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Friday, 03 <strong>May</strong> <strong>2024</strong><br />
Volume 16 / Issue 06<br />
THE WORLD IS ABOUT TO END AND...<br />
OUR HEROES WILL RISE<br />
Read • Watch • Engage<br />
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D I S C O V E R A W O R L D O F<br />
E X C E P T I O N A L C H I L D C A R E<br />
A CCTV grab from House of Gold and Diamond jewellery store robbed on April 25.<br />
URJITA BHARDWAJ<br />
<strong>The</strong> Kiwi-<strong>Indian</strong> owners<br />
of House of Gold and<br />
Diamond say they are<br />
considering a move to Australia<br />
after their store in Auckland was<br />
robbed on Anzac Day.<br />
Navita Shee, the sister of<br />
the owner, told <strong>The</strong> <strong>Indian</strong><br />
<strong>Weekender</strong> the incident on April<br />
25, <strong>2024</strong>, has left her entire<br />
family in shock.<br />
“Looking at the increasing<br />
robberies across New Zealand,<br />
<strong>The</strong> Kiwi-<strong>Indian</strong> owners of Auckland<br />
jewellery store robbed at rush hour<br />
are weighing their options<br />
we thought Australia might be<br />
safer. We are still contemplating<br />
the idea of moving.”<br />
CCTV footage of the smashand-grab<br />
shows six masked<br />
robbers wielding hammer and<br />
machete forced their way into<br />
the store in Manurewa.<br />
At least seven customers<br />
can be seen jumping over the<br />
cabinets to hide at the back of<br />
the store, and a couple trying to<br />
duck in defence before finally<br />
making their way out of the<br />
store.“<strong>The</strong> National Party made<br />
rules and promises to minimise<br />
crime, but I don’t see any<br />
change.<br />
It has been the same for the<br />
last so many years,” Shee says.<br />
<strong>The</strong> National Party-led<br />
coalition government rode to<br />
power in last year’s national<br />
elections on the back of a poll<br />
campaign that largely centred<br />
on poor law and order under the<br />
Labour administration.<br />
• Continued on Page 2<br />
PURPOSE-BUILT BOUTIQUE CENTRE<br />
0 9 2 1 7 3 7 9 8<br />
I N F O @ S M A R T K I D S E D U C A R E . C O . N Z<br />
2 2 7 B A L M O R A L R O A D M O U N T E D E N<br />
W W W . S M A R T K I D S E D U C A R E . C O . N Z
2<br />
NEW ZEALAND<br />
Friday, 3 <strong>May</strong> <strong>2024</strong><br />
Takanini gurdwara initiative<br />
eases driver's licence process<br />
IWK BUREAU<br />
In New Zealand, navigating<br />
the process of obtaining<br />
a driver's licence can be<br />
a daunting task, especially<br />
for newcomers and the aged.<br />
Recognising this challenge, the<br />
Takanini Gurudwara committee<br />
has embarked on an initiative to<br />
assist individuals in overcoming<br />
the initial hurdle of acquiring their<br />
learner's license, thus paving<br />
the way for greater mobility and<br />
independence.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Gurudwara, in partnership<br />
with the New Zealand Police, is<br />
offering support to all community<br />
members who aspire to obtain<br />
their learner's licence.<br />
This inclusive initiative is<br />
open to individuals of all ages,<br />
backgrounds, and genders,<br />
emphasising equal opportunity for<br />
all. One of the standout features<br />
of this program is its commitment<br />
to language accessibility.<br />
Acknowledging that language<br />
should not be a barrier, the<br />
practical course can be conducted<br />
in multiple languages, including<br />
Punjabi, Hindi, and English.<br />
This ensures that participants<br />
can fully comprehend the material<br />
and confidently complete the<br />
necessary requirements.<br />
Participants are advised to<br />
bring their passport or identity<br />
proof and residential address<br />
proof when attending the<br />
theory test session. Prior to<br />
the test, individuals will receive<br />
Representational Image<br />
comprehensive training, lasting<br />
4-5 hours, to equip them with the<br />
knowledge and skills needed to<br />
pass the test with confidence.<br />
For those seeking a new<br />
learner's licence, the cost is<br />
$196.10. Conversely, individuals<br />
looking to convert their overseas<br />
license will face a fee of $244.<br />
Regarding the theory test<br />
session, it is tentatively scheduled<br />
for 18th <strong>May</strong>, but the final date will<br />
be confirmed depending on the<br />
number of participants.<br />
To secure a spot, interested<br />
individuals should contact the<br />
This programme is specifically designed to<br />
remove barriers and provide comprehensive<br />
support to individuals in the community,<br />
regardless of their background, encouraging<br />
them to take the initial steps towards<br />
obtaining their driver's licence.<br />
Takanini Gurudwara office at 09<br />
2962376.<br />
<strong>The</strong> process of organising this<br />
initiative, with the assistance of<br />
the New Zealand Police, spanned<br />
approximately six weeks. Daljit<br />
'Proven structured literacy<br />
approach' for education<br />
RNZ<br />
From next year, the<br />
government expects all<br />
public schools to teach<br />
students to read in a "proven<br />
structured literacy approach".<br />
<strong>The</strong> pre-Budget announcement<br />
was made by Prime Minister<br />
Christopher Luxon and Education<br />
Minister Erica Stanford on<br />
Thursday afternoon.<br />
It comes after the government<br />
this week announced its six<br />
education priorities.<br />
Stanford said the approach<br />
would change the way Kiwi<br />
children learnt to read, improve<br />
achievement and set students up<br />
for success.It taught children to<br />
read by using sounds and phonics<br />
to understand words, she said.<br />
"Being able to read and write is<br />
a fundamental life skill that too<br />
many young people are missing<br />
out on.<br />
"Recent data shows that just 56<br />
percent of Year 8 students are at<br />
the expected level for reading, and<br />
just 35 percent for writing.<br />
"Domestic and international<br />
evidence shows this method is the<br />
most effective way of equipping<br />
children with strong reading skills<br />
that are critical for their futures."<br />
Stanford said a number of<br />
schools already teach reading<br />
in this way and there had been<br />
"significant improvements" in<br />
achievement.<br />
She said she wanted all children<br />
to experience that.<br />
"This government has set an<br />
ambitious target of getting 80<br />
percent of Year 8 students to<br />
curriculum level by 2030, and<br />
teaching structured literacy<br />
is a critical part of how we<br />
plan to get there."<br />
<strong>The</strong> government was putting<br />
$67 million, as part of Budget<br />
<strong>2024</strong>, into supporting:<br />
Professional development on<br />
structured literacy for teachers;<br />
Books and resources for<br />
schools and teachers;<br />
Introducing phonics checks to<br />
assess student progression;<br />
Additional support for students<br />
that need it.<br />
Stanford said structured<br />
literacy went hand-in-hand with<br />
the government's requirement for<br />
schools to teach an hour every<br />
day of reading, writing and maths.<br />
"Today's funding announcement<br />
ensures teachers will receive the<br />
training, support and resources<br />
they need to deliver this.<br />
"Our teachers are amazing and<br />
we are supporting them to deliver<br />
improved outcomes in reading<br />
and writing."<br />
<strong>The</strong> new approach would be in<br />
place from term one of 2025.<br />
<strong>The</strong> government's budget will<br />
be unveiled in full on <strong>May</strong> 30.<br />
Singh, a committee member,<br />
expressed a strong commitment<br />
to the initiative's continuation,<br />
aiming to expand its reach to<br />
include even more participants in<br />
the future if the initiative proves<br />
successful.<br />
This programme is specifically<br />
designed to remove barriers and<br />
provide comprehensive support<br />
to individuals in the community,<br />
regardless of their background,<br />
encouraging them to take the<br />
initial steps towards obtaining<br />
their driver's licence.<br />
Participants are strongly<br />
encouraged to seize this valuable<br />
opportunity and book their spot<br />
early to begin their journey<br />
towards becoming a licenced<br />
driver, thereby contributing to<br />
the safety and mobility of the<br />
community.<br />
IWK BUREAU<br />
<strong>The</strong> Corrections Department<br />
has revealed spending<br />
over $305,000 on slushy<br />
syrup and maintaining frozen ice<br />
machines over the past six years.<br />
This disclosure comes amidst<br />
proposed job cuts affecting 3460<br />
positions in a bid to save costs,<br />
news portal Stuff reported.<br />
Controversy arose in 2019 when<br />
it was disclosed that Corrections<br />
had spent over $1 million of<br />
taxpayer money on 193 slushy<br />
machines.<br />
<strong>The</strong>n-National leader Simon<br />
Bridges criticized the expenditure<br />
as "irresponsible and wasteful," but<br />
then-Corrections Minister Kelvin<br />
Davis defended it as a matter of<br />
health and safety.<br />
Despite the initial backlash, the<br />
slushy fund has persisted, with 160<br />
of the original 193 machines still in<br />
use. <strong>The</strong> $305,906 spent includes<br />
costs for syrup and maintenance.<br />
<strong>The</strong> data was released following<br />
a request under the Official<br />
Information Act.<br />
It revealed that over six years,<br />
Corrections spent $217,273 on<br />
slushy machine syrup, including<br />
some maintenance. An additional<br />
$81,598 was spent on machine<br />
maintenance and cleaning, with<br />
Read online www.iwk.co.nz<br />
Retail crime worries<br />
after Auckland<br />
jewellery store heist<br />
• Continued on Page 2<br />
Shee says numerous incidents<br />
of ram raids and robberies at<br />
liquor and vape stores and<br />
supermarkets lately leave “little<br />
hope” for businesses.<br />
<strong>The</strong> security footage of the<br />
robbery at House of Gold and<br />
Diamond shows masked men<br />
wrapped up the heist in just 45<br />
seconds. Shee, who was at the<br />
store when the robbers struck,<br />
says some of the assailants<br />
seemed rather young, and<br />
is calling for stricter laws to<br />
discourage juvenile delinquency.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> youth continue to resort to<br />
such crimes because they know<br />
they will be released soon without<br />
accountability,” Shee says.<br />
<strong>The</strong> police reportedly found the<br />
vehicle the robbers used dumped<br />
nearby about 15 minutes after the<br />
robbery. A team of forensics took<br />
fingerprints from the dumped car,<br />
Shee says, but it could take a few<br />
days before these can be traced<br />
to the culprits.<br />
<strong>The</strong> House of Gold and Diamond<br />
store reopened to customers the<br />
next day to slow business. Shee<br />
says the community has been<br />
supportive and the family “is<br />
trying best to recover from the<br />
incident”.<br />
“We have insurance, but we<br />
are waiting for an assessment<br />
to come in,” says Shee, whose<br />
family moved to New Zealand in<br />
2008 and opened the jewellery<br />
store in 2012. This is the first<br />
time the family had experienced a<br />
robbery of this kind.<br />
Over $300K spent<br />
on slushy syrup and<br />
machines for prison staff<br />
$7035 on "other consumables."<br />
In a letter accompanying the<br />
data, Leigh Marsh, Corrections'<br />
commissioner of custodial<br />
services, emphasized the<br />
department's duty to minimize "the<br />
risk of heat stress" to prison staff.<br />
He noted that frontline staff<br />
work in hot and confined spaces,<br />
sometimes wearing heavy<br />
equipment, which can increase<br />
tension and aggression among<br />
prisoners, posing serious risks.<br />
Marsh explained that the<br />
introduction of the slushy<br />
machines for staff only followed<br />
the hot, dry summer of 2017/18,<br />
during which Wellington recorded<br />
its hottest January since 1927.<br />
He cited research showing that<br />
crushed ice drinks are up to three<br />
times more effective than water in<br />
reducing core body temperature.<br />
When questioned about the<br />
research, a spokesperson referred<br />
to an academic journal article<br />
titled "Crushed Ice Ingestion - A<br />
Practical Strategy for Lowering<br />
Body Temperature."<br />
Like other government bodies,<br />
Corrections has been tasked<br />
with reducing spending, aiming<br />
for a 6.5 percent cut. Officials<br />
say Corrections has paused<br />
recruitment for non-essential<br />
"back-office staff".
