E L

V G E C N A V D A A S E L L

A E I H G M O G N D T F M I

H I T E O A A E A U R E U E

N L A N L N V G D S A D S S

R G L U A O T N A C L I H R

A E I M L V Y D A L I B O A

Y D A L I B A N G L A R N M

A N N E W Z E A L A N D A A

A K I M I G A Y O F A I R L

1. Advance 1a. Australia 1b. Fair 2. Angola 2a. Avante 3. Amar 3a. Shonar 3b. Bangla 4. Bilady 4a. Bilady 4b. Bilady 5. God 5a. Defend 5b. New Zealand 6. Ha Tikvah 7. Il Canto 7a. Degli 7b. Italiani 8. Indonesia 8a. Raya 9, Jamaica 9a. Land We 9b. Love 10. Jana Gana Mana 11. Kimigayo 12. La Marseillaise 13. Lied 13a. Der 13b. Deutschen 14. O Canada 15. South 15a. Sudan 15b. Oyee 16. Wilhelmus

Natraj School of Dance scores a ten with an Arangetram next monthSowjanya Vinitha Rajaraman public debut on March 27, 2022; Little Theatre, Lower HuttSupplied Content (Edited)

About Prabhavathi RaviPrabhavathi Ravi started to learn

dance from the age of three under Guru Kalaimamani Krishnakumari Narendran. After her Arangetram at the age of nine, she continued advanced training under Guru Udupi Lakshminarayan.

Ms Ravi has been rendering public performances from the age of five and has enacted various characters in dance dramas and ballets. With more than 100 solo performances to her credit under reputed Sabhas and associations in Chennai, she has performed for various festivals in Canada, the

USA, Sri Lanka and New Zealand.Ms Ravi’s career as a dance teacher has

spanned more than two decades. She has choreographed and directed sever-

al dance concerts, dance ballets and thematic dance productions, proving to be a successful dance teacher and a choreographer. She holds the higher-grade diploma qualification in Dance from the Tamilnadu state government.

Awards and CitationsMs Ravi has won several awards for

her contribution to Dance and ethnic communities in New Zealand including the Queen’s Service Medal by the New Zealand government in 2017, Community Award by Indian Newslink for her contribution to the Tamil community in 2018 and contribution to Dance in 2019, Hutt City Mayoral Civic Honour Awards for Cultural Affairs and Community Group in 2011 and Cultural Award from Upper Hutt Multiethnic Council for contributions to Art and Culture in 2013.

She was a Finalist for Wellingtonian of the Year 2016 under the Education Category.

She is a Justice of Peace. In June 2018, she was one of the judges at

the TV3 Great New Zealand Dance Masala competition, the first of its kind held in this country. In 2019, She was also a Judge for the Hutt’s Got Talent competition at the Hutt Winter Festival.

Ms Ravi is a facilitator, coach, mentor, assessor, presenter, panel speaker and an experienced governor. She sits on various boards in New Zealand across various sectors such as health, sports, arts, regional council and education, bringing the much-needed ethnic and cultural diversity and thinking to the boards. She is regularly invited as a

panel speaker by local and international organisations to share her knowledge and experience in arts, education and governance. She also works as Principal- Strategy delivery for Stats New Zealand, a government agency in New Zealand.

She also established and leads a voluntary group called ‘Namasankeerthanam’ for the past more than ten years, comprising about 80 people who meet every Sunday to sing devotional songs- bhajans for world peace. About Natraj School of Dance

Established in 1999, Natraj School of Dance is a Lower Hutt-based Indian classical

dance school. As its Founder, Director, and Choreographer, Ms Ravi has been training students from different ethnic backgrounds and age groups who have participated at fes-tivals and major events held in Wellington, Auckland, Manawatu and Rotorua.

