Garam Masala: August 2016
new-zealand-national-party
Wed Aug 31 2016 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Garam Masala: August 2016
Wednesday, 31 August 2016, 12:58 pm
Column: New Zealand National Party
I was saddened to hear that Sardar Ganges Singh, a dear friend and mentor passed away earlier this month.
Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi**
List MP based in Manukau East**
Welcome to our August 2016 newsletter
I was saddened to hear that Sardar Ganges Singh, a dear friend and mentor passed away earlier this month. Mr Singh was a hard working person, who through his actions, contributed for the betterment of his local community in Pukekohe. Mr Singh’s services included his life membership of New Zealand multicultural council. Through his membership he advocated for multicultural New Zealand. Mr Singh was also a Justice of the Peace and a Marriage Celebrant. During his time he conducted 450 marriages voluntarily for the community. He was awarded the Queens Service Medal for his unrelenting commitment to community service. He will be sadly missed by the Indian and Sikh community in New Zealand. Kia Kaha to family and friends of Sardar Ganges Singh.
Congratulations to all members of New Zealand’s Olympic team on their fantastic performance at the 2016 Rio Olympics. We are a tiny nation that always manages to punch above its weight. Our medal tally of 18 is proof of this pudding.
The National Party successfully launched the Global IndiaNZ Canterbury chapter by Prime Minister Rt Hon John Key. Thanks to all the colleagues for their support, in particular to Member of Parliament Jo Hayes for making this happen. Also a big thank you to the volunteers and Harjit Singh of Christchurch for his leadership.
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It was also great to meet Members of Parliament from the Bay of Plenty region and discuss the matters related to International students. Many thanks to Hon Simon Bridges, MP for Tauranga, Hon Todd McClay, MP for Rotorua, and Scott Simpson, MP for Coromandel.
I attended a number of community events across the country last month.
Famous Bollywood actor Tushar Kapoor was in New Zealand attending the Festival of India 2016 organised by Radio Tarana to celebrate India’s 70th Independence Day.
Apart from Radio Tarana the Auckland Tamil Association and Bhartiye Samaj also celebrated 70th Indian Independence Day.
Song bird Shreya Ghoshal was on her New Zealand and Australia tour. I had a chance to attend her Wellington concert along with my colleagues MP Chris Bishop and MP Brett Hudson.
The Rotary Club of Otahuhu held their 9th annual fundraiser; the Wine Makers lunch to support Totara Hospice. So far they have raised $300,000. Thanks to all of those who came to support the cause and to Jackie Hui for her invitation to attend.
Congratulations to Mrs Shakuntala Nand and Mr Tula Nand on achieving their New Zealand citizenship. Citizenship ceremony for Mrs and Mr Nand was organised in my office in Papatoetoe. New Zealand citizenship is a privilege that is earned and one that comes with responsibilities that every citizen of our country must take seriously.
We have put together a short survey to seek your opinion and suggestions.
Also, Ms Vivian Shurmer, a Masters of Psychology student at the University of Canterbury is undertaking research on migrant communities to learn more about the experiences of migrants.
The link for this survey: http://tinyurl.com/NZStudy
Participants also go in the draw to win one of three prizes: a Samsung Galaxy Tablet, a Samsung Galaxy Tablet Lite or $300 of MTA Vouchers.
If you get a call from someone saying you need to pay a fine via iTunes vouchers or any other voucher, advice from the New Zealand Police is to hang up. Some scammers are currently calling people and demanding them to pay fines via vouchers etc.
Many of these calls look like they're coming from legit NZ phone numbers, including those associated with Government departments such as Police. While these numbers may show a NZ number, they're in fact coming from overseas. We're seeing a huge numbers of these calls coming through, with over 900,000 calls showing as coming from one NZ number during June & July. Please let any of your friends and family who aren't tech savvy know about this so they don't fall victim to this type of scam.
There have been some amendments made to the residential tenancies act in our Government’s efforts to provide warmer, drier and healthier homes to New Zealanders who live in rented accommodation. Please visit**www.tenancy.govt.nz** for detailed information on these changes.
Finally, I would like to use this opportunity to remind you that I hold regular consultation clinics at my office on Kolmar Road, Papatoetoe, Auckland.
If you would like to provide feedback or discuss any issues with me please call Rahul Chopra 09 278 9302 to make an appointment. You might also like to connect with me on my website,bakshi.co.nz, or on Facebook.
Yours sincerely,
Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi
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