Roshan Nauhria –
As the first New Zealand political party dedicated to immigrants, our mandate is equality for all New Zealanders.
But this cannot be achieved when our current justice system is failing us.
Our community and many people around our country do not feel safe.
With minimal sentencing and increasing numbers of repeat offenders crime rates continue to climb.
The most pressing issue facing our people is law and order and as such our Party’s constitution is strongly focused on crime.
New Guidelines
Our Law and Order Policy is the top priority leading with our Three-to-Five Year plan which includes creating a system where criminals are scared to commit a crime.
The approach to criminality needs to be viewed on a long-term basis with a strong emphasis on rehabilitation culminating with assistance back into the workforce.
The current Parole Board process is not working. Criminals are being sentenced for six months, getting out after two months, then reoffending. This must change – we need new guidelines. With 11,000 more burglaries occurring under this government, we need to get tougher.
New Zealanders need to feel safe in their own homes.
We are working towards safer communities, job growth and decreased crime rates.
Salary pledged
If I win, my salary would be $171,137 and I will use all of this to provide food for school children in the Mt Roskill electorate.
So far, campaigning in this by-election has focused on the big issues like transport and law and order – changes in these areas take time, but this is one change I can bring about immediately.
Pledging my salary does not require any political power.
It is a simple thing to do and it will make sure no child in Mt Roskill goes without lunch.
While many schools are providing food already, there are gaps and I plan to work with local bakeries to provide healthy sandwiches and fresh fruit.
Feeding the hungry
I have also found that schools struggle to find people who can run the food programmes.
Fonterra and Sanitarium provide food to the schools but someone has to organise for it to be distributed to the students. Money from my salary can be used to pay for staff.
The way I look at this is that as an MP, my salary would be paid by the people of Mt Roskill. It is only fair they should directly benefit from it.
My vowed is to end hunger in Mt Roskill schools. I will personally support any financial shortfall as well as enlist the help of others to achieve this end.
Housing matters
The most important aspect of housing in Mt Roskill is to ensure that the people who live in their houses are safe.
Moving on to housing affordability I believe that this issue needs immediate action.
The only way to insure affordability is to concentrate on supply.
Affordable housing needs to be built to a high level of quality and in large numbers.
They should be built in available pockets of land near key infrastructure such as highways and rail.
There are several options to make this happen in South Auckland and this needs to be fast tracked by Auckland Council and supported by Central Government.
Only once we can meet the demand will we see a slow in house prices in Mt Roskill and other areas.
Moving Transport
There needs to be comprehensive work between the Auckland Council and central government on this issue. Any proactive work to find solutions is something I will support.
More buses to link to the Onehunga train station and to the central city to move the people of Mt Roskill to where they need to be is a short-term solution but long term, I would like the public to be aware of all options.
Roshan Nauhria is the Leader of the newly formed New Zealand People’s Party and its candidate in the Mt Roskill by-election due to be held on Saturday, December 3, 2016. He has lived in Mt Roskill for more than 33 years and understands its people and their needs. He has also been involved in a number of community welfare and philanthropic activities for more than 25 years.
