Last fortnight, Prime Minister John Key, Trade Minister Tim Groser and I attended the 10th anniversary of BAPS Swaminarayan Sansthan in Auckland.
In his address, Mr Key said, “Indians are hard working. They have family values and look after their family members.”
Our Indian community stands out as hard working people focusing on the strength of education. These values are important as we continue to work with the government to achieve our goals in our second term in office.
Over the next three years, the Prime Minister has placed focus on four main priorities areas: Responsibly managing the government’s finances, building a more competitive and productive economy, delivering better public services and rebuilding Christchurch.
National will continue implementing our 120-point Economic Action Plan released during the election campaign.
The Action Plan shows how we would pursue a more competitive economy.
Over the next few years, our focus will be on responsibly managing government finances, including a commitment to return to surplus in 2014/15, which we are on track to achieve.
Our economy is in relatively good shape, compared to many other countries.
Stronger growth
Over the next two years, our economy is forecast to grow more strongly than the Eurozone, Britain, Japan, the US and Canada.
Our commitment to engage proactively with both China and India has also been emphasised.
Delivering better public services means we will be implementing major welfare reforms; our focus will be on raising achievement across the education sector; we will improve health services, introduce legislation to strengthen sentencing, parole and bail laws, keeping you safe at home and in your community.
This year, we will be getting on with rebuilding Christchurch, our second-biggest city. We are totally committed to the reconstruction of Canterbury and we are determined to see that momentum is maintained.
I would also like to comment on concerns raised about renaming the position of the Race Relations Commissioner. Many of the rumours around this are untrue.
The name ‘Human Rights Commissioner’ does not downgrade the profile of race relations or the equal employment opportunities compared to the current situation.
Human Rights Commissioner
Essentially, the Human Rights Amendment Bill aims to establish the position of a full-time Commissioner with responsibilities for disability issues, as well as making changes to the role and structure of the Human Rights Commission to strengthen its performance.
The leadership role the Commission has in protecting and promoting race relations and equal employment opportunities would remain exactly the same.
It is important for me to show you how we are working hard to build a brighter future for all of New Zealand.
I am proud to be a part of this National-led Government. We will continue to work hard this term to build a brighter future for you, your families and our community.
Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi is Member of Parliament on National’s List. The above article is exclusive to Indian Newslink.
