Venkat Raman
Auckland, June 15, 2020
Ethnic communities, including those that are emerging would have reason to be satisfied with the Labour Party’s List of candidates and their ranking announced in Wellington on Monday.
Priyanca Radhakrishnan, representing a cross-section of communities at the Maungakiekie Constituency is 33rd on the List and will return to Parliament based on the current mood of the voting public across the country.
She is of Indian origin; there is another ‘New Zealander Indian’ in Gaurav Sharma, who, at 65, may also make it, if Labour performs as envisaged now.
Old and new ethnic candidates
The List contains 12 other candidates, each representing other communities, the most notable being Dr Ayesha Verrall, who was on the frontline advising Ms Ardern during the Covid-19 crisis. A Maldivian, she is ranked 18 on the List and hence a sure win.
Among the others are Vanushi Walters (Sri Lankan), Raymond Huo, Naisi Chen (Chinese), Marja Lubeck (Indonesian/Dutch), Ibrahim Omer (Eritrean), Zahra Hussaini (Afghan), Romy Udanga, Monina Hernandez (Filipino) and Al’a Al Bustani (Jordanian).
Dr Ayesha Verrall is an infectious diseases expert and recently completed a rapid review of the Government’s contact tracing programme. Vanushi Walters is a Human Rights Lawyer and a Senior Manager at the Human Rights Commission, Naisi Chen is director at a business consultancy firm, and Ibrahim Omer is a unionist and community candidate.
Skills and Perspectives
Labour Party President Claire Szabo praised the candidates, saying that they carry with them a sense of public service and determination to make New Zealand better.
“I could not be prouder of the exciting line-up of new candidates we unveiled, bolstering our already experienced caucus with diverse talent,” she said.
According to Ms Radhakrishnan, the candidates from across different ethnic communities bring strong skill sets and unique perspectives.
“Labour has engaged widely across our diverse communities, strengthened our relationships with our stakeholders and delivered in government. This new List sees people skilled in business, medicine, law, advocacy and human rights, poised to join our Labour caucus. We have candidates who came to New Zealand as migrants, refugees and have worked across different communities. New Zealand is a very diverse society and I firmly believe that we are stronger as a nation because of it – not in spite of our diversity,” she said.
The two most recent public polls show nearly the entire Labour List making it into Parliament.
Newshub’s Reid Research Poll had Labour winning 72 seats, while the TVNZ Colmar Brunton Poll had Labour on 79 seats, bringing a suite of new MPs to Parliament.
Big Winners
There are also some big winners from Labour’s current caucus.
Phil Twyford moves up to fourth place on the List, taking over from Andrew Little, who has been demoted to seventh place from third. Grant Robertson, who was ranked fourth place last election, moves up to third place. Speaker Trevor Mallard makes a surprising move to the top of the list, jumping up to 11th place from 33.
These List rankings are based on the current Cabinet rankings of MPs, decided Ms Ardern, which the Party accepts. Labour currently has 17 list MPs from a caucus of 46 MPs.
Most commentators expect that margin to close ahead of the election.
Labour’s 2020 List: 1. Jacinda Ardern 2. Kelvin Davis 3. Grant Robertson 4. Phil Twyford 5. Megan Woods 6. Chris Hipkins 7. Andrew Little 8. Carmel Sepuloni 9. David Parker 10. Nanaia Mahuta 11. Trevor Mallard 12. Stuart Nash 13. Iain Lees-Galloway 14. Jenny Salesa 15. Damien O’Connor 16. Kris Faafoi 17. David Clark 18. Ayesha Verrall 19. Peeni Henare 20. Willie Jackson 21. Aupito William Sio 22. Poto Williams 23. Vanushi Walters 24. Michael Wood 25. Adrian Rurawhe 26. Raymond Huo 27. Kiri Allan 28. Kieran McAnulty 29. Louisa Wall 30. Meka Whaitiri 31. Rino Tirikatene 32. Camilla Belich 33. Priyanca Radhakrishnan 34. Jan Tinetti 35. Deborah Russell 36. Marja Lubeck 37. Angie Warren-Clark 38. Willow-Jean Prime 39. Tamati Coffey 40. Naisi Chen 41. Jo Luxton 42. Jamie Strange 43. Liz Craig 44. Ibrahim Omer 45. Duncan Webb 46. Anahila Kanongata’a-Suisuiki 47. Ginny Andersen 48. Rachel Brooking 49. Paul Eagle 50. Helen White 51. Barbara Edmonds 52. Angela Roberts 53. Shanan Halbert 54. Neru Leavasa 55. Tracey McLellan 56. Lemauga Lydia Sosene 57. Steph Lewis 58. Dan Rosewarne 59. Rachel Boyack 60. Arena Williams 61. Ingrid Leary 62. Soraya Peke-Mason 63. Lotu Fuli 64. Sarah Pallett 65. Gaurav Sharma 66. Emily Henderson 67. Terisa Ngobi 68. Kurt Taogaga 69. Kerrin Leoni 70. Reuben Davidson 71. Zahra Hussaini 72. Janet Holborow 73. Romy Udanga 74. Ala’ Al-Bustanji 75. Glen Bennett 76. Monina Hernandez 77. Claire Mahon 78. Jon Mitchell 79. Nathaniel Blomfield 80. Nerissa Henry 81. Mathew Flight 82. Shirin Brown 83. Liam Wairepo 84. Georgie Dansey.