Read online www.iwk.co.nz Friday, 3 <strong>May</strong> <strong>2024</strong><br />
NEW ZEALAND 3<br />
Big rivals announce<br />
merger: McClymont Shaikh<br />
Immigration Specialists<br />
RAVI BAJPAI<br />
A<br />
glint of mischief in his eyes,<br />
Saif is always eager to<br />
crack a joke– looking for an<br />
opening to lighten the moment.<br />
Alastair McClymont is a study<br />
in contrast. With lips pursed and<br />
eyes squinted, he pierces you with<br />
a gaze so deep it can be unnerving.<br />
But they have one thing<br />
in common–years of stellar<br />
performance in New Zealand’s<br />
immigration landscape, with a<br />
focus on <strong>Indian</strong>s.<br />
This common passion, they<br />
say, has driven them to take<br />
the audacious yet tantalising<br />
decision to join forces–and<br />
launch McClymont Shaikh<br />
Immigration Specialists.<br />
<strong>The</strong> new company is a merger<br />
between Saif Shaikh’s Immigration<br />
Advice NZ and Alastair’s<br />
McClymont & Associates. Between<br />
them, the two have 50 years of<br />
industry experience.<br />
“40 years from Alastair, and 10<br />
years from me,” Saif quips, letting<br />
out a shy smile.<br />
“Being in the industry for many<br />
years, we have decided to work<br />
together. Under the guidance of<br />
Alastair, and his experience, we've<br />
decided to put our teams together<br />
so that it's a win-win situation for<br />
<strong>The</strong> new team at McClymont Shaikh Immigration Specialists. (Supplied photo)<br />
our clients and us.”<br />
When it comes to immigration<br />
consultancy, Saif and Alastair<br />
have their specialties. Immigration<br />
Advice, a venerable institution,<br />
has been the go-to for standard<br />
immigration procedures, guiding<br />
countless individuals and families<br />
through the labyrinth of paperwork<br />
and regulations.<br />
Meanwhile, MyClymont and<br />
Associates have earned a<br />
reputation for tackling the thorniest<br />
of cases, the ones that require not<br />
just expertise but a touch of legal<br />
finesse.<br />
Alastair says as they began<br />
contemplating a merger, exploring<br />
the synergies and opportunities<br />
that lay before them, skepticism<br />
gave way to possibility. <strong>The</strong><br />
merger, they realised, could be a<br />
game-changer, not just for their<br />
firms but also for the clients they<br />
served.<br />
“When we talk about<br />
immigration, you know, as friends<br />
for many years, we've discovered<br />
that we share the same sort of<br />
passion for immigration and for<br />
serving our client base.<br />
“And because we have that<br />
shared desire to provide the best<br />
possible customer service and<br />
to really look after our clients, we<br />
thought this merger made total<br />
sense,” Alastair says.<br />
Saif says he is looking forward<br />
to the partnership<br />
particularly given<br />
Alastair’s passion<br />
to help clients with a<br />
deft personal touch.<br />
Alastair<br />
“He is going to keep McClymont and<br />
us on our toes.” Saif Shaikh.<br />
Alastair is (Supplied photo)<br />
hoping Saif will<br />
add value to his<br />
expertise, especially in the area<br />
of operations. “<strong>The</strong> experience<br />
he brings around processes and<br />
operations is immense…and you<br />
know that face-to-face dealing<br />
with the clients and solving the<br />
client problem.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> new immigration company<br />
began operations on <strong>May</strong> 1.<br />
M<br />
S H A I K H<br />
MCCLYMONT +<br />
I M M I G R A T I O N S P E C I A L I S T S
4<br />
NEW ZEALAND<br />
Friday, 3 <strong>May</strong> <strong>2024</strong><br />
Read online www.iwk.co.nz<br />
Chaos, panic and confusion<br />
during Northwest mall robbery<br />
RNZ<br />
A<br />
retail worker at a West<br />
Auckland mall says there<br />
was chaos, panic and<br />
confusion following an armed<br />
robbery on Sunday.<br />
A group of five thieves made off<br />
with jewellery from Michael Hill in<br />
a brazen smash and grab attack<br />
at NorthWest Shopping Centre<br />
about 3.45pm.<br />
A 27-year-old man had been<br />
arrested and was due to appear in<br />
court for his alleged involvement<br />
in the robbery, Detective Inspector<br />
Glenn Baldwin said on Monday.<br />
Synergy Hair receptionist Tessa<br />
van Houten told RNZ she was<br />
serving a customer when they<br />
heard loud bangs and saw groups<br />
of people running.<br />
Van Houten said initially she<br />
thought it was kids ''mucking<br />
around" on the last day of the<br />
school holidays.<br />
''But then there was a lot of<br />
yelling, and more people were<br />
running and I [saw] further<br />
up in the mall stores were<br />
closing their gates.<br />
''We didn't know what was going<br />
on but I thought 'oh well, it's better<br />
to be safe than sorry and lets<br />
follow suit'."<br />
Van Houten said she, her coworker<br />
and several customers<br />
waited inside for 15 minutes until<br />
an alarm sounded telling everyone<br />
to evacuate to the car park.<br />
Outside, there were "helicopters<br />
flying over, a lot of police sirens<br />
and fire trucks ... we still didn't<br />
know what was happening''.<br />
Van Houten said mall workers<br />
and customers were in the car park<br />
for half an hour before they were<br />
able to return inside.<br />
"We noticed Michael Hill had<br />
been smashed and grabbed ...<br />
after my shift we got a closer look<br />
and saw that a lot of the glass<br />
cabinets had been broken into, the<br />
front ones didn't seem [smashed]<br />
but the ones towards the back<br />
seemed completely broken."<br />
She said the recent fatal<br />
stabbings at a Sydney mall were<br />
top of mind for her and the salon's<br />
hairdresser.<br />
"Me and my co-worker had<br />
discussed [the other week] what<br />
would we do in a situation like that<br />
y'know, so we already were on the<br />
same page.''<br />
Another retail worker told<br />
RNZ she thought the Bondi<br />
stabbings was one of the main<br />
reasons people in the mall were<br />
panicked.<br />
Van Houten agreed it was<br />
nerve-wracking but said she was<br />
determined to keep calm for her<br />
customers.<br />
In a statement, a spokesperson<br />
for the shopping centre said they<br />
were limited in what information<br />
they could provide as it was an<br />
active police investigation.<br />
"However the safety of<br />
our customers, retailers and<br />
colleagues is of paramount<br />
importance to us. We would like<br />
to commend the swift action of<br />
the New Zealand Police, as well<br />
as our retailers, security teams<br />
and colleagues for managing the<br />
situation in line with our security<br />
procedures.<br />
"<strong>The</strong> Northwest Shopping Centre<br />
team continues to support all of<br />
those involved following [Sunday's]<br />
incident, and are actively assisting<br />
New Zealand Police in their<br />
investigation."<br />
Police said they would continue<br />
to have an increased presence in<br />
and around shopping centres and<br />
malls and will continue to prioritise<br />
prevention patrols over the<br />
coming weeks.<br />
"Just after 9pm on Sunday,<br />
police responded to reports of the<br />
vehicle travelling on Browns Road,"<br />
Baldwin said.<br />
"<strong>The</strong> Police Air Support Unit,<br />
Eagle, was soon above to provide<br />
directions to units on the ground."<br />
Baldwin said the vehicle<br />
allegedly failed to stop when<br />
signalled to and was driven in a<br />
"concerning manner".<br />
It came to a stop on Rowandale<br />
Road, where the driver took off on<br />
foot. He was found soon after and<br />
taken into custody.<br />
He was due to appear in<br />
Waitākere District Court on<br />
Monday morning on charges<br />
relating to aggravated robbery and<br />
failing to stop."<br />
Boot camps need to happen<br />
quickly - retail boss<br />
Retailers need to see government<br />
action quickly, including the setting<br />
up of youth academies or boot<br />
camps to target persistent youth<br />
offenders, Retail NZ's boss says.<br />
Carolyn Young told Morning<br />
Report criminals were trying to<br />
stay one step ahead of retailers'<br />
security initiatives.<br />
"<strong>The</strong>se young people swarming<br />
into stores with aggressive<br />
behaviour and tools to hurt and<br />
harm people and steal goods is<br />
a new way that's happening and<br />
we're needing to look at how we<br />
can combat these sorts of things."
Read online www.iwk.co.nz Friday, 3 <strong>May</strong> <strong>2024</strong><br />
NEW ZEALAND 5<br />
Miss India<br />
finalist teaching<br />
dentistry in<br />
Otago<br />
MAYANK KUMAR<br />
A<br />
Kiwi-<strong>Indian</strong> woman from<br />
Dehradun is breaking<br />
barriers by embracing<br />
multiple career goals and carving<br />
out a niche for herself in New<br />
Zealand.<br />
Medhika Priya Singhal has not<br />
only made a mark in the field<br />
of dentistry but has also made<br />
significant strides in the world of<br />
modeling.<br />
Medhika teaches dentistry at<br />
University of Otago, having shifted<br />
base from Auckland in 2023. She<br />
earned her bachelors in dental<br />
surgery back in India when in 2014,<br />
her mother suggested she enter<br />
Femina Miss India.<br />
“My mother and I are big fans<br />
of Sushmita Sen (former Miss<br />
Universe) and she’d say how the<br />
actress and I shared the same<br />
features, so I should give it a go<br />
too,” recalls Medhika.<br />
She applied for the beauty<br />
pageant, but faced rejection.<br />
She believes being fair-skinned<br />
is generally preferred for <strong>Indian</strong><br />
beauty standards. “From that<br />
moment on, it became my dream<br />
to get selected, not my mother’s,”<br />
she says.<br />
Medhika researched more about<br />
the process of the competition<br />
until she tried again the following<br />
year, and was selected. Despite<br />
facing stereotypes, particularly<br />
regarding her dusky complexion<br />
in India, Singhal was one of the<br />
finalists in <strong>The</strong> Miss India Femina<br />
competition in 2015.<br />
“Once your name is in the ring<br />
as a contestant in India’s biggest<br />
beauty pageant, a country with<br />
over a billion people, the public<br />
have no choice but to agree with<br />
it,” she adds.<br />
Her modelling career took<br />
off and she started getting<br />
collaborations with renowned<br />
brands. She has graced the ramps<br />
and campaigns for OYO, Amazon,<br />
Anamika Khanna, and Galaxy Mars<br />
Chocolate.<br />
She also clinched the Top 3<br />
position in the 2015 Kingfisher<br />
Supermodels 3 competition, aired<br />
on NDTV Goodtimes, further<br />
solidifying her presence in the<br />
fashion world.<br />
“Although it pays well, having<br />
to audition and then waiting for<br />
callbacks takes a lot of time. I<br />
couldn’t sit around at<br />
home all day.”<br />
After months of<br />
runways, gigs and<br />
commercials in India,<br />
while also working<br />
as a dentist, Singhal<br />
flew to New Zealand<br />
in 2017, pursuing<br />
postgraduate study<br />
in public health at the<br />
Auckland University<br />
of Technology. She is<br />
now also studying for<br />
her final exams before<br />
she’s able to practice<br />
dentistry in New<br />
Zealand.<br />
Her talent<br />
transcended borders,<br />
proven by her<br />
participation in the New Zealand<br />
Fashion Week (NZFW) for three<br />
consecutive years, from 2017<br />
to 2019. Her portfolio boasts of<br />
an array of collaborations with<br />
designers like Tanya Carlson,<br />
Trelise Cooper, Juliette Hogan,<br />
and Twenty-Seven Names, among<br />
many others.<br />
Her portfolio led her to also<br />
venture into the beauty and<br />
cosmetics world with brands like<br />
Aleph Beauty, Thin Lizzy, and<br />
Farmers, showcasing her ability to<br />
embody diverse beauty standards<br />
and trends.<br />
“It was a big difference to how<br />
I used to be treated when I was<br />
“It’s very easy to<br />
get into modelling<br />
here, and it’s<br />
important to<br />
know that age,<br />
complexion and<br />
body shape is no<br />
bar. <strong>The</strong>re are many<br />
modelling agencies<br />
that adore all skin<br />
tones, all shapes<br />
and sizes, so you<br />
will feel welcome<br />
and accepted.”<br />
younger in India. Now my whole world was<br />
turned upside down,” she says.<br />
Beyond her endeavours in India and New<br />
Zealand, Medhika has also made her mark on<br />
the Australian fashion landscape. When asked<br />
for tips for aspiring brown-skinned models, she<br />
says, “I’d say you’re in the right country to start.<br />
“It’s very easy to get into modelling here, and<br />
it’s important to know that age, complexion and<br />
body shape is no bar. <strong>The</strong>re are many modelling<br />
agencies that adore all skin tones, all shapes and<br />
sizes, so you will feel welcome and accepted.”<br />
From her humble beginnings as a beauty<br />
pageant finalist to her success on the global<br />
fashion stage, Medhika inspires aspiring talents,<br />
redefining standards of beauty and excellence in<br />
the industry.<br />
Number of<br />
businesses<br />
seeking help<br />
to downsize<br />
doubles as<br />
unemployment<br />
grows<br />
Businesses are hurting and have<br />
"run out of grit", the Employers and<br />
Manufacturers Association (EMA) says.<br />
<strong>The</strong> official unemployment rate rose<br />
to 4.3 percent on Wednesday with<br />
economists predicting it would reach 5<br />
percent by the end of the year.<br />
<strong>The</strong> EMA's head of advocacy and strategy<br />
Alan McDonald said the number of businesses<br />
they'd had calls from for help with restructuring<br />
and making people redundant had doubled<br />
year-on-year in April.<br />
"What they're telling us at the moment is<br />
they're still really hurting... <strong>The</strong>y've just run<br />
out of grit I suppose and they're having to let<br />
people go very reluctantly.<br />
"We are in the real bottom of the cycle, it's<br />
probably as tough as it was in the 90s, the last<br />
time we got this low."<br />