Every year, the School presents a dance production, providing an opportunity for the students to perform in public. The production also helps to create public awareness of the two different styles of Bharata Natyam, namely the Pandanallur and Kancheepuram Ellappa styles. Photos by Rajesh Sukumar (RaShriRaj Photography)

Prabha Ravi, Founder-Director, Natraj School of Dance with her student Sowjanya Vinitha Rajaraman

Sowjanya Vinitha Rajaraman will be the tenth ‘graduate’ of the School, presenting her Bharata Natyam Aranget-ram on March 27, 2022

Students of Natraj School of Dance under a carefully planned and intensely scrutinised training programme

19February 15, 2022

“Okay, guys,” a female co-worker of mine recently began, as she addressed me and a female colleague. Then she stopped herself, said she was

making an effort to use more gender-neutral language and carried on talking.

It was a small self-correction, and a glimpse at the conflicted feelings stirred up by one of the most common greetings in the English language. Guys is an easy-going way to address a group of people, but to many, it is a symbol of exclusion; a word with an originally male meaning that is frequently used to refer to people who don’t consider themselves “guys.”

My co-worker is one of many who have started editing themselves in response to this exclusion. In the course of reporting this story, I heard from teachers who wanted a better way to get students’ attention, an ice-cream scooper who wanted a better way to greet customers, and a debate coach who specifically encourages his students to use y’all. These are representatives of a broad coalition of people who have contemplated and often gone through with, excising guys from their vocabularies.Re-Conception of gender lines

There are, of course, plenty of people, including many women, who have no problem being addressed as “guys,” think the word has evolved to be entirely gender-neutral, and do not see a reason to change their usage. But others are not so sure.

“I think that there is a really serious and welcome re-conception of gender lines and relationships between sex and gender going on,” said John McWhorter, who teaches linguistics at Columbia University and has written several books about language.

Entertainmentlink

‘Hey Guys,’ is indiscretion, ‘Hello Friends’ is inclusive The Problem is with the English language and its usage

Joe Pinsker

Image from the Atlantic

He said, “Something has crested in particular over about the past 10 years, something that has people examining their everyday communica-tions.”

Linguistic norms are changing faster than ever.

In my reporting, I heard from several people who said that the word is particularly troubling for trans and gender-nonconforming people.

“As a transgender woman, I consciously began trying to stop using guys some years ago,” says Brad Ward, a college counsellor at a high school in Atherton, California.

She added, “When I am included with a group that is called guys, there is some pain since it takes me back to my male days in a way that I would rather not go.”

I also heard that guys could grate on women working at male-heavy companies.

In tech, in particular, some told me they saw the word as yet another symptom of a female-minimising industry. “There are a lot of guys in tech and ‘guys’ is used all the time in my work and social environments by both men and women, but since it does not resonate with me anymore, I do feel like I’m not part of the group,” says Amy Chong, a 29-year-old user-experience researcher in San Francisco.Use of technology

In some workplaces, people have used technology to gently push back against the gender-neutral guys so that they themselves don’t have to speak up. A group of government employees wrote a custom response for the messaging app Slack that would have a bot ask questions like “Did you mean friends?” or “Did you mean you all?” whenever a user wrote “Hey

guys”; a Spotify employee embraced the idea, and the professional network Ladies Get Paid has a similar feature in its Slack group of some 30,000 members.

As these examples indicate, there is addition-al scrutiny these days on communications that happen within or emanate from organizations. This is likely why, after I put out calls for opin-ions on guys, I heard from many people who worked in education or customer-facing jobs. I heard from one teacher who switched to using folks after thinking about the inclusive-learning environment he would like to create, and anoth-er who opted for peeps or scholars. Similarly, an employee at an outdoor-goods store told me that her company’s human-resources department had encouraged the use of more-inclusive terms when addressing customers. “Folks and y’all were determined to be more acceptably neutral and you guys was asked to be toned down,” she said.

Many people are trying to phase guys out of their vocabulary in social settings as well as at work. Coby Joseph, a 26-year-old urban planner currently living in the San Francisco Bay Area, told me that he no longer uses the term after considering “how much of our language centres men” he found guys ”lazy and inconsiderate” and stopped using it four or five years ago, except in cases when he’s communicating with people who he knows identify as male.

