Labour’s Priyanca Radhakrishnan Proud of Roots

In an exclusive interview with Indian news magazine, The Week, Labour list MP Priyanca Radhakrishnan, 41, talks about how the New Zealand Government is handling the pandemic and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s chances of coming back to power, with elections in New Zealand scheduled for October.

“While we’ve had strong, decisive and clear leadership and communication as New Zealand continues to deal with COVID-19, we could not have achieved what we have without the support and cooperation of the nation’s people, Radhakrishnan tells The Week’s Anirudha Karindalam.

Radhakrishnan, a Malayali who grew up in Singapore, is the only New Zealand MP of Indian origin on the Government benches. She is based in Maungakiekie.

“I was honoured when the Prime Minister appointed me as the parliamentary private secretary to the Minister of Ethnic Communities,” she says.

“I provide input specifically in areas related to domestic violence that disproportionately affects our communities, migrant worker exploitation, immigration and support the work of the government to address barriers to employment and leadership positions for New Zealanders from different ethnic communities.”

Original article by Anirudha Karindalam, The Week, September 21, 2020.