New Conservatives candidate calls for better immigration management

New Conservative Party Candidate in next month’s general elections, Bernadette Soares knows the challenges of migrating to a new country.

Having immigrated to New Zealand 30 years ago from India, the West Harbour-based businesswoman says that she knows the “challenges of leaving the country that you were brought up in and moving to a new country.”

Soares is contesting the Upper Harbour seat for New Conservatives. Married with three grown-up kids, she has been running a manufacturing and distribution business for the last 18 years.

Core values

“I also identify with the Indian business community: I have finished my Masters of Business Innovation and Entrepreneurship in New Zealand. I have three wonderful children who are all grown up and therefore, I am a wife, mother, an entrepreneur and now a candidate for the New Conservative Party,” she said.

Soares said that family, enterprise and hard work are some of the core values of being an Indian.

“And we at New Conservative believe that strong healthy families make strong healthy communities. These communities contribute greatly to the well being and economic health of a nation. Enterprise and hard work are core values that as Indians we hold dear and we believe that this enterprise and hard work must be encouraged and rewarded,” she said.

Adverse impact of Covid-19

The 2020 general election is one of sorts, already delayed by four weeks due to Covid-19. The pandemic is wreaking havoc throughout the world, New Zealand included.

Soares agreed that Covid is a huge challenge to all the communities including the Indian community.

“I am aware that many of our Indian families too have been badly affected with job losses and many in businesses have been suffering the loss of business sales dues to the lockdowns. Our Indian students continue to face challenges to get work visas and many are also not getting any government support while they have been unable to find part time work,” she said.

Soares is also aware of the issues that crop up for those going back to India to get married.

Streamlining immigration

The process of getting their spouse back to New Zealand seems to be fraught with hurdles and delays. A more streamline process needs to be worked out with Immigration New Zealand, she said.

“I believe that to start with, an Application of Intent to marry an overseas spouse need to be placed at the start of the process and then if this is set up on-line it can be constantly updated. This will be a part of the final application after the marriage has taken place. This could be a good way to take away the suspicion that the marriage is fake,” she said.

Soares also believes that there is need to do more for our young families as the pressure of a western culture and the strain of making it in a foreign land can add pressure to the marriage.

“We need to find ways together to protect our families as they are at the heart of a better future for our children in New Zealand,” she said.