This crowd of guys-objectors is not alone historically. People have been resisting the term for decades, and perhaps the most passionate opponent of the word is Sherryl Kleinman, a former professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Titles of dilemma

In a 2002 essay in the journal Qualitative Sociology, she wrote about the problem with male-default terms such as “Chairman,” “Congressman,” and “Mankind.”

Kleinman saw them together as “another indicator, and more importantly, a reinforcer of a system in which ‘man’ in the abstract and men in the flesh are privileged over women.”

She reserved a special disapproval for “you guys,” which she considered the “most insidious” of these phrases, and with the help of former students made a small card that anyone

could print out and, for instance, leave behind at a restaurant to communicate their dislike of the term to an employee who had used it. “When you are talking to a group of customers, gender doesn’t really matter, so why not replace ‘you guys’ with ‘you all,’ ‘folks,’ or ‘y’all,” it reads in part.

Indeed, why not? The problem, for those who want to ditch guys, is that their language doesn’t present them with many versatile replace-ments; English lacks a standard gender-neutral second-person plural pronoun, like the Spanish ustedes or the German ihr. Some alternatives

The alternatives to guys tend to have downsides of their own. Folks, inclusive and warm, but a little affected and forced. Friends, fine in social contexts, strange at work. People: too often pushy and impersonal. Team: its sense of camaraderie wears out with constant use.

One might cobble together a mix of pronouns to deploy in different scenarios, but no one term can do it all.

(I also came across some more-obscure alternatives. Some write guise as an attempt to de-gender the word; I heard about a socialist political group that preferred comrades; one teacher, to draw attention to the problem with guys, said she sometimes jokingly addresses her class as ladies or gals.)

Which brings us all to y’all, which seems to be the alternative with the most passionate backers. It has many of the necessary features to be the heir to guys, inviting, inclusive, monosyl-labic. But what holds it back is its informality, as well as its regional associations, which many don’t know how to handle.

I heard from people born and living outside the South who didn’t feel they could use the term naturally. “They’ll say, ‘y’all’? Are you from Texas?,” one Californian told me; another, who now lives in the Midwest, says she feels “self-conscious saying it as a non-Southerner.”

And I heard from a Turkish-born woman living in Los Angeles who “felt a bit choiceless” selecting between guys and y’all after coming to the US, because of the gender politics of the former and because she didn’t “have the background to use the latter.”

She lamented that English lacks a

gender-neutral second-person plural pronoun, unlike Turkish, her native tongue.

McWhorter, the Columbia linguist, summed up the downside of y’all by saying, “You can’t use it at a board meeting.” Might it shed its informality if more people adopt it?

“That’s not going to change,” McWhorter said, “especially because it is associated with two things: the South and black people. And those two things are considered informal, and many people would have less polite things to say about both of those things.”

Which is one of the reasons the gender-neu-tral guys has had such staying power. But over its 400-year lifespan, guy’s meaning has already changed multiple times, getting less specific as time went on. At first, the word’s definition was quite narrow: Guy referred to an effigy of Guy Fawkes, the infamous Brit who tried and failed to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605.

The word’s meaning radiated outward from there, encompassing larger and larger groups.

It started to be used to signify any effigy, then any fearsome person and/or any man. And then, in the plural, it came to mean, in the US sometime around 100 years ago, just about anyone.

Many, perhaps even most, American English speakers view this evolution as a process of shedding gendered connotations. This is the view that McWhorter counsels as a linguist: “People are going to continue referring to women as guys, and a lot of the people doing it are going to be women,” he says.

McWhorter does recognise that even as the word’s meaning has shifted, it retains a certain male “flavour.” In fact, there are some examples in the past of words zigging and zagging in their gender associations.

Anatoly Liberman, a linguist at the University of Minnesota, told me about how child started as a gender-neutral word in Old English, remained so for several centuries, took on a male meaning in Northern England and Scotland, took on a female meaning in other English dialects, and then mostly converged on a neutral meaning again. So, language can change—and change back.Joe Pinsker is a staff writer at The Atlantic, where he covers families and relationships.

