Community leader, Indian supermarket owner and community radio station founding member, Navtej Singh Randhawa is set for a new challenge.
The fourth-generation New Zealander, who identifies strongly with his Indian roots, is excited and upbeat after the National Party named him its candidate from the Panmure-Otahuhu electorate for the October 14 national elections.
“I am excited about this opportunity and the tasks ahead. When I got the news, I felt relieved and overjoyed," he told The Indian Weekender.
He says he decided to venture into politics because he wants New Zealand to be a better place. He says, "I want to make the country a better place to live and work for everyone. I strongly believe you can only achieve that by getting involved and making better decisions together for the betterment of society.”
When asked about his views on the increased Indian representation in Parliament, especially with National Party selecting Kiwi-Indian candidates Siva Kilari and Mahesh Muralidhar, he says, “It is time that our community starts to participate in the political realms to make better decisions seriously. I do advocate increased ethnic representation on merit.”
The 46-year-old is a founding member of the NZ Punjabi Foundation, a member of the Asia New Zealand Foundation Young Leaders Network, a board member of United Voice and a founding member of Punjabi radio channel Radio Spice among others.
“My top priorities include working with our constituency team to plan our campaign and set goals for the coming months. My focus is on developing a sound election strategy. I endeavour to work with the leaders within the community to develop Kiwi-Indian diaspora priorities,” says Randhawa, who studied at Hamilton Boys' High School and then completed Bachelor of Commerce in International Business and Marketing from the University of Auckland.
Randhawa has lived at Papatoetoe in south Auckland for 15 years with his parents, wife Rajwinder and three sons. He says he has a special connect with the electorate that stretches from Point England and Tamaki in the north, via the suburbs of Panmure, Westfield and Otahuhu, to Otara and Papatoetoe in the south and includes Middlemore Hospital and Manukau Institute of Technology.
"I live, work and breathe Panmure-Otahuhu constituency. My kids have grown up here. I love this place,” he says, adding, “I have a deeper understanding of the cultures that exist in my electorate and a better understanding of the challenges, namely increasing cost of living and concern for the safety being faced by the people in my constituency. People feel unsafe in our community and it’s only getting worse. We owe it to our communities to crack down on crime and make our streets safer.”
Randhawa’s family migrated to New Zealand in 1920, and settled in King Country. His forefathers were into farming for three generations, after which his family eventually settled in Auckland. He says he has seen New Zealand changing over the years and points out, “NZ has changed to a very multicultural environment, and this has changed NZ for the better. There is more understanding of the cultures that exist in our beautiful country.”