Venkat Raman
Auckland, October 11, 2023
Mt Roskill MP and former Minister of the Crown Michael Wood has said that a National-ACT-New Zealand First Coalition will lead to chaos and uncertainty and promised that his Labour Party will revamp itself and reward New Zealanders with better policies and programmes.
“The Opposition is already talking of the possibility of a re-election, fearing that a coalition government between National and ACT with New Zealand First will not work. A Labour government will provide strength and stability to the country and therefore, we ask New Zealanders to give us the Party Vote and elect our people,” he said during an interview with Indian Newslink at our offices on Monday, September 9, 2023.
Mr Wood said that his constituents at Mt Roskill, like other New Zealanders in other parts of the country are worried that a National government will undo all the good policies and programmes that the Labour government has implemented over the past six years.
“My public and street corner meetings and door knocks have revealed the real concern of New Zealanders. Only Labour government can fix the Cost of Living Crisis and deliver quality services to the people of New Zealand. We brought New Zealand out of the Covid-19 crisis with minimum fatalities and we have created a better immigration system. We have reopened the Parent Visa Category and made it easier for companies to get migrant workers,” he said.
Mr Wood said that the Labour Party is very keen to strengthen its relations with India and that Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has pledged that he will visit India within the first 100 days of returning to power.
Our interviewer (Audience Engagement Expert) Daryll Garcia asked him if this would be feasible, given that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be busy with the general election in his country until the middle of next year.
Mr Wood said that Mr Hipkins has expressed his desire to reiterate the seriousness of his government to improve bilateral relations and grow the trade between the two countries.
“The Foreign offices in both countries will work out the best time for the visit of our Prime Minister. In saying that he would like to visit India within the first 100 days, Mr Hipkins has underscored the importance of doing business with the fastest growing economic power in the world. Beside, our relations with India are very strong and there is vast potential,” he said.
Early voting began all over the country on October 2 and final voting day is on Saturday, October 14, 2023.
Indian Newslink will bring live coverage of the election results with Sky Television Channel 83 (Face TV) with Radio Tarana and Indians Living in Auckland. The programme, from 6 pm until midnight, will be streamed live through the Facebook pages of Radio Tarana and Indians Living in Auckland.