“Just as the fragrance of a flower has no colour, it is a fragrance; the cool breeze and the flowing waters know no boundaries, the rising sun or a

child’s innocent laughter have no religion and do not discriminate, so is Lata Mangeshkar’s voice a miracle of nature. It knows no bounda-ries and flows like the wind and the waters.”God’s gift to mankind

This was the late actor Dilip Kumar’s elo-quent introduction to the nightingale at her first international concert at the famed Royal Albert Hall in London in the 1970s. There could have been no better description of the singer who was regarded by her innumerable admirers across the world as God’s gift to mankind.

And now, the nightingale has flown away. She passed away, aged 92, at a hospital in Mumbai on February 6, 2022, plunging millions of her fans across borders into deep mourning.

A die-hard fan, this writer had the privilege of meeting her in Parliament House in 2003 during one of her visits as a member of the Rajya Sabha. She had a quiet dignity, an aura about her. Everybody who saw her bowed in reverence. Many touched her feet.

Normally everything has an expiry date, but not the timeless music of the melody queen of Indian cinema. Even over seven decades after she first burst on the Indian playback music scene, her songs are played in every nook and corner of the country. They feature in every television reality show, be it of music, dance or just a talk show of cine artistes. Much to her chagrin, they even appear as re-mixes to regale the new generation hooked on to jazz, pop and rock music.

For most of her life, the internationally renowned doyen of playback singing remained an enigma, firing the imagination of people who craved to know the face behind the hon-ey-sweet voice that had a song for their every mood and occasion. And when she did appear in person in her live concerts, she remained simple, humble and even shy.Wide repertoire, versatile situations

Singers who perform on stage normally gyrate to the music or shake a leg to engage audiences. But Lata Mangeshkar, her usual white sari draped around her shoulders, diamonds sparkling in her ears, would stand before the mike, her lips barely moving and yet her powerful, melodious voice held audiences in thrall.

Perfectionist to the core, she would keep her eyes fixed on the lyrics sheet before her while singing but the audiences could not take their eyes off the play of emotions on her face as she gave expression to the wordings, bringing out the soul of the song.

Indian film music loses its soul with Lata MangeshkarGargi Parsai

Her flawless diction and versatility to suit the actor on-screen set her apart and miles ahead of others. It is no wonder then that for over seven decades she lent her voice from Nargis, Meena Kumari, Madhubala to Madhuri Dixit, Kajol, Preity Zinta and so many actresses.

It is hard to imagine the repertoire of Madhu-bala without Lata number ‘Pyar Kiya Toh Darna Kya’ From Mughal-E-Azam or Meena Kumari without ‘Inhi Logon Ne Le Lina Dupatta Mera’ from Pakeezah or Nargis without ‘Rasik Balma’ from Chori Chori or Waheeda Rehman without ‘Piya Tose Naina Lage Re’ from Guide or Mala Sinha without ‘Aap Ki Nazron Ne Samjha’ from Anpadh or Sadhana without ‘Lag Ja Gale’ from Woh Kaun Thi, or Bina Rai without ‘Jo Wada Kiya Woh Nibhana Padega’ from Taj Mahal.

She recorded a song with A R Rehman in 2006 for the film Rang De Basanti and worked with several new composers but in time would accept only such assignments that would appeal to her senses.

Mastery over languagesReplying to wonderstruck interviewers, Lata

often said her voice was a gift of nature, but the manner in which she trained herself (learning about Sur and Riyaz from her singer-performer father, Master Dinanath and about rhythm from Ustad Aman Ali Khan and Amanat Khan Dewaswale), got rid of traces of Marathi accent, mastered the nuances of Urdu diction and learnt Sanskrit to keep the purity of languages in her renditions, was very much her own.

Composers marvelled at her ability to grasp and deliver even better than what they asked. Musicians Laxmikant-Pyarelal often said that for their 1% effort, Lata gave them 100% result.