Migration was also not helping because<br />
the skills coming in didn't match the demand,<br />
McDonald said.<br />
Businesses were also concerned about<br />
the work-readiness of young people leaving<br />
education, he said.<br />
Council of Trade Unions Craig Renney<br />
told Morning Report the government needed a<br />
plan to deal with unemployment.<br />
"It's about understanding that each of these<br />
stories of job loss is a family, is a household,<br />
and because there's no plan, this is going to tip<br />
thousands of families into poverty."<br />
Renney also pointed out that young people,<br />
aged under 25, Māori, Pasifika and women<br />
were more heavily represented among the<br />
unemployed.<br />
"Unemployment for those aged 20-24 is<br />
now 9.8 percent, which is up from 6 percent a<br />
year ago.<br />
"<strong>The</strong>se groups are going to be the ones who<br />
clearly are bearing the burden of the cost of<br />
tackling inflation right now and are doing so<br />
without a plan to help them back into work, to<br />
give them some opportunities into work and to<br />
help grow the economy in a way that's actually<br />
going to deliver good jobs in the future."<br />
Both men agreed it was time to reconsider<br />
the Reserve Bank's inflation target and the use<br />
of the Official Cash Rate to achieve it.<br />
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6<br />
NEW ZEALAND<br />
Friday, 3 <strong>May</strong> <strong>2024</strong><br />
Read online www.iwk.co.nz<br />
Chewing<br />
over South<br />
Asian<br />
fascination<br />
with paan<br />
in NZ<br />
BLESSEN TOM/RNZ<br />
A<br />
specialty <strong>Indian</strong> digestive<br />
made from betel leaves<br />
is experiencing a surge in<br />
popularity nationwide.<br />
Paan, which is made from<br />
betel nut leaf and consumed<br />
with slaked lime, rose petal jam<br />
and mouth fresheners such<br />
as cardamom and cloves, has<br />
fascinated South Asians<br />
for centuries.<br />
What historically started out as<br />
an after-dinner treat has gradually<br />
evolved into a cultural symbol,<br />
often associated with hospitality,<br />
celebrations and<br />
religious ceremonies.<br />
<strong>The</strong> meticulous production<br />
of paan has also become<br />
something of an art form, with<br />
variations spanning regions and<br />
communities across<br />
the subcontinent.<br />
Now, a growing collection of<br />
small family-oriented businesses<br />
are bringing those flavours to<br />
households in New Zealand.<br />
"I never thought that I'd be in<br />
this business but here we are,"<br />
says Sreeman Myadam, owner<br />
of Paanwala, which launched<br />
in 2018. Despite coming from<br />
a family that owned a paan<br />
business in India, Myadam was<br />
reluctant to start a similar venture<br />
in New Zealand upon arriving<br />
ANAN ZAKI/RNZ<br />
<strong>The</strong> Reserve Bank (RBNZ) says a<br />
number of households are facing<br />
greater job uncertainty, while<br />
some are struggling to meet mortgage<br />
repayments due to higher interest rates.<br />
In its half-yearly financial stability<br />
report (FSR), the central bank said most<br />
borrowers have moved to higher rates, but<br />
better wages were helping them to adjust.<br />
On the inflation front, the RBNZ warned<br />
that there was a risk that new or persistent<br />
inflation pressures could mean global<br />
interest rates could stay higher for longer.<br />
However, it said the country's financial<br />
system remained in good shape to handle<br />
severe downturns.<br />
"A small proportion of mortgage<br />
borrowers have not been able to manage<br />
higher interest costs.<br />
"Difficulty in keeping up with payments<br />
has likely been made worse by cost-of-living<br />
pressures and other unforeseen events like<br />
Sreeman Myadam and his family are the<br />
driving force behind Paanwala. Photo:<br />
Supplied<br />
in 2008 due to the difficulty in<br />
sourcing ingredients, especially<br />
betel leaves.<br />
"<strong>The</strong> main challenge was<br />
sourcing the leaves for the paan,"<br />
the 43-year-old Hyderabad<br />
native says.<br />
Unable to import betel leaves<br />
from India due to Ministry of<br />
Primary Industries restrictions,<br />
Myadam turned to Fijian<br />
exporters.<br />
Before the Covid-19 pandemic,<br />
Myadam imported around 1500<br />
leaves a week, although he brings<br />
in roughly half that amount<br />
these days.<br />
"Right now, I supply about 30<br />
job losses," the RBNZ said. It said the share<br />
of home loans 90 or more days in arrears<br />
had risen from a "very low" 0.2 percent in<br />
2022 to about 0.5 percent.<br />
<strong>The</strong> number of home loans 30 days past<br />
due had also risen above the recent peak<br />
of 2020, but remained low compared to the<br />
post global financial crisis years of 2009 to<br />
2013.<br />
It said housing market activity was weak<br />
due to the effects of higher interest rates<br />
on borrowers, while prices had increased<br />
Rakesh Sharma grows betel leaves in greenhouses to make<br />
paan in New Zealand. Photo: Supplied<br />
restaurants and <strong>Indian</strong> grocery<br />
shops in Auckland," he says. "I<br />
(also) ship to Wellington, Hamilton<br />
and Christchurch."<br />
His business now offers five<br />
different kinds of paans; laddu<br />
paan, three varieties of chocolatecoated<br />
paan and fresh paan.<br />
"My clientele is mostly South<br />
Asians but often I see Kiwis giving<br />
it a shot," he says.<br />
Sixty-nine-year-old Rakesh<br />
Sharma started a paan business<br />
bearing his family name last year.<br />
"We are three senior citizens<br />
who have joined hands and<br />
started this venture,"<br />
Sharma says.<br />
Similarly challenged by the<br />
scarcity<br />
of betel<br />
leaves,<br />
Sharma<br />
found an<br />
innovative<br />
solution.<br />
"We decided<br />
to grow our own<br />
leaves because<br />
we couldn't<br />
import them from India due to the<br />
restrictions," he says.<br />
He says most paan available<br />
in New Zealand are made using<br />
betel leaves imported from Fiji.<br />
While acknowledging their<br />
uniqueness of betel leaves from<br />
the Pacific region, he says they<br />
slowly over the past year and remained<br />
within its estimated "sustainable range".<br />
It said proposed debt-to-income ratios<br />
would help protect against financial stability<br />
risks created by risky mortgage lending.<br />
Inflation warning<br />
<strong>The</strong> RBNZ noted global inflation was<br />
easing after a period of elevated levels and<br />
financial markets had priced in lower rates<br />
over the next year.<br />
But it said central banks remained<br />
cautious due to uncertainty around the<br />
inflation outlook.<br />
"Stronger-than-expected inflation could<br />
prompt a tightening in global financial<br />
conditions," the FSR said.<br />
It said major central banks were focused<br />
on the slow pace of disinflation in the<br />
service sectors.<br />
"Labour market conditions continue to<br />
ease gradually, but remain tight in advanced<br />
economies including New Zealand," the<br />
RBNZ said.<br />
taste very different from their<br />
<strong>Indian</strong> counterparts.<br />
Sharma now has multiple<br />
greenhouses with betel plants in<br />
Auckland and in Hamilton.<br />
"Betel leaves have been grown<br />
in New Zealand for the past 30<br />
years but not professionally, so<br />
we thought we should give it a<br />
try," he says.<br />
Sharma says the<br />
greenhouses have<br />
heating systems to<br />
keep the plants<br />
warm in winter.<br />
Currently<br />
Sharma's<br />
business offers<br />
five paan<br />
products in<br />
New Zealand,<br />
including a<br />
waffle paan<br />
and two types of<br />
mouth fresheners.<br />
Looking<br />
ahead,<br />
Sharma<br />
aims to<br />
boost sales<br />
and says<br />
his production facility in South<br />
Auckland can churn out 1000<br />
paan each day.<br />
"It's a truly distinctive product<br />
that resonates with many<br />
members of the<br />
community," he says.<br />
<strong>The</strong> meticulous production of paan has become<br />
something of an art form, with variations<br />
spanning regions and communities across the<br />
subcontinent. Photo: Supplied<br />
Job uncertainty, mortgage rates hit NZ households<br />
Risk of house prices<br />
rising too fast<br />
While the housing market remained weak,<br />
the recent increases in prices had been<br />
underpinned by rental growth, driven by<br />
population growth outstripping supply, the<br />
RBNZ said.<br />
"Strong net immigration has increased the<br />
demand for rental housing, while the supply<br />
of new housing is expected to slow once<br />
developers complete existing projects," it<br />
said.<br />
<strong>The</strong> RBNZ said recent tax policy changes<br />
would also affect the housing market and<br />
restoring the tax deductibility of interest<br />
expenses for residential property would<br />
lead to increased demand for existing<br />
properties.<br />
"Looking ahead, strong population<br />
growth, potentially lower mortgage rates<br />
and increased investor activity from tax<br />
policy changes suggest there is a risk that<br />
house prices will rise relative to sustainable<br />
levels," the RBNZ said.
Read online www.iwk.co.nz Friday, 3 <strong>May</strong> <strong>2024</strong><br />
NEW ZEALAND 7<br />
Takanini gurdwara<br />
unveils state-of-the-art<br />
community kitchen<br />
IWK BUREAU<br />
This week marked the grand<br />
opening of the state-ofthe-art<br />
community kitchen<br />
at the Takanini Gurdwara.<br />
A 200-square-meter area was<br />
transformed into a cutting-edge<br />
culinary facility, made possible<br />
through the support of the WLT,<br />
Trillian Trust, Council, and local<br />
board.<br />
<strong>The</strong> newly renovated kitchen<br />
boasts innovative technology and<br />
modern amenities to enhance<br />
capacity to serve the community.<br />
Among the highlights is a<br />
revolutionary $90,000 pot<br />
capable of producing 300 litres<br />
of vegetables in one automated<br />
cycle, setting a new standard for<br />
efficiency and productivity in our<br />
kitchen operations.<br />
<strong>The</strong> extensive renovations<br />
include:<br />
New flooring, ceilings, and<br />
drainage systems for improved<br />
functionality and hygiene.<br />
Installation of high-tech<br />
stoves, stainless steel walls,<br />
deep fryers, Nutella cabinets,<br />
and washing areas to streamline<br />
food preparation and cleaning<br />
During the challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic, this kitchen played a pivotal role in providing nourishment to thousands of<br />
individuals. Photo: Supplied<br />
processes.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re is ample storage space<br />
with cabinets for stocking piles<br />
of utensils and a dough machine,<br />
ensuring seamless organization<br />
and accessibility.<br />
<strong>The</strong> total investment of<br />
$345,000 from their partners has<br />
enabled them to realize the vision<br />
of creating a hub for culinary<br />
excellence that<br />
not only serves thousands of<br />
meals weekly but also acts as a<br />
beacon of hope and support for<br />
the community.<br />
During the challenging times<br />
of the COVID-19 pandemic, this<br />
kitchen was pivotal in nourishing<br />
thousands of individuals, a<br />
testament to its vital importance<br />
to the community's well-being.<br />
<strong>The</strong> council's recognition of this<br />
impactful service underscores<br />
their commitment to investing<br />
in projects that benefit the wider<br />
community. <strong>The</strong> support of the<br />
local council, local board, Trillian<br />
Trust, and the Wiri Licensing Trust<br />
has made this project a reality.<br />
Woman<br />
beaten<br />
with<br />
hammer in<br />
Hamilton<br />
RNZ<br />
A<br />
woman has serious<br />
head injuries after<br />
allegedly being beaten<br />
with a hammer in the Hamilton<br />
suburb of Frankton.<br />
Police officers were called to<br />
Marire Ave in Frankton about<br />
6pm on Monday night.<br />
"On arrival they found a<br />
woman who had allegedly<br />
been badly beaten with a<br />
hammer at a nearby property,"<br />
Detective Sergeant Nicholas<br />
Stark said.<br />
"She managed to escape<br />
and get to the Marire Ave<br />
address, where emergency<br />
services were called and she<br />
was taken to hospital with<br />
serious head injuries."<br />
<strong>The</strong> alleged offender was<br />
known to the woman and has<br />
not been located.<br />
Police want to speak to<br />
anyone was driving along<br />
Norton Road between 7pm and<br />
8pm Monday night, who saw a<br />
distressed woman.<br />
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8<br />
NEW ZEALAND<br />
'Totally unacceptable':<br />
Man has to wait a<br />
year for surgery<br />
Friday, 3 <strong>May</strong> <strong>2024</strong><br />
Read online www.iwk.co.nz<br />
Does fighting inflation<br />
always lead to recession?<br />
What 60 years of NZ data<br />
can tell us<br />
MICHAEL RYAN<br />
PHIL PENNINGTON/RNZ<br />
A<br />
Canterbury man whose<br />
surgery has been delayed<br />
is disbelieving that a cost<br />
savings drive ordered at hospitals<br />
will not impact patient care.<br />
Te Whatu Ora has given the 20<br />
health districts a target to save<br />
$105 million collectively by the end<br />
of June, by reining in spending on<br />
staff, such as on overtime.<br />
Canterbury district must save<br />
$13.3m in 10 weeks - which<br />
equated to a rate of about five<br />
percent of its operational spend in<br />
that period. <strong>The</strong> man just received<br />
a hospital letter warning him he<br />
faced a long wait for surgery, and<br />
adding: "We sincerely apologise for<br />
this, but the circumstances are not<br />
within our control."<br />
Health Minister Shane Reti said<br />
on Friday that "none of these costsaving<br />
measures will impact the<br />
level of care patients receive".<br />
<strong>The</strong> man said that seemed<br />
"incredibly naive". His one-page<br />
letter from the hospital contained<br />
a "special notice about current<br />
