A tale of two Indians at Parliament

ByMartyn Bradbury

Fascinating insight from RNZ into the priorities of two of NZs Indian politicians…

No virginity testing and amending alcohol licensing rules on Indian origin MPs agenda

The two MPs of Indian origin in the current Parliament – Labour’s Priyanca Radhakrishnan and ACT’s Parmjeet Parmar – have lodged members’ bills on issues important to them.

Radhakrishnan, who has been a lawmaker since 2017, has proposed the Crimes (Virginity Testing Practices) Amendment Bill which “seeks to protect vulnerable women and girls by amending the Crimes Act 1961 to introduce new offences that criminalise virginity testing and the related practice of hymenoplasty”.

Meanwhile Parmar, who has been an ACT Party MP since 2023 (she was a National Party MP earlier between 2014-2020), has proposed the Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Participation in Licensing Decisions) Amendment Bill, which “seeks to strike a balance between the rights of licensed businesses and the interests of the local community by ensuring a fair and transparent process for the application and renewal of liquor licenses”.

…so for Labour’s Priyanca Radhakrishnan, stopping the importation of brutal, invasive and sexist cultural traditions from India is a priority while ACT’s Parmjeet Parmar wants to ensure the exploitative migrant worker booze lords will be able to force their latest bottle shop next to a kindergarten without the community being able to stop them.

Charming.

Speaks volumes doesn’t it?

 

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10 Comments

  1. Lots of Parmar’s countrymen are booze barons, so I think she’d want to protect their interests. I think lots of them make the lollies that rot kids teeth teeth too, but they come bagged in really pretty colours.

  3. Oh be fair now!
    Traditionally the liquor lobby has always been really important in New Zealand politics and members of parliament are supposed to represent the interests of their donors- sorry constituents – so Parmar should do the job ACT members of parliament are paid to do.
    David Seymour, for example, is elected by racists, slumlords, polluters so does their bidding – and so he jolly well should! That is what they pay him for after all.
    As for Radhakrishnan she means well, heart in the right place and all that, but dash it all, exactly how many donations does she expect to garner from vulnerable, young migrant women?
    The Labour Party leadership need to talk to her about this. After all Labour gave up helping poor people in the 1980s.

  4. Funny how you never see Indian alcoholics staggering around the streets. I will say it again. Any resident or immigrant caught exploiting workers should be forced to sell their business, pay compensation and deported. Problem solved overnight.

  5. Our old style booz barns of the 70/80 ties are long gone, and the bottle store replace, are ever evident in our suburbs culture, and in most if not all bar a few Asian owned.
    Myself, don!T mind who sells, as treatment of their employees are respected.
    Cultural now the differ, being A.C.T. supporting business no matter their culture abnormalities to our understanding of humain compassion.
    Labour, have a proper compassion, above profit, to respect humain care, above profit at any cost being, mutilation of the female, for male satisfaction.

  6. ‘Traditionally the liquor lobby has always been really important in New Zealand politics’
    Apologies to all. That should read:
    Traditionally the liquor AND Tobacco lobby has always been really important in New Zealand politics.
    I do not want Casey Costello and Chris Bishop to feel left out.
    Cheers.
    Razorbotham

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