When after her father’s death, Lata joined the film industry at the tender age of 13 compelled by the need to take care of a large family of four younger siblings and a widowed mother, she already had a grounding in classical music. This helped her get minor roles of a singing actor in films between 1942-1948. In 1949, she got a

The Nightingale flies away: Lata Mangeshkar (28.09.1929 to 06.02.2022) PTI Photo

Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Shivaji Park in Mumbai where Lata Mangeshkar was cremated with full State Honours (PM Twitter)

Lata Mangeshkar: The uncrowned Queen of Melody for almost 60 years

chance to give playback for big star cast movies like Mahal, Andaz and Badi Behan, after which there was no looking back. Devoting her life to music the diva remained single, living with her siblings in Mumbai.Noor Jehan’s prophecy

Noor Jehan, one of the reigning singers of the 40s, was introduced to Lata during a film shooting in Kolhapur. Mallika-e-Tarannum, as Noor Jehan came to be known, declared that Lata will go far. She migrated to Pakistan after India’s partition in 1947. When asked about Lata who came to rule the roost in India, Noor Jehan said, “Lata is Lata. There can be no one like her.” The two remained friends till Noor Jehan’s death in 2000.

Indore-born Lata Mangeshkar recorded countless songs in her golden voice and is said to have sung in more than 20 languages. After Hindi, she sang the most in Bengali. She credited music director Anil Biswas with teaching her the nuances of breath control while singing into a mike. There were several others from whom Lata picked up useful hints and that was her USP: she never stopped learning and honing her craft.

Distinguished Hindustani classical vocalist, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, who rendered a soulful background number for the famous feather love scene between Salim (Dilip Kumar) and Anarkali (Madhubala) in Mughal-E-Azam said about Lata Mangeshkar, “Yeh Kabhi besuri nahi hoti. Kya Allah ki den hai! (She never goes out of tune. What a gift of Allah she is!).’’ Poet Javed Akhtar recalls this in an interview.

Of her perfect rendering of songs, Lata would say that she would be so immersed in the lyrics and the feel of the composition that she would lose herself in it. She rehearsed relentlessly before any recording or concert and never resented as many ‘takes’ as it took for a perfect creation. Sometimes, as while singing Naushad composed ‘Mohe Bhool Gaye Sanwariya’ from Baiju Bawra, tears welled up in her eyes, so engrossed would she be.

Her impassioned rendering of ‘Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon’ (penned by Pradeep and composed by C Ramachandra) in 1963 moved to tears the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who was on the dais. “After the war with China, the country’s mood was sombre. After I finished the song, Pandit Nehru complimented me and said you made me cry,” she would recall. Hard work and perseverance

Though she did have her share of struggles, Lata’s punctuality, discipline, a tremendous capacity for hard work and perseverance went into making her the phenomenon she was.

When she arrived on the film music scene such dedication was neither recognised nor financially rewarded within the industry. This made Lata take up cudgels to make several things right for playback singers, such as their

name appearing in a film’s credits (for her first hit song, ‘Ayega Aane Wala’ from Mahal, the HMV record did not carry Lata’s name as the singer), independent recognition of singers for awards (Filmfare initially had no award category for singers) and above all the successful fight for royalty for songs played on public broadcast systems, observed compere Harish Bhimani in his book, ’In Search of Lata Mangeshkar’ published by Indus (1995).

Such was her clout in the industry that over a misunderstanding she did not work for sev-eral years with popular composer Sachin Dev Burman who had given hit films like Munimji, Guide, Aradhana, Amar Prem, Abhimaan till a rapprochement was brought about by his talented son, Rahul Dev Burman.Honours galore

There is no honour that bypassed Lata Man-geshkar. In fact, awards chased her. She was bestowed with Bharat Ratna, the country’s top civil recognition, in 2001, Padma Vibhushan in 1999, Dada Saheb Phalke Award in 1989, Maharashtra Bhushan Award in 1987, Padma Bhushan in 1969, France’s Officer of the French Legion of Honour in 2007, three National Awards and numerous state awards.