waiting times for surgery".<br />
RNZ has seen the letter and<br />
asked Te Whatu Ora how many had<br />
been sent out.<br />
"<strong>The</strong> letter that was sent to<br />
me was obviously sent to a large<br />
number of people awaiting surgery,<br />
possibly thousands," the man said.<br />
<strong>The</strong> letter said: "Unfortunately,<br />
the health system has been under<br />
very high pressure, in part due to<br />
the ongoing effects of Covid-19.<br />
"We currently only have capacity<br />
to treat patients with a nondeferrable<br />
condition, such as<br />
cancer.<br />
"When our capacity improves,<br />
there will be a large number of<br />
patients that we will need to<br />
prioritise surgery for, and this is<br />
going to take some time.<br />
"This means the waiting time<br />
for your surgery is currently much<br />
longer than expected, and longer<br />
than you may have been indicated."<br />
Health New Zealand chief<br />
executive Margie Apa has said<br />
hospitals now have enough staff<br />
to "live within our means" post-<br />
Covid. "Times have moved on<br />
and that means a return to more<br />
business-as-usual practices," Apa<br />
said in a letter to health unions a<br />
few days ago, outlining the savings<br />
drive - what she called "reducing<br />
the overspend, not making cuts".<br />
<strong>The</strong> Canterbury man said the<br />
hospital had told him directly that<br />
he would have to wait a year.<br />
"In 2022 the wait time was 65<br />
days. Now it is 365 days. This<br />
quite frankly is absurd and totally<br />
unacceptable," he emailed RNZ.<br />
"I must confess that I was<br />
stunned at the state of things.<br />
My normally placid GP cut loose<br />
with language that you would not<br />
expect from a doctor."<br />
<strong>The</strong> last three months had driven<br />
spending over budget, the health<br />
agency said.<br />
Its quarterly report to December<br />
2023 showed internal personnel<br />
costs were $100m under budget, at<br />
$5.6 billion for the first six months<br />
of the financial year, against a<br />
budget of $5.7b.<br />
But outsourced personnel costs<br />
were $112m over budget, mostly<br />
due to overspending on external<br />
medical staff ($100m) and external<br />
management and administration<br />
personnel ($108m).<br />
<strong>The</strong> man said he appreciated the<br />
country had to "tighten our belts".<br />
"But we need to be reassured<br />
of a high level of competence<br />
in our nation's leadership. This<br />
saga reeks of immaturity and<br />
inexperience.<br />
"It was completely predictable<br />
that the hospital would react in<br />
this way."<br />
<strong>The</strong>re is an ongoing global<br />
debate over whether the<br />
high inflation seen in<br />
the aftermath of the COVID-19<br />
pandemic can be lowered without<br />
a recession.<br />
New Zealand is not immune<br />
to this issue. Reserve Bank<br />
governor Adrian Orr has said<br />
a recession is needed to tame<br />
inflation – described as a “hard<br />
landing”. Others have disagreed,<br />
arguing New Zealand could and<br />
should aim for a soft landing (a<br />
reduction of inflation with no<br />
recession).<br />
But are reductions in inflation<br />
inextricably linked to recessions?<br />
New Zealand’s own economic<br />
history, it turns out, can give some<br />
guidance on this, and point to the<br />
risk factors within the country’s<br />
economic outlook.<br />
Are we in recession yet?<br />
<strong>The</strong>re is no hard and fast<br />
definition of a recession. <strong>The</strong> term<br />
“technical recession” is widely<br />
used to refer to a period with two<br />
consecutive quarters of negative<br />
real growth in gross domestic<br />
product. By this measure, New<br />
Zealand entered a recession at the<br />
end of last year.<br />
But many economists prefer<br />
the alternative definition from<br />
the National Bureau of Economic<br />
Research (NBER) in the United<br />
States: a recession is “the period<br />
between a peak of economic<br />
activity and its subsequent trough,<br />
or lowest point”.<br />
Technical recessions and<br />
recessions meeting the NBER<br />
criteria do not always coincide.<br />
In 2014, two researchers used<br />
the Bry-Boschan algorithm, which<br />
is based on the NBER definition, to<br />
identify New Zealand’s recessions<br />
between 1947 and 2012.<br />
<strong>The</strong> question is whether we can<br />
identify these recessions in real<br />
time rather than in hindsight. <strong>The</strong><br />
so-called Sahm rule stipulates<br />
a recession is likely when the<br />
unemployment rate starts to<br />
increase after recent lows, which<br />
can help with timely analysis of<br />
the economic conditions.<br />
<strong>The</strong> dashed line in the graph<br />
below shows a recession indicator<br />
based on unemployment, dating<br />
back to 1986 when quarterly<br />
unemployment data was first<br />
published. <strong>The</strong> indicator usually<br />
coincides (within one quarter) with<br />
the start of a recession based on<br />
the Bry-Boschan algorithm.<br />
According to this indicator,<br />
we were not in recession in the<br />
fourth quarter of 2023. However, if<br />
the rise in online job applications<br />
and fall in job ads continues, this<br />
indicator might flash red soon.<br />
<strong>The</strong> highs and lows of NZ<br />
inflation<br />
Since 1961, New Zealand has<br />
experienced eight falls in inflation<br />
(disinflations) of four percentage<br />
points or more.<br />
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Read online www.iwk.co.nz Friday, 3 <strong>May</strong> <strong>2024</strong><br />
NEW ZEALAND 9<br />
Workplace tensions simmer<br />
over local & migrant pay rates<br />
GILL BONNETT/RNZ<br />
Workers are finding<br />
out their overseas<br />
colleagues are being<br />
paid more, with companies and<br />
lawyers saying it is brewing<br />
discontent in the workplace.<br />
More than 30,000 companies<br />
in New Zealand have become<br />
accredited to employ migrants<br />
since 2021, and most migrants at<br />
those businesses must receive<br />
at least the median wage - about<br />
$30 an hour.<br />
With the minimum wage set<br />
at $23, some local staff have<br />
realised they are not getting the<br />
same salary as their overseas<br />
workmates.<br />
"We've had instances where<br />
you have two people working<br />
alongside each other doing the<br />
same job and one's a migrant and<br />
one's not - and the migrant wage<br />
to bring them in under the scheme<br />
would in some cases have been<br />
significantly higher or maybe a<br />
couple of dollars an hour higher,<br />
and that's caused some friction,"<br />
Employers and Manufacturers<br />
Association head of advocacy<br />
Alan McDonald said.<br />
"If the guy next to you or the<br />
person next to you is doing the<br />
same job, it's identical and they're<br />
only getting more because they<br />
had to be paid the median wage<br />
when they came in, then obviously<br />
the expectation of the workers<br />
around them is that they will also<br />
get that level of reimbursement as<br />
well."<br />
Resentment could also fester<br />
because migrants cannot exceed<br />
a number of hours according to<br />
their visa terms. That could create<br />
friction with local colleagues who<br />
do not want to work longer hours,<br />
while migrants may want to get<br />
overtime pay.<br />
Businesses had been paying the<br />
market rate previously and were<br />
having to level up the rest of their<br />
workforce to the more expensive<br />
visa-required threshold when<br />
they could not afford to do so,<br />
McDonald said.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Council of Trade Unions<br />
said the Accredited Employer<br />
Work Visa's wage requirement<br />
raised the pay of local staff and<br />
ensured businesses did not use<br />
overseas labour as a way of<br />
keeping costs down.<br />
Whereas some pay disparities<br />
may not be visible, workers could<br />
find publicly available information<br />
on migrant rates to know what<br />
their colleagues are earning.<br />
"We know that employers in<br />
particular have made a bit of noise<br />
about this because they resent<br />
not being able to pay people less,"<br />
CTU president Richard Wagstaff<br />
said. "It does have an effect to<br />
lift wages in the sector which<br />
was why we support it. Where<br />
employers are employing local<br />
people and they have migrant<br />
workers under the scheme, we<br />
would expect that they would<br />
employ their local people, the<br />
domestic labour force, on the<br />
same rates.<br />
"It's long been our view that<br />
pay should be transparent, and<br />
people doing the same job should<br />
be getting the same pay. Where<br />
workers aren't being paid those<br />
rates, and they think someone<br />
is being paid more, as you can<br />
imagine that would be a source of<br />
concern."<br />
Employment lawyer Barbara<br />
Buckett said workers may get paid<br />
more because the visa mandated<br />
it, or because the employer had<br />
to pay more anyway to attract<br />
in-demand staff, especially in<br />
healthcare.<br />
Either way, it could stir up racist<br />
sentiment and resentment among<br />
staff whose pay has not also gone<br />
up, she said.<br />
"People talk around the water<br />
cooler and then something<br />
slips - and somebody finds out<br />
that they're being paid less than<br />
somebody that's come in from<br />
overseas and managed to achieve<br />
a great pay rate."<br />
Added to that were exemptions,<br />
or differing minimum salaries<br />
according to migrants' industries,<br />
which were complex and seemed<br />
inconsistent with a fair bargaining<br />
regime under the Employment<br />
Relations Act.<br />
Migrant workers among fishing<br />
crews must be paid $5 above the<br />
minimum wage, bus drivers get<br />
$28, while the threshold for highly<br />
skilled jobs varies but can sit<br />
between $36 and $65+ a hour.<br />
"<strong>The</strong>re are exemptions that<br />
can be made and they seem in<br />
themselves to be quite arbitrary<br />
and discriminatory," Buckett<br />
said. "<strong>The</strong>y seem dependent on<br />
the strength of the industry's<br />
ability to negotiate with the policy<br />
determinators or remuneration<br />
setters."<br />
Immigration lawyer Lauren Qiu<br />
said most employers were already<br />
very aware of pay sensitivity and<br />
were doing their best to match<br />
or come close to the Accredited<br />
Employer Work Visa median wage.<br />
"Where I have seen pay<br />
disparity, is where the employer<br />
is under considerable financial<br />
pressure themselves, where they<br />
need the Accredited Employer<br />
Work Visa employee to fill a<br />
critical role but cannot temporarily<br />
also provide a pay increase to<br />
the same level for their existing<br />
employees.<br />
"It is often a matter of survival<br />
and not out of malice. In these<br />
scenarios, depending on the<br />
pay disparity, the resentment is<br />
usually directed at the employer.<br />
Employers are the ones left<br />
to wear most of the external<br />
pressures."<br />
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RNZ<br />
10<br />
NEW ZEALAND<br />
MPs have reacted<br />
cautiously to the news<br />
they are set to get a pay<br />
rise, admitting it was a no-win<br />
situation.<br />
On Tuesday afternoon, the<br />
Remuneration Authority, an<br />
independent body which sets<br />
pay for key public office holders,<br />
determined MPs should get a pay<br />
increase.<br />
MPs have not received<br />
increases to their salaries<br />
since 2017. Those approached<br />
by RNZ shortly after the news<br />
broke stressed stressed the<br />
independence of the authority.<br />
"I follow the directions of the<br />
Rem Authority," cabinet minister<br />
Shane Jones said.<br />
"It's an independent decision,<br />
I think it's really important these<br />
decisions are separated off and<br />
not made by politicians, that's<br />
why we have the system we have,"<br />
fellow minister Chris Bishop said.<br />
An ordinary MP's salary will<br />
rise from $163,961 to $168,600, a<br />
2.8 percent rise backdated to last<br />
October.<br />
That will be followed by another<br />
2.9 percent bump from July, a<br />
further 2.4 percent next year, and<br />
then 2 percent in 2026.<br />
It means by the end of this<br />
Parliamentary term, an ordinary<br />
MP's salary will be $181,200.<br />
"That's a real surprise, actually,"<br />
Labour's Willie Jackson said.<br />
Cabinet ministers will get<br />
$327,000 by 2026, and ministers<br />
outside Cabinet $276,000.<br />
<strong>The</strong> prime minister's salary will<br />
increase to $520,000.<br />
Christopher Luxon immediately<br />
indicated he did not want or need<br />
an increase, and so any increase<br />
would be donated to charity.<br />
A question to the Prime<br />
Minister's Office asking to name<br />
the charity or charities was not<br />
answered.<br />
<strong>The</strong> deputy prime minister's<br />
salary will increase to $369,800<br />
by 2026 - but the role is set to<br />
change hands next year.<br />
<strong>The</strong> leader of the opposition's<br />
salary has been reviewed, with the<br />
authority deciding its status had<br />
changed since the advent of MMP,<br />
and its salary relative to other<br />
party leaders was overstated.<br />
It means Chris Hipkins will get<br />
a $13,000 increase over the same<br />
time period, rising from $296,000<br />
to $309,000.<br />
MPs were keen to separate<br />
themselves from the decisionmaking<br />
process, while also<br />
admitting their discomfort.<br />
"<strong>The</strong> Rem Authority makes<br />
those decisions, it's really good<br />
that we stand back from it and say<br />
it is what it is, right," Labour MP<br />
Duncan Webb said.<br />
"I think probably there's never a<br />
right time to give MPs a pay rise,"<br />
Webb's Labour colleague Rachel<br />
Brooking said.<br />
Speaking before the<br />
announcement, ACT leader David<br />
Seymour said MPs would accept<br />
the law and abide by it, and<br />
discussions over whether they<br />