After winning four Filmfare awards she bowed herself out of the reckoning to give fresh talent a chance. The Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh governments instituted awards in her name. She in turn instituted an award in her father’s name and built a multi-speciality hos-pital in Pune to honour her parent’s memory.

Lata did experiment with film production and tried her hand at composing songs in Marathi under the pseudonym Anandghan, but her core competence remained playback singing. Her non-film repertoire includes albums of Mirza Ghalib, Hridayanath’s Meera bhajans, shlokas from Gita, Marathi folk songs, assorted religious songs, aartis, patriotic and vernacular songs. So focussed was she was on playback singing that despite popular demand, her forays into the genre of ghazals were few and far between (Saadgi, Sadka, Sarhadein). Eminent classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj observed, “Today the crores who listen to Shashtriya Sangeet (classical music), their beginning is Lata Mangeshkar.”

The diva survived her compatriots – be it Mohammad Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh, Manna Dey, Hemant Kumar, Talat Mehmood or Mahendra Kapoor – giving a false sense of security to millions of her fans about her immortality. Alas, it was not to be. Indian music has lost its soul.

Gargi Parsai is a senior journalist based in New Delhi. The above article, which appeared on the website of ‘Wire India’ has been reproduced here under a Special Agreement.

20 February 15, 2022

A fine batsman bows out (Photosport)

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Middlemore Sangam to launch free sporting classesSoccer, Rugby, Netball, Boxing and Indoor Cricket from February 12, 2022

The New Zealand Middlemore Sangam Inc, a South Auckland based Club, has announced the

commencement of its Commu-nity Coaching Programme from February 12, 2022.

The twelve-week Programme will be held at the Soccer Clinic at Walter Mas- sey Park, located at 372 Mas- sey, Road, Mangere East, Auckland.

Event Coordinator Kartik Reddy said that the Sports initiative, called, ‘Khali Khelo’ (Let us Play), aims to motivate members of the community, especially children and youth to play sports and achieve proficiency. Raising Sporting talent

“Our objective is to bring out the best sporting talent among the growing generation and make them professional coaches and athletes. To begin with, we will concentrate on five different sports including Soccer, Rugby, Netball, Boxing and Indoor Cricket in 12 weeks. The Programme, held once a week, will be held at 9 am,” he said.

To register your interest to participate please complete the enrolment form here.

Kartik Reddy can be contacted on 021-02724802.

Staff ReporterIt is the end of an era. Earlier this week, Otago Volts veteran Neil Broom announced that the 2021-2022 season will be his final season

in the game.He made his first-class debut up

the road for Canterbury in 2003 and continued to play until 2005 when he was approached by Otago management to make the move South.

Broom fondly remembers his early years in Canterbury and credits former Otago coach Mike Hesson, Craig Cumming and Gareth Hopkins for turning him into an Otago Volt.

“I was just a young fella playing alongside some of my idols which was pretty special - I have very fond memories of my time in Canterbury. I was approached by Otago in 2005 and, after speaking with Hess, Sid (Craig Cumming) and Hoppy (Gareth Hopkins), I felt it was best for my future to make the move to the blue and gold of Otago,” he said.Impressive record

Broom quickly made his mark as one of Otago’s premier batsmen, notching up three centuries and fourteen half-centuries in his first three seasons in Otago.

Since that time, Broom has represented the Volts over 340 times across all formats. The Volts legend is currently the team’s all-time leading run-scorer in List A and T20 cricket, and second only to Cumming’s own monumental stockpile of runs in first-class Cricket.

Broom also represented the Blackcaps in all three formats, playing more than 50 international matches as well as having been a New Zealand U19 representative.

In his own words, Broom’s time with Otago was epitomised by Otago Rugby teams led by the likes of Marc Ellis, Jeff Wilson, John Timu, John Leslie and Tony Brown.

“I always think about the great Otago

Neil Broom to retire from Cricket end of this seasonSourced Content rugby team of the late 90s. They were out

there giving it a red-hot crack, playing a pure brand of rugby, and they looked like they had a bloody good time doing it. We are not the biggest region in terms of player-pool, so we have to fight above our weight, and I always loved that about Otago,” Broom said.Partners in success

Now a father of five, Broom credits his parents, his partner Mel and his teammates and coaches for his success.