deserved it or not were a no-win.<br />
"Politicians' pay has been flat<br />
for six years, somebody has<br />
a legal obligation to set it for<br />
politicians and judges and so on.<br />
"And from the point of view<br />
of someone like me, you're kind<br />
damned if you do and damned if<br />
you don't, it's just a process and<br />
law that you have to follow."<br />
He said it was not particularly<br />
great timing when the public was<br />
doing it tough.<br />
Green Party co-leader Marama<br />
Davidson admitted she was<br />
uncomfortable getting the pay<br />
increase amid a climate of rising<br />
rents and the loss of half-price<br />
bus fares.<br />
"<strong>The</strong>re are other things we could<br />
be doing to make sure ordinary<br />
New Zealanders don't feel like<br />
Friday, 3 <strong>May</strong> <strong>2024</strong><br />
'Never a right time': MPs<br />
respond to pay rise news<br />
ACT leader David Seymour said MPs would accept the law and abide by it, and discussions<br />
over whether they deserved a pay increase or not were a no-win situation. Photo: RNZ /<br />
Samuel Rillstone<br />
"It's an independent<br />
decision, I think it's<br />
really important these<br />
decisions are separated<br />
off and not made by<br />
politicians, that's why<br />
we have the system we<br />
have."<br />
we're rushing ahead," she said.<br />
Fellow co-leader Chlöe<br />
Swarbrick agreed it would be<br />
galling to some members of the<br />
public to see MPs get a pay rise.<br />
"I think that we end up with a<br />
real political football whenever we<br />
are engaging in what politicians<br />
should be paid or otherwise,<br />
and I think that's the point of<br />
the independent Remuneration<br />
Authority," she said.<br />
ACT's Simon Court,<br />
Parliamentary Under-Secretary<br />
for the Minister for Infrastructure<br />
and RMA reform, said he was not<br />
in Parliament for the money but<br />
observed MPs had not had a pay<br />
rise since he entered Parliament<br />
in 2020.<br />
"I think it's really important we<br />
keep this in context. I'm willing to<br />
accept a pay rise of 2.8 percent.<br />
<strong>The</strong> cost of living has gone up by<br />
much, much more than that in<br />
the time I've been in Parliament.<br />
I think it's important that MPs'<br />
salaries and allowances keep<br />
pace as far as practical with the<br />
private sector."<br />
Parliament can pass legislation<br />
to overrule the pay rise.<br />
In 2018, then-Prime Minister<br />
Dame Jacinda Ardern froze<br />
salaries for a year, while during<br />
the early days of the Covid-19<br />
pandemic in 2020, ministers took<br />
a 20 percent pay cut and MPs<br />
took a 10 percent cut.<br />
In 2015, Sir John Key<br />
overhauled the Remuneration<br />
Authority Act, by tying MP salaries<br />
to those of the wider public sector.<br />
It was repealed in 2019.<br />
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said<br />
both Dame Jacinda Ardern, and<br />
Sir John Key before her, had made<br />
a mistake in intervening outside of<br />
the authority.<br />
"I do think it was a mistake, I<br />
think we should just leave it to the<br />
process."<br />
Read online www.iwk.co.nz<br />
7 hours on phone: Air NZ apologises to customer left in limbo<br />
RNZ<br />
Air New Zealand has been<br />
rated a four out of 10<br />
for customer service by<br />
a family left in limbo when its<br />
Chicago to Auckland flight was<br />
suspended.<br />
US-based New Zealander,<br />
Rupert, said Air NZ left them in call<br />
centre limbo, refusing to rebook<br />
them with like-for-like seats on a<br />
different service.<br />
Six people were booked on the<br />
flight from Chicago to Auckland<br />
for Christmas. <strong>The</strong>ir booking<br />
included three sky couches.<br />
But in March, Air NZ suspended<br />
its direct flights between Chicago<br />
and Auckland] citing maintenance<br />
issues with the Rolls Royce<br />
engines on the Boeing 787<br />
Dreamliners.<br />
Rupert told Checkpoint he<br />
had spent $15,000 and wanted<br />
equivalent tickets and sky<br />
couches on another Air NZ flight.<br />
"What I expected is that we would<br />
be rebooked Chicago to Auckland<br />
with a layover somewhere else,<br />
with the sky couch on the US to<br />
Auckland leg, or the same number<br />
of sky couches that we booked<br />
originally. I thought that would be<br />
a simple like-for-like swap."<br />
But when he looked at other Air<br />
NZ flights, available sky couches<br />
were "blacked out" and he believed<br />
the airline wanted to sell them at a<br />
higher price.<br />
"<strong>The</strong> response from Air New<br />
Zealand was that they couldn't<br />
book us on the sky couches but<br />
that they could refund the amount<br />
that we had paid for our sky<br />
couches.<br />
"That, of course, was not a very<br />
satisfactory solution", he said,<br />
because it would mean a oneyear-old<br />
on their laps for a 12- to<br />
14-hour flight.<br />
"It has been surprisingly<br />
difficult. I've had several nights up<br />
well past midnight over here in the<br />
US trying to figure this out.<br />
"I was on the phone for<br />
seven hours last weekend. It's<br />
frustrating because the systems<br />
don't seem to be designed for<br />
anyone's convenience, so you<br />
know be talking to one person<br />
and they say they'll get back to<br />
me. But then if they're out of the<br />
office, no one else can take over<br />
that until that person comes back.<br />
"So it's been very difficult, much<br />
more difficult than I would have<br />
expected."<br />
He said after<br />
RNZ's Checkpoint intervened, Air<br />
NZ e-mailed saying that the sky<br />
couches had been booked now.<br />
However, Air New Zealand<br />
disputed that it responded only<br />
because RNZ was reporting the<br />
story.<br />
Air New Zealand long haul<br />
general manager Scott Carr said<br />
Rupert's rating was fair for the way<br />
he was treated. He apologised for<br />
the situation Rupert was put in.<br />
"I don't mind taking a hit every<br />
now and then for these kind<br />
of things. I don't think anyone<br />
in our contact centre team, or<br />
myself, would say that that's a<br />
great experience for one of our<br />
Auckland<br />
Airport's new<br />
terminal bridges<br />
domestic,<br />
international<br />
services<br />
FELIX WALTON<br />
Auckland Airport's<br />
new terminal will<br />
bring domestic and<br />
international transfers, checkins<br />
and bag drops under one<br />
roof. But it will not be without<br />
disruption for up to 20 million<br />
travellers a year, until the<br />
building is ready in 2029.<br />
<strong>The</strong> almost $4 billion project<br />
will replace the airport's ageing<br />
domestic terminal, which<br />
originally opened in 1966.<br />
"This won't be a gold-plated<br />
terminal," Auckland Airport chief<br />
customer officer Scott Tasker<br />
said, but it would focus on the<br />
basics.<br />
<strong>The</strong> new building would bridge<br />
the domestic and international<br />
terminals, meaning travellers<br />
would be able to transfer from<br />
domestic to international<br />
services without leaving the<br />
airport. International and<br />
domestic customers will also<br />
be able to check in at the same<br />
place with new kiosks and<br />
automatic bag drops.<br />
"It will offer better navigation<br />
for travellers, more seating<br />
areas and places to charge your<br />
phone, good bathroom facilities,<br />
and more capacity for airlines<br />
to add more flights during peak<br />
periods," Tasker said.<br />
But he warned of disruption<br />
for the next five years while work<br />
was under way.<br />
"It of course does mean<br />
disruption for the 18 to 20 million<br />
travellers that will be departing<br />
and arriving from Auckland<br />
Airport each year," he said.<br />
"We're working really hard to<br />
ensure that we minimise that<br />
disruption as well as possible."<br />
customers.<br />
"You can't plan for every<br />
eventuality," he told Checkpoint.<br />
He blamed resourcing for<br />
the incident, despite the airline<br />
knowing in advance it was going<br />
to cancel the flights.<br />
"<strong>The</strong> changes were made last<br />
week," he said, and no bookings<br />
were left unattended.<br />
<strong>The</strong> airline's disruption policy<br />
allowed for full refunds to<br />
customers who did not receive a<br />
product they paid for, Carr said.<br />
"<strong>The</strong> response from<br />
Air New Zealand was<br />
that they couldn't<br />
book us on the sky<br />
couches but that<br />
they could refund<br />
the amount that we<br />
had paid for our sky<br />
couches."
Read online www.iwk.co.nz Friday, 3 <strong>May</strong> <strong>2024</strong><br />
NEW ZEALAND 11<br />
What the shock poll tells us<br />
about coalition government<br />
JO MOIR/RNZ<br />
It's much too early in the term for<br />
the Coalition to be truly worried<br />
about the latest poll, but it<br />
should also be much too early for<br />
the public to be considering turfing<br />
it out of power.<br />
Christopher Luxon will be alert to<br />
the factors driving the dire polling<br />
but won't be waving the white flag<br />
just yet.<br />
<strong>The</strong> 1News-Verian poll on<br />
Monday night had National down<br />
two points to 36, Act down 1 point<br />
to seven and New Zealand First<br />
out of Parliament altogether falling<br />
under the five percent threshold on<br />
just 4.2.<br />
That gives National and Act<br />
just 57 seats between them, not<br />
enough to hold the government<br />
benches.<br />
On the other side of the House<br />
Labour was up two points to 30.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Greens went up two as well<br />
hitting 14, and Te Pāti Māori was<br />
steady on 4.<br />
Assuming Te Pāti Māori gave its<br />
support to Labour and the Greens,<br />
the left-bloc would have the<br />
numbers to govern.<br />
In reality it is only four or five<br />
points of movement, with a margin<br />
of error +/- 3.1 percentage points,<br />
but it is all going in the Opposition's<br />
David Seymour, Christopher Luxon and Winston Peters in November 2023. Photo: RNZ /<br />
Samuel Rillstone<br />
direction.<br />
Just five months into the<br />
Coalition's programme of change<br />
that will have Luxon and his kitchen<br />
Cabinet pondering which bits are<br />
resonating and which programmes<br />
might be putting people off.<br />
Part of the problem is that so<br />
much of the Coalition's work so far<br />
has been cuts and repeals.<br />
It creates a negative framing of<br />
the work they're doing and makes<br />
it hard to sell a positive story.<br />
Much of the cuts and repeals had<br />
been signalled along with more<br />
controversial work such as the<br />
fast-tracking of big infrastructure<br />
projects, but other changes are<br />
burning up some of Luxon's<br />
political capital, for example, the<br />
repealing of smokefree legislation<br />
and cuts to lunch in schools.<br />
While Luxon told Morning<br />
Report he had no plans to shy away<br />
from the tough decisions needed<br />
to turn the economy around, ACT<br />
leader David Seymour appeared<br />
slightly more concerned by the<br />
poll given he penned a letter to<br />
supporters last night titled, 'Labour<br />
could be back in 2026'.<br />
He's blaming the inflation<br />
hangover and debt from the<br />
previous government for the<br />
Coalition's bad polling and<br />
certainly the economic outlook<br />
figures in the 1News Verian poll go<br />
some way to supporting that.<br />
While optimism was down three<br />
points to 36, pessimism was up<br />
seven points to 26.<br />
All eyes are now on the Budget in<br />
just a month's time and what is or<br />
more importantly isn't in it.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Coalition is pinning a lot on<br />
its vaunted tax cuts, but it's not<br />
clear voters are as bothered about<br />
the tax cuts as much as some in<br />
the government are suggesting.<br />
Certainly in conversations with<br />
industry and business leaders, and<br />
everyday Kiwis in regional New<br />
Zealand, tax cuts very rarely come<br />
up in conversation.<br />
What will be more telling in<br />
the Budget are the programmes<br />
that are cut to create more fiscal<br />
headroom for that tax relief.<br />
Luxon has already had to walk<br />
back his categorical assurance<br />
to RNZ on Monday night that all<br />
programmes in the Budget will be<br />
fully funded over four years.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Prime Minister has been<br />
highly critical of Labour's "fiscal<br />
cliffs" and time-limited funding<br />
it left for the Coalition, but Luxon<br />
conceded on Morning Report on<br />
Tuesday that there will be some<br />
time-limited funding.<br />
It's an early walkback and while<br />
it's better to clear that up now,<br />
Luxon shouldn't have put himself<br />
in that position in the first place.<br />
<strong>The</strong> fight for a fundamental right<br />
ANANDITAA<br />
Reflecting on the long<br />
history of injustices<br />
women have endured<br />
solely because of our gender.<br />
Why? Is it because society<br />
perceives us as the fairer, weaker<br />
sex? Well, the truth is that we've<br />
always possessed inherent<br />
power, often unrecognised and<br />
deliberately suppressed through<br />
centuries of deep-seated politics,<br />
religious doctrine and patriarchal<br />
ideologies.<br />
Contrary to popular belief,<br />
women don't need empowerment—<br />
we already possess strength and<br />
resilience intrinsic to our being.<br />
Our ability to give birth, to nurture<br />
life, is a testament to our inherent<br />
power, a power that transcends all<br />
limitations and norms.<br />
Yet, at its heart lies a<br />
paradoxical conundrum,<br />
both complex and glaringly<br />
straightforward at the same time.<br />
A seemingly innocuous word<br />
that evokes a range of emotions<br />
in people, from discomfort to<br />
outright hostility: “abortion”.<br />
In the past three decades,<br />
several nations have embarked<br />
on journeys to liberalise their<br />
abortion laws.<br />
In 2020, New Zealand<br />
decriminalised abortion and<br />
granted women the autonomy<br />
to choose termination up to 20<br />
weeks into a pregnancy. In India,<br />
the legal framework governing<br />
reproductive rights has steadily<br />
evolved, with recent amendments<br />
in 2021 expanding abortion<br />
access up to 24 weeks under the<br />
Medical Termination of Pregnancy<br />
(MTP) Act of 1971, particularly for<br />
survivors of rape and incest, as<br />
well as unmarried women.<br />
Furthermore, on March 8th,<br />
France achieved a historic<br />
milestone, becoming the<br />
inaugural nation to formally<br />
recognise abortion as a<br />
constitutional right.<br />
However, the influence of<br />
religious conservatism has<br />
led to some of the world's<br />
most restrictive abortion laws,<br />
particularly in regions dominated<br />
by religious entities like the<br />
Catholic Church, such as Latin<br />
America and Poland.<br />
<strong>The</strong> recent resurgence of<br />
the abortion ban in the USA,<br />
tracing its lineage back to 1864,<br />
epitomises this regressive trend.<br />
Currently, 14 states in the US are<br />
enforcing bans on abortion at<br />
all stages of pregnancy. Despite<br />
scientific advancements that<br />
debunk outdated ideas and<br />
beliefs, the grip these institutions<br />
maintain over public discourse<br />
and policy is rather absurd.<br />
According to the World<br />
Women are not objects<br />
to be controlled or<br />
policed; they are<br />
autonomous beings<br />
deserving of respect,<br />
dignity and agency<br />
over their own bodies<br />
and lives. It is a<br />
fundamental human<br />
right, a foundational<br />
tenet of human dignity<br />
and no one, absolutely<br />
no one, should have<br />
the power to take that<br />
away from them.<br />
Health Organisation (WHO),<br />
approximately 25 million unsafe<br />
abortions occur globally each<br />
year, resulting in nearly 23,000<br />
maternal deaths annually.<br />
<strong>The</strong> numbers represent the<br />
harrowing reality of women's<br />
lives hanging in the balance due<br />
to archaic laws and patriarchal<br />
attitudes, that not only disregard<br />
women's fundamental rights<br />
but also endanger their lives,<br />
pushing them into the shadows<br />
of clandestine and hazardous<br />
procedures.<br />
For a woman, the decision to<br />
undergo an abortion is deeply<br />
personal and agonising, often<br />
borne out of insurmountable<br />
circumstances—be it<br />
socioeconomic hardships, health<br />
concerns, or the trauma of sexual<br />
assault.<br />
Yet, despite the gravity of their<br />
decisions, women are met with<br />
hostility, judgment and stigma.<br />
Criminalising abortion does not<br />
eradicate the need for it; it just<br />
drives it underground. Every death<br />
and injury from unsafe abortion is<br />
totally preventable.<br />
Women are not objects to be<br />
controlled or policed; they are<br />
autonomous beings deserving<br />
of respect, dignity and agency<br />
over their own bodies and lives.<br />
It is a fundamental human right,<br />
a foundational tenet of human<br />
dignity and no one, absolutely<br />
no one, should have the power<br />
to take that away from them.<br />
Anything less is a grave injustice<br />
to all humanity.<br />
(<strong>The</strong> author is a Mumbai-based<br />
producer and actor)<br />
Green MP<br />
Julie Anne<br />
Genter<br />
apologises for<br />
'intimidating'<br />
actions in<br />
Parliament<br />
Rongotai MP Julie Anne<br />
Genter has apologised in<br />
Parliament after National<br />
accused her of intimidating and<br />
attacking one of its ministers in<br />
the House.<br />
A spokesperson for the Green<br />
Party told RNZ her actions were<br />
"unacceptable" and fell short<br />
of the standards they expect of<br />
their MPs. As MPs were debating<br />
roading projects as part of the<br />
Annual Review - Transport on<br />
Wednesday night, Genter rose<br />
from her seat and walked across<br />
the chamber towards National's<br />
Matt Doocey. She then waved a<br />
book in his face and repeatedly<br />
yelled: "Read the report!"<br />
<strong>The</strong> debate's chair, Parliament<br />
Deputy Speaker Barbara Kuriger,<br />
interrupted and urged the Green<br />
MP to resume her seat.<br />
"We know that transport is<br />
one of those touchy subjects<br />
but if we want to get the best<br />
out of the minister, interjections<br />
are fine but it would be good if<br />
we could actually just ask the<br />
questions and let the minister<br />
answer them.... rather than<br />
shouting matches and it is not<br />
appropriate to get out of one's<br />
seat to go and have an argument<br />
with somebody on the other<br />
side," Kuriger said.<br />
National senior whip Scott<br />
Simpson told the House<br />
that Genter's actions were<br />
threatening and unbecoming of<br />
Parliament.<br />
"A few minutes ago, there was<br />
an incident that occurred in this<br />
chamber... that I have never seen<br />
before. It was unprecedented in<br />
my experience in this chamber.<br />
"To have a member rise from<br />
her seat, stride across the<br />
House and then confront, in a<br />
most intimidating manner, a<br />
member of this chamber I think<br />
is utterly unparliamentary and<br />
warrants further investigation<br />
and sanction," Simpson said.<br />
He then called for Parliament<br />
Speaker Gerry Brownlee to be<br />
recalled to the debating chamber<br />
and described Genter's actions<br />
as a "serious, intimidatory,<br />
physical attack upon another<br />
member".<br />
"Sir, I have never seen<br />
behaviour of that sort in this<br />
chamber in my time in this House<br />
and I think its a serious matter<br />
that warrants an intervention<br />
immediately.<br />
"That the member is still sitting<br />
in this chamber without having<br />
apologised or accounted for her<br />
actions I think is intolerable,"<br />
Simpson said. MPs in the House<br />
stood to inform the Speaker<br />
what they saw.<br />
"I did not see any contact," said<br />
Genter's Green Party colleague<br />
Steve Abel, who admitted he<br />
did not see the incident in the<br />
House, but only caught the end<br />
on Parliament TV.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK<br />
“Never give up on a dream just because of the time it<br />
will take to accomplish it. <strong>The</strong> time will pass anyway.”<br />
— Earl Nightingale<br />
Editorial<br />
Nation in crisis<br />
while politicians<br />
get a raise<br />
IN FOCUS : Picture of the week<br />
In the midst of a recession and a cost of living crisis, rising unemployment rates, and<br />
businesses collapsing like dominoes, the news that New Zealand MPs are about to<br />
receive fatter pay packets comes as a slap in the face to struggling citizens. It begs<br />
the question: is this a wise move in the current climate, where every dollar counts and<br />
trust in politicians is at an all-time low?<br />
Politics stands alone as a profession where qualifications are not prerequisites<br />
for positions of immense responsibility, which affect people of an entire nation. Yet,<br />
paradoxically, it is one of the most lucratively compensated fields.<br />
This dissonance is glaring, especially when juxtaposed against the backdrop of the<br />
everyday struggles of ordinary Kiwis.<br />
Let’s confront the uncomfortable truth: trust in politicians is eroding, and for good<br />
reason. Recent headlines have been rife with stories of MPs embroiled in controversies<br />
ranging from shoplifting convictions and driving and crashing vehicles under the<br />
influence to threatening behaviour towards fellow elected members on the floor of<br />
parliament, to mention only a few.<br />
Such behaviour not only undermines public confidence but also raises serious<br />
doubts about the judgment and integrity of those elected to serve the nation.<br />
In addition to the concerning behaviour of individual MPs, the broader actions of the<br />
coalition government have exacerbated the challenges faced by ordinary citizens. <strong>The</strong>ir<br />
binge on cutting government funding and jobs will likely have a devastating impact,<br />
particularly in essential services like childcare, education, and healthcare—pillars of<br />
wellbeing for the people.<br />
<strong>The</strong>se cuts have not only resulted in job losses but have also compromised the<br />
quality and accessibility of crucial services, leaving vulnerable populations without the<br />
support they desperately need.<br />
At a time when access to healthcare and education should be safeguarded, the<br />
government's short-sighted austerity measures have only deepened the sense of<br />
insecurity and despair among New Zealanders.<br />
<strong>The</strong> ruling coalition government’s popularity has plummeted just five months into<br />
their tenure—a telling sign of widespread disillusionment with their performance.<br />
From failing to tackle the law and order crisis, particularly concerning retail crime and<br />
youth offending, to implementing austerity measures that have decimated government<br />
funding and jobs, the government’s track record is marred by missteps and what are<br />
beginning to be perceived as broken promises.<br />
In the face of such glaring inadequacies, rewarding MPs with salary increases sends<br />
the wrong message. It sends a message of detachment from the harsh realities faced<br />
by ordinary citizens.<br />
It sends a message of indifference to the struggles of those who elected them<br />
into power. It sends a message that accountability and performance are secondary<br />
concerns when it comes to remuneration.<br />
<strong>The</strong> argument could be made that competitive salaries are necessary to attract<br />
talent to politics.<br />
However, if talent is measured by the ability to enact meaningful change and serve<br />
the best interests of the people, then it’s clear that the current system is failing<br />
miserably. Pay raises should be contingent upon demonstrable achievements and<br />
effective governance, not merely the act of holding office.<br />
<strong>The</strong> timing of these pay increases could not be worse. With families struggling to<br />
make ends meet, businesses teetering on the brink of collapse, and the spectre of<br />
unemployment looming large, now is not the time for politicians to line their pockets.<br />
Now is the time for empathy, solidarity, and decisive action to alleviate the suffering<br />
of the most vulnerable in society.<br />
It’s imperative that our elected representatives earn the trust and respect of the<br />
electorate through their actions, not just their words.<br />
This means prioritising the needs of the people over self-interest and party politics.<br />
It means upholding the highest standards of ethical conduct and accountability. It<br />
means acknowledging and rectifying past mistakes instead of repeating them.<br />
<strong>The</strong> decision to increase MPs’ salaries in the midst of a crisis is not just tone-deaf.<br />
It erodes public trust in the political establishment and underscores the urgent need<br />
for meaningful reform.<br />
New Zealanders deserve better than a government that prioritises its own interests<br />
over the well-being of its citizens. It’s time for our elected representatives to listen, to<br />
empathise, and to act in the best interests of all New Zealanders, not just a privileged<br />
few.<br />
President Droupadi Murmu pays obeisance to the statue of the celestial bird Jatayu in<br />
Ayodhya on Wednesday. (ANI Photo)<br />
This week in New Zealand’s history<br />
7 <strong>May</strong> 1846<br />
Devastating landslide at Lake Taupō<br />
A<br />
devastating landslide obliterated the Ngāti Tūwharetoa village of Te Rapa on the southwest<br />
shore of Lake Taupō. Sixty people were killed, including the paramount chief<br />
Mananui Te Heuheu Tūkino II. This remains New Zealand’s highest death toll from a landslide.<br />
7 <strong>May</strong> 1856<br />
Henry Sewell becomes the country’s first premier<br />
Henry Sewell took office as colonial secretary - as early premiers were called - on 7 <strong>May</strong><br />
1856.<br />
8 <strong>May</strong> 1926<br />
New Zealand Railways Magazine launched<br />
<strong>The</strong> New Zealand Railways Magazine was published monthly for 14 years, with the<br />
final issue appearing in June 1940. Based on British and American railway company<br />
magazines, it was launched as a journal for the Railways Department’s major customers and<br />
18,000 staff.<br />
9 <strong>May</strong> 1907<br />
First School Journal published<br />
New Zealand pupils were for the first time able to read a schoolbook published in their<br />
own country.<br />
9 <strong>May</strong> 1945<br />
New Zealand celebrates Victory in Europe<br />
Germany formally surrendered on 7 <strong>May</strong>, New Zealand time, but acting Prime Minister<br />
Walter Nash insisted that celebrations wait until after British Prime Minister Winston<br />
Churchill officially announced peace at 1 a.m. on 9 <strong>May</strong>, New Zealand time.<br />
10 <strong>May</strong> 1897<br />
NZ's first woman barrister and solicitor appointed<br />
Born into a prominent Dunedin Jewish family, Ethel Benjamin excelled at Otago Girls’ High<br />
School, where she passed the university junior scholarship examination in 1892.<br />
10 <strong>May</strong> 1960<br />
All-white All Blacks leave for South Africa<br />
Despite protests, the controversial rugby tour went ahead. <strong>The</strong> issue of sporting ties with<br />
South Africa would eventually split the country in 1981.<br />
<strong>Indian</strong> <strong>Weekender</strong> : Volume 16 - Issue 6<br />
Publisher: Kiwi Media Publishing Limited<br />
Editor: Dev Nadkarni | dev@indianweekender.co.nz<br />
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is not responsible for advertisers’ claims as appearing in the publication<br />
Views expressed in the articles are solely of the authors and do not in any way represent<br />
the views of the team at the <strong>Indian</strong> <strong>Weekender</strong><br />
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Printed at NZME, Auckland, New Zealand.<br />
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Send your suggestions and feedback to editor@indianweekender.co.nz
14<br />
INDIA<br />
Friday, 3 <strong>May</strong> <strong>2024</strong><br />
At over 40,000, <strong>Indian</strong>s<br />
now form the largest<br />
international student<br />
community in Germany<br />
German deputy head of mission says country saw<br />
32.6% more <strong>Indian</strong> tourists in 2023 compared to 2022<br />
<strong>Indian</strong> students now form<br />
the largest community of<br />
foreign students in Germany.<br />
With over 42,578 enrolments in<br />
German universities as of 2023,<br />
<strong>Indian</strong> students have surpassed<br />
their Chinese counterparts in<br />
the European nation in terms of<br />
numbers, according to the German<br />
National Tourist Office (GNTO).<br />
At a joint press conference held<br />
by the GNTO and the German<br />
Embassy in India Tuesday, Deputy<br />
Head of Mission Georg Enzweiler<br />
told the media, “Unlike other<br />
countries, studying in Germany is<br />
basically free of cost.<br />
Education in German public<br />
universities is high-class and<br />
world-class, but at a much lower<br />
cost than other countries, with the<br />
German taxpayers paying for the<br />
education of both domestic and<br />
international students.”<br />
“<strong>The</strong> language,” he said, “could<br />
be the only downside, but that,<br />
too, has seen a dramatic change<br />
in the last 20 years with many<br />
more universities offering courses<br />
in English.”<br />
In 2022, while the number of<br />
international students in Germany<br />
<strong>Indian</strong> weddings are notoriously<br />
elaborate affairs, requiring a<br />
multitude of outfit changes for<br />
multiple days of festivities.<br />
It used to be normal for a family<br />
visiting Brij Kishore Agarwal’s sari<br />
shop, near the narrow lanes of<br />
Chandni Chowk market in India’s<br />
Old Delhi, to depart with a big<br />
bundle of bright, embroidered<br />
garments and leave behind a<br />
substantial pile of cash.<br />
Worries that someone would<br />
break in and steal the money<br />
before he could make a bank<br />
deposit kept the store’s now-79-<br />
year-old owner awake at night.<br />
<strong>The</strong>se days he sleeps easier,<br />
because almost all his customers<br />
use e-payments to complete their<br />
purchases.<br />
“I have seen this country<br />
change,” says Agarwal, who has<br />
worked in the shop for about 65<br />
years. “We very rarely get cash<br />
payments.”<br />
Digital payments, made through<br />
systems like the Unified Payments<br />
Interface (UPI), which allow<br />
users to transfer funds instantly<br />
by scanning a QR code, have<br />
become ubiquitous across the<br />
world’s most populous country,<br />
transforming daily life.<br />
In Delhi, tea sellers collect<br />
rupees via mobile apps, and tuk<br />
“<strong>The</strong>re has been a steep<br />
rise in the number<br />
of <strong>Indian</strong> students in<br />
Germany. Germany<br />
is very welcoming of<br />
<strong>Indian</strong>s — they are<br />
hard-working and an<br />
ageing society as ours<br />
welcomes them.” Georg<br />
Enzweiler<br />
tuk drivers who pull over to buy<br />
parathas stuffed with steaming<br />
hot paneer pay with their phones.<br />
<strong>The</strong> e-payment revolution is<br />
also likely to play an important role<br />
in India’s attempts to become an<br />
economic superpower.<br />
It is the planet’s fifth biggest<br />
economy, and Prime Minister<br />
Narendra Modi, who is currently<br />
running for his third consecutive<br />
term, has said he wants India to<br />
be considered “developed” by<br />
2047.<br />
“Digital payments are likely<br />
to enhance India’s growth by<br />
eliminating frictions, increasing<br />
rose by 3.7 percent, the <strong>Indian</strong><br />
student community grew by 26<br />
percent. Top choices of field of<br />
study include engineering, law,<br />
management, social sciences,<br />
mathematics and natural<br />
sciences.<br />
“<strong>The</strong>re has been a steep rise<br />
in the number of <strong>Indian</strong> students<br />
in Germany”, Enzweiler said.<br />
“Germany is very welcoming of<br />
<strong>Indian</strong>s — they are hard-working<br />
and an ageing society as ours<br />
welcomes them.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> German population is<br />
efficiency, and reducing costs,”<br />
Eswar Prasad, an economics<br />
professor at Cornell University,<br />
told CNN.<br />
“UPI and the broader digitization<br />
of the economy could also<br />
increase the inclusiveness of this<br />
growth,” he added.<br />
India’s push to digitize its<br />
society started about 15 years<br />
ago, but e-payments were slow<br />
to catch on. In 2016, 96% of<br />
transactions in India were still<br />
conducted with banknotes.<br />
Two events that year changed<br />
things. First, the non-profit<br />
National Payments Corporation<br />
ageing with over 18,781,831<br />
people above the age of 65, as of<br />
2022. Projections suggest that<br />
the number of people at working<br />
age will decrease by a range of 1.6<br />
million-4.8 million in the next 15<br />
years.<br />
<strong>Indian</strong> tourists in Germany<br />
Enzweiler believes that this<br />
trend will encourage more <strong>Indian</strong>s<br />
to visit Germany to not just visit<br />
their relatives, but also explore the<br />
tourism offerings of the country.<br />
He said that Germany saw the<br />
inflow of 32.6 percent more <strong>Indian</strong><br />
tourists in 2023, with over 8 lakh<br />
overnight stays, as opposed to<br />
6,23,363 overnight stays in 2022.<br />
In the first two months of <strong>2024</strong>,<br />
there has been another 15 percent<br />
hike in the number of <strong>Indian</strong><br />
tourists travelling to Germany.<br />
Enzweiler said, “<strong>Indian</strong>s will be<br />
able to qualify more quickly. It<br />
is also in the embassy’s interest<br />
to issue long-term visas.”<br />
This comment is in line with<br />
the EU Ambassador to India’s<br />
announcement last week of a<br />
multi-year Schengen visa for<br />
frequent <strong>Indian</strong> travellers.<br />
of India (NPCI), an initiative of<br />
the central bank and a banking<br />
association, launched the<br />
payment infrastructure UPI.<br />
UPI allows users to use their<br />
phone as a virtual debit card,<br />
transferring money from almost<br />
600 member banks and fintech<br />
companies instantly without<br />
entering bank details or paying<br />
transaction fees.<br />
QR codes line the awning of<br />
Ramesh Kumar's towel shop<br />
at Sarojini Nagar Market in<br />
Delhi. Sania Farooqui/CNN<br />
Later that year, the<br />
government suddenly scrapped<br />
two large banknotes that<br />
comprised 86% of all currency<br />
in circulation, with the stated<br />
goal of fighting corruption. That<br />
prompted a surge in the use of<br />
e-payments.<br />
“We had no choice,” says<br />
Ramesh Kumar, 52, a towel shop<br />
owner in Delhi’s Sarojini Nagar<br />
Market, who started accepting<br />
digital payments in 2016.<br />
Covid-19 further boosted the<br />
adoption of digital transactions, as<br />
people tried to protect themselves<br />
from the virus.<br />
Now, <strong>Indian</strong>s use UPI to<br />
pay everyone from vegetable<br />
vendors to doctors. More digital<br />
transactions are completed in<br />
Read online www.iwk.co.nz<br />
India tests<br />
new weapon to<br />
boost navy’s<br />
anti-submarine<br />
warfare<br />
capability<br />
India on Wednesday inched<br />
closer towards deploying a new<br />
weapon designed to enhance<br />
the anti-submarine warfare<br />
capability of the <strong>Indian</strong> Navy, with<br />
the supersonic missile-assisted<br />
release of torpedo (SMART)<br />
system being successfully flighttested<br />
from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam<br />
Island off the Odisha coast.<br />
“SMART is a next-generation<br />
missile-based light-weight<br />
torpedo delivery system, designed<br />
and developed by the Defence<br />
Research and Development<br />
Organisation (DRDO) to enhance<br />
the anti-submarine warfare<br />
capability of the <strong>Indian</strong> Navy far<br />
beyond the conventional range of<br />
lightweight torpedo,” the defence<br />
ministry said in a statement.<br />
<strong>The</strong> indigenous weapon system<br />
has been tested earlier too.<br />
<strong>The</strong> canister-based missile<br />
system consists of several<br />
advanced sub-systems, including<br />
a two-stage solid propulsion<br />
system, electromechanical<br />
actuator system and precision<br />
inertial navigation system, the<br />
statement said.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> system carries advanced<br />
light-weight torpedo as payload<br />
along with parachute-based<br />
release system.” <strong>The</strong> missile was<br />
launched from a ground mobile<br />
launcher, and several state-ofthe-art<br />
mechanisms such as<br />
symmetric separation, ejection<br />
and velocity control were validated.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> development of the system<br />
will further enhance the strength<br />
of our navy,” defence minister<br />
Rajnath Singh said.<br />
Sari shops and street food stalls: How e-payments have taken over India<br />
QR codes line the awning of Ramesh Kumar's towel shop at Sarojini Nagar Market in Delhi.<br />
India than any other country,<br />
according to the government.<br />
In 2023, the number of UPI<br />
transactions topped 100 billion.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are some holdouts.<br />
Azeez, a 34-year-old rickshaw<br />
driver in Old Delhi, told CNN that<br />
he’s too scared of losing money to<br />
use e-payments.<br />
“I am [an] uneducated person,<br />
I am poor, I have never been to a<br />
school, I can’t read or write,” he<br />
says. “What if I make a mistake?”<br />
Still, the upward trend is<br />
expected to continue, further<br />
boosting the number and value<br />
of funds flowing into the formal<br />
economy. UPI is aiming for two<br />
billion transactions a day by 2030.<br />
“If I can, and my store, which<br />
is so old, can move forward and<br />
change like this, I am sure every<br />
buyer and customer will also do<br />
it,” says Agarwal, the sari seller.<br />
‘A stake in India’s economic<br />
growth’<br />
India is the world’s fastestgrowing<br />
major economy and<br />
digitization “has played a fairly<br />
consequential role in the very<br />
successful economic trajectory<br />
that India is on,” says Prasad, who<br />
is the author of “<strong>The</strong> Future of<br />
Money: How the Digital Revolution<br />
Is Transforming Currencies and<br />
Finance.”
Read online www.iwk.co.nz Friday, 3 <strong>May</strong> <strong>2024</strong><br />
WORLD 15<br />
Biden administration plans to ease<br />
nationwide marijuana restrictions<br />
<strong>The</strong> Biden administration is<br />
reportedly planning to<br />
ease nationwide marijuana<br />
restrictions following a significant<br />
reclassification effort.<br />
<strong>The</strong> U.S. Department of Drug<br />
Enforcement (DEA) is on the<br />
verge of reclassifying marijuana<br />
as a lower-risk substance, in<br />
a dramatic reversal of longstanding<br />
American drug laws that<br />
could have far-reaching effects<br />
across the country as reported by<br />
Associated Press.<br />
A source told the news agency<br />
on Tuesday, April 30 that the DEA’s<br />
new proposal, which acknowledges<br />
the medical advantages<br />
of cannabis and its lower risk of<br />
abuse than other drugs, is in the<br />
hands of the White House office<br />
of Management and Budget.<br />
However, the DEA proposal doesn’t<br />
“directly aim to make marijuana<br />
legal for recreational use.”<br />
Marijuana usage is still ‘illegal’<br />
While the plan is still under<br />
consideration, it is important<br />
Australia on Tuesday<br />
announced plans to build<br />
its largest navy since<br />
World War II, allocating more<br />
than $35 billion for the defense<br />
project over the next 10 years, in<br />
a move analysts said pointed to<br />
heightened tensions with China in<br />
the Indo-Pacific.<br />
According to a government<br />
statement, the plans will see the<br />
Royal Australian Navy boost its<br />
fleet of major surface warships<br />
to 26 in total after an independent<br />
review led by a retired US Navy<br />
admiral found “the current and<br />
planned surface combatant fleet<br />
is not appropriate for the strategic<br />
environment we face.”<br />
“A strong Australia relies on a<br />
strong navy, one that is equipped<br />
to conduct diplomacy in our<br />
region, deter potential adversaries,<br />
and defend our national interests<br />
when called,” Australian Chief of<br />
Navy Vice Adm. Mark Hammond<br />
said in the statement.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> size, lethality and<br />
capabilities of the future surface<br />
combatant fleet ensures that<br />
our navy is equipped to meet the<br />
evolving strategic challenges of<br />
our region.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> plan to bolster the<br />
fleet includes 20 destroyers and<br />
frigates, and six Large Optionally<br />
Crewed Surface Vessels (LOSVs),<br />
that can operate with sailors<br />
aboard or independently as<br />
drones.<br />
Those surface vessels will<br />
join a fleet of nuclear-powered<br />
submarines Australia plans to<br />
build under the AUKUS pact with<br />
the United States and the United<br />
Kingdom, the first three of which<br />
are expected to be delivered early<br />
next decade.<br />
<strong>The</strong> independent review noted<br />
Australia had “the oldest fleet<br />
Navy has operated in its history,”<br />
to understand that changing<br />
the marijuana classification<br />
(rescheduling) is different from<br />
making it completely legal<br />
(descheduling).<br />
according to the government<br />
statement.<br />
We're at biggest risk of conflict<br />
over China for many years, says<br />
Australia's top diplomat<br />
10:50 - Source: CNN<br />
And analysts said the security<br />
environment in the region –<br />
where rival China has built up<br />
the world’s largest navy and is<br />