“My parents obviously played a massive role and that has been reinforced now that I’m a father of five and can understand what they did for me when I was growing up. I want to make a special mention to my wife, Mel. She has been

my biggest supporter during my career, and I owe her so much for everything she has done, for not only me but our five beautiful children,” he said.

“During my professional career I was lucky to have players like Gary Stead as my Captain in my early years, I went through the NZC Academy with Peter Fulton and he guided me on the right path. I learnt a lot from Craig Cumming about batting,” Broom said.

“There are a lot of other people – Gareth Hopkins, Warren McSkimming, Aaron Redmond, Nathan McCullum, Mike Hesson, the list goes on, but these

guys all helped influence me as an Otago player and a man,” he added.Hero of Domestic Cricket

Otago Cricket Performance Manager, Simon Forde, alluded to the quality of Broom’s character, saying that he has been one of the great characters of NZC Domestic cricket, q majority of which has been in Otago.

“It has been a pleasure to watch him play the game to such a high level and in such a positive manner. Every player that has played alongside Broomy will have a story or two about him as a character on and off the field. He will be missed in the environment by all involved,” he said.

Otago Cricket Chief Executive Mike Coggan also spoke glowingly of Broom.

“Broomy is a wonderful human being who was blessed with and maximised his sporting talent to play for his country. It is great that Neil has bowed out on his terms as Otago’s greatest ever (white-ball) run-scorer. Being a family man, we now look forward to the day that any of Neil and Mel’s five kids come through the Otago system. Thanks for the memories Broomy. The Volts will dearly miss you,” he said.

Broom will hang up his bat after the remaining Ford Trophy fixtures of the current season.

Neil Broom: Otago records: First-Class: Second most runs for Otago: 6085; 15 centuries, third-most for Otago; 38 fifties, fifth-most for Otago; second-most catches for Otago: 69; second-most appearances: 101

List A: Most runs for Otago: 4157; Most centuries for Otago: 8; Most fifties for Otago: 34; second highest list A score for Otago: 164 v Canterbury in Timaru (2009-2010); Most hundreds in a season: 3 x hundreds (2015-2016); Most runs in a season for Otago: 508 runs (2015-2016); Most appearances:120

T20: Most runs for Otago: 2926; Most fifties for Otago: 18; Fourth most runs in a season for Otago: 385; Highest T20 score for Otago: 117 v Perth at Jaipur (2013-2014 Champions League); One of only five players to score a century for Otago (with Brendon McCullum, Aaron Redmond, Hamish Rutherford, Chris Gaffaney); Most catches for Otago: 52; Most catches in a season: 10 (2012-2013 and again in 2019-2020); Most appear-ances for Otago: 124. Neil Broom overall career

First-class (Canterbury, Otago, Der-byshire, New Zealand, New Zealand A, New Zealand XI); 149 matches, 8457 runs, high score 203 not out, average 37.42, 18 centuries, 33 half-centuries, 107 catches; plus eight wickets with a best of 1-8.

List A One-Day (in progress) (Canter-bury, Otago, Derbyshire, New Zealand, New Zealand A); 187 matches, 6006 runs, high score 164, average 38.50, 10 centuries, 39 half-centuries, 62 catches; plus 6 wickets with a best of 2-59; T20 (Canterbury, Otago, Derbyshire, New Zealand, New Zealand XI, South Island)

160 matches, 3601 runs, high score 117 not out, one century, 21 half-centuries, 64 catches; plus 8 wickets with a best of 2-19Blackcaps

ODI (2008/09-2017/18); 39 matches, 943 runs, high score 109 not out, one century, five half-centuries, nine catches;

TEST (2016/17); Two matches, 32 runs; T20i (2008/09-2016/17); 11 matches, 73 runs, high score 36, SR 107.35, 4 catches.Source: New Zealand Cricket

Neil Broom to retire from Cricket after the Ford Trophy (Photosport)