asserting its territorial claims in<br />
disputed waters – meant Australia<br />
had to act.<br />
Collin Koh, research fellow<br />
at the S. Rajaratnam School<br />
of International Studies in<br />
Singapore, said increasing the<br />
Australian fleet’s size “is essential<br />
if there’s a need for capacity<br />
to match the growing set of<br />
Rescheduling wouldn't<br />
automatically make it okay to have<br />
marijuana everywhere.<br />
You could still get in trouble for<br />
possessing it in places where it's<br />
Australia unveils plan for largest<br />
navy buildup since World War II<br />
“A strong Australia<br />
relies on a strong navy,<br />
one that is equipped<br />
to conduct diplomacy<br />
in our region, deter<br />
potential adversaries,<br />
and defend our<br />
national interests when<br />
called.”<br />
mission requirements, especially<br />
projecting presence across the<br />
Indo-Pacific.”<br />
While there is no mention of<br />
China in the buildup plan, the<br />
review commission said the future<br />
surface fleet needed the ability<br />
“to support critical activities,<br />
including patrolling our northern<br />
approaches, close escort and<br />
theatre sea lift missions.”<br />
And analysts pointed to possible<br />
threats from China.<br />
“It probably signals how<br />
concerned both the government<br />
and defense are about our<br />
strategic circumstances,” Jennifer<br />
Parker, adjunct fellow in naval<br />
studies at UNSW Canberra, said<br />
in an interview with the Australian<br />
Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).<br />
“<strong>The</strong>re are many saying that for<br />
the period of the latter 2020s, we<br />
are entering a period of risk in the<br />
Indo-Pacific and that’s generated<br />
by China’s increased aggression<br />
in both the South China Sea and<br />
Northeast Asia,” she said.<br />
Upon completion in the mid-<br />
2040s, the naval buildup would<br />
yield a fleet with the country’s<br />
three current Hobart-class<br />
guided-missile destroyers, which<br />
will get upgrades to their air<br />
defense and strike systems.<br />
illegal.<br />
According to the report, it could<br />
take several months for the Office<br />
of Management and Budget to<br />
issue their final ruling on the<br />
<strong>The</strong> United States on<br />
Wednesday accused<br />
Russia of violating the<br />
international chemical weapons<br />
ban by deploying the choking agent<br />
chloropicrin against Ukrainian<br />
troops and using riot control<br />
agents "as a method of warfare" in<br />
Ukraine.<br />
"<strong>The</strong> use of such chemicals is<br />
not an isolated incident and is<br />
probably driven by Russian forces'<br />
desire to dislodge Ukrainian<br />
forces from fortified positions<br />
and achieve tactical gains on the<br />
battlefield," the State Department<br />
said in a statement.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Russian embassy in<br />
Washington did not immediately<br />
respond to a request for comment.<br />
Chloropicrin is listed as a banned<br />
choking agent by the Hague-based<br />
Organization for the Prohibition<br />
of Chemical Weapons (OPCW),<br />
which was created to implement<br />
and monitor compliance with<br />
the 1993 Chemical Weapons<br />
Convention (CWC).<br />
German forces fired the gas<br />
against Allied troops during World<br />
War I in one of the first uses of a<br />
chemical weapon.<br />
Earlier this month, Reuters<br />
reported the Ukrainian military as<br />
saying Russia has stepped up its<br />
illegal of use riot control agents<br />
as it presses its biggest advances<br />
in eastern Ukraine in more<br />
than two years.<br />
In addition to chloropicrin,<br />
Russian forces have used grenades<br />
loaded with CS and CN gases, the<br />
Ukrainian military says. It says at<br />
least 500 Ukrainian soldiers have<br />
been treated for exposure to toxic<br />
substances and one was killed by<br />
suffocating on tear gas.<br />
While civilians usually can<br />
escape riot control gases during<br />
proposal.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Associated Press stated<br />
that "Once OMB approves, the DEA<br />
will solicit public comments on the<br />
plan to reclassify marijuana from<br />
its current Schedule I classification,<br />
which currently places it alongside<br />
heroin and LSD."<br />
This action proposes to maintain<br />
marijuana in Schedule III, along<br />
with ketamine and some anabolic<br />
steroids following the proper<br />
recommendation from the health<br />
organisations.<br />
What does rescheduling mean?<br />
Simply put, the reclassification<br />
would allow researchers to<br />
conduct a large-scale study of the<br />
substance to determine specific<br />
medical benefits and potentially<br />
open the door for pharmaceutical<br />
companies in terms of sale in the<br />
states where they are legal.<br />
In October 2022, President Joe<br />
Biden ordered the Department<br />
of Health and human services to<br />
review marijuana's classification.<br />
Russia breached global<br />
chemical weapons ban<br />
in Ukraine war, US says<br />
"<strong>The</strong> use of such<br />
chemicals is not an<br />
isolated incident and<br />
is probably driven by<br />
Russian forces' desire<br />
to dislodge Ukrainian<br />
forces from fortified<br />
positions and achieve<br />
tactical gains on the<br />
battlefield."<br />
protests, soldiers stuck in<br />
trenches without gas masks must<br />
either flee under enemy fire or<br />
risk suffocating.<br />
<strong>The</strong> State Department said it<br />
was delivering to Congress its<br />
determination that Russia's use<br />
of chloropicrin against Ukrainian<br />
troops violated the CWC.<br />
Moscow's use of the gas "comes<br />
from the same playbook as its<br />
operations to poison" the late<br />
opposition leader Alexei Navalny<br />
in 2020 and Sergei Skripal and<br />
his daughter Yulia in 2018 with<br />
the Novichok nerve agent, the<br />
statement said.
16<br />
TIME OUT<br />
i FreeDailyCrosswords.com<br />
ACROSS-----------<br />
1) "Brian's Song" star James<br />
5) Comes out of one's skin<br />
10) Self-congratulatory<br />
14) Radius' comrade-in-arms?<br />
15) Youngest-ever Oscar<br />
winner<br />
16) Folkestone farewell<br />
17) "B 5!" "C 11!"?<br />
19) Took_ (snoozed)<br />
20) Downed<br />
21) Typing type<br />
22) Considers carefully<br />
24) "Emma" author Austen<br />
25) Hersey's bell town<br />
26) Place or site<br />
29) Transverse beam<br />
32) Itsy-bitsy bits<br />
33) "In_ tn1st"<br />
34) Recipe word<br />
35) Cravings<br />
36) Emulate "Old Blue Eyes"<br />
O, O!<br />
1 2 3<br />
14<br />
17<br />
20<br />
26 27 28<br />
32<br />
35<br />
38<br />
41 42<br />
CROSSWORD<br />
37) Kid's "seat" on Santa<br />
38) Alternative to .net<br />
39) Less extroverted<br />
40) TV's "Cosmos" creator<br />
41) Author's explanation<br />
43) Yuletide songs<br />
44) Backup sounds<br />
45) Random sampling<br />
46) "Monkey Trial" teacher<br />
48) Seafood choice<br />
49) Josh<br />
52) Door section<br />
53) John Wayne character,<br />
larger-than-life?<br />
56) More than suggest<br />
57) Recording studio alert<br />
58) Water sport<br />
59) Some antique autos<br />
60) Family men<br />
61) Bud holder<br />
Richard Auer<br />
11 12 13<br />
7th June<br />
DOWN<br />
1) Island south of Florida<br />
2) Dismounted<br />
3) Archer or Heche<br />
4) Endless faultfinder<br />
5) Home of the John Deere<br />
headquarters<br />
6) Like beverages at barbecues<br />
7) A 1 Capp character<br />
8) Fielder's choice?<br />
9) Trooper's warning<br />
10) Wood-surface applications<br />
11) Tropical fruit dance?<br />
12) Great Salt Lake state<br />
13) Adjusts, as a spark plug<br />
18) Multicolored gems<br />
23) "_ on Down the Road"<br />
24) Traffic tangles<br />
25) Eagerness<br />
26)_ the land (how things stand)<br />
27) Alamogordo's county<br />
28) Kinshasa drum?<br />
29) Australian bush call<br />
30) Just right<br />
31) Wonderlands<br />
33) Southern breakfast dish<br />
36) Auto despair site?<br />
37) Marx or Benz<br />
39) Pirate's knife<br />
40) Town of many trials and hunts<br />
42) Plains homes<br />
43) Plays with crayons<br />
45) Lecterns<br />
46) Tim Duncan, for one<br />
47) Kind of package<br />
48) Cold spell<br />
49) Nautical mile<br />
50) Not going anywhere<br />
51) Condemn<br />
54) "Put_ Happy Face"<br />
55) Photo_ (media events)<br />
i FreeDailyCrosswords.com<br />
ACROSS-----------<br />
1) "Brian's Song" star James<br />
5) Comes out of one's skin<br />
10) Self-congratulatory<br />
14) Radius' comrade-in-arms?<br />
15) Youngest-ever Oscar<br />
winner<br />
16) Folkestone farewell<br />
17) "B 5!" "C 11!"?<br />
19) Took_ (snoozed)<br />
20) Downed<br />
21) Typing type<br />
22) Considers carefully<br />
24) "Emma" author Austen<br />
25) Hersey's bell town<br />
26) Place or site<br />
29) Transverse beam<br />
32) Itsy-bitsy bits<br />
33) "In_ tn1st"<br />
34) Recipe word<br />
35) Cravings<br />
36) Emulate "Old Blue Eyes"<br />
O, O!<br />
Friday, 3 <strong>May</strong> <strong>2024</strong><br />
CROSSWORD ANSWERS<br />
37) Kid's "seat" on Santa<br />
38) Alternative to .net<br />
39) Less extroverted<br />
40) TV's "Cosmos" creator<br />
41) Author's explanation<br />
43) Yuletide songs<br />
44) Backup sounds<br />
45) Random sampling<br />
46) "Monkey Trial" teacher<br />
48) Seafood choice<br />
49) Josh<br />
52) Door section<br />
53) John Wayne character,<br />
larger-than-life?<br />
56) More than suggest<br />
57) Recording studio alert<br />
58) Water sport<br />
59) Some antique autos<br />
60) Family men<br />
61) Bud holder<br />
1M l.1 1 b<br />
Richard Auer<br />
ATA<br />
N A p<br />
I G H 5<br />
0<br />
T 30 1 3e<br />
D D<br />
E E<br />
N<br />
7th June<br />
DOWN<br />
1) Island south of Florida<br />
2) Dismounted<br />
3) Archer or Heche<br />
4) Endless faultfinder<br />
5) Home of the John Deere<br />
headquarters<br />
6) Like beverages at barbecues<br />
7) A 1 Capp character<br />
8) Fielder's choice?<br />
9) Trooper's warning<br />
10) Wood-surface applications<br />
11) Tropical fruit dance?<br />
12) Great Salt Lake state<br />
13) Adjusts, as a spark plug<br />
18) Multicolored gems<br />
23) "_ on Down the Road"<br />
24) Traffic tangles<br />
25) Eagerness<br />
26)_ the land (how things stand)<br />
27) Alamogordo's county<br />
28) Kinshasa drum?<br />
29) Australian bush call<br />
30) Just right<br />
31) Wonderlands<br />
33) Southern breakfast dish<br />
36) Auto despair site?<br />
37) Marx or Benz<br />
39) Pirate's knife<br />
40) Town of many trials and hunts<br />
42) Plains homes<br />
43) Plays with crayons<br />
45) Lecterns<br />
46) Tim Duncan, for one<br />
47) Kind of package<br />
48) Cold spell<br />
49) Nautical mile<br />
50) Not going anywhere<br />
51) Condemn<br />
54) "Put_ Happy Face"<br />
55) Photo_ (media events)<br />
Read online www.iwk.co.nz<br />
SUDOKU SOLUTIONS<br />
46 47<br />
52<br />
56<br />
59<br />
SUDOKU<br />
1; 4c 0 p<br />
Si><br />
E<br />
A N E<br />
S<br />
5lJ R G E b N<br />
S<br />
R E 0 5 6'p A<br />
S<br />
b<br />
E 1< 5 01<br />
Mb N D 0<br />
A I R 51> L 0<br />
p A 5 E M<br />
Your Weekly Horoscope: 5 <strong>May</strong> - 9 <strong>May</strong>, <strong>2024</strong><br />
ARIES (MAR 21-APR 20)<br />
This week, prioritise self-care and future<br />
planning. Even though you have a busy<br />
schedule, try creating spaces to relax<br />
and consider your long-term targets.<br />
Your parents can always be there for you<br />
emotionally, giving you advice and praise<br />
when needed. Don't be shy when you ask<br />
them for their advice. Try to keep your balance by managing<br />
your workload to allow your mind to think creatively.<br />
.TAURUS (APR 21-MAY 20)<br />
Your colleagues may expect you to play a<br />
more significant role than usual this week.<br />
What you say and do can influence other<br />
people, so try to be a source of good. Let<br />
people know what you know and share<br />
your thoughts publicly; this can help you<br />
become more recognised. Concentrate<br />
on creating a solid network of coworkers because they can<br />
be a valuable resource for your professional development.<br />
GEMINI (MAY 21-JUN 21)<br />
A whole lot of events are expected this week.<br />
Those who work on a commission basis or<br />
in the outsourced work environment may<br />
earn more by closing a deal or completing<br />
a project successfully. Acknowledge<br />
your creativity and innovation while at it,<br />
as the new ideas may prove much more<br />
profitable. Keep up-to-date with changes and be willing<br />
to learn from the circumstances. Ensure that you have a<br />
balanced life at work.<br />
. CANCER (JUN 22-JUL 20)<br />
Whether working in business or corporate,<br />
it's time to gear up for the job ahead. For<br />
organisations, active marketing of their<br />
products or services will be the key to<br />
achieving positive movement. For those in<br />
the corporate world, try to initiate projects<br />
and develop new ideas. Your seniors<br />
and subordinates will value your confidence and initiative,<br />
creating a platform for the next level of growth.<br />
LEO (JUL21-AUG 20)<br />
It is a week that will lay the foundation<br />
for your success. Travel for work could<br />
become a reality and will help strengthen<br />
professional bonds and build new networks.<br />
Even though the tasks are routine, execute<br />
them with care and precision. Attention<br />
to detail will be appreciated and valued by superiors.<br />
Communication is one of the most important tools to keep<br />
the workflow smooth and projects and collaborations on the<br />
right path.<br />
VIRGO (AUG 23-SEP 23)<br />
Financially, you are likely to remain in a<br />
comfortable position. Regular workouts<br />
will help in keeping fit. Things turn<br />
favourable at work, as your contribution<br />
gets acknowledged. <strong>The</strong> home front<br />
requires your attention, so don't neglect it.<br />
A pilgrimage is possible and is likely to prove most fulfilling.<br />
Buying a new property cannot be ruled out for some. Expect<br />
to get VIP treatment, as your social life perks up.<br />
LIBRA (SEP 24-OCT 23)<br />
You will be keen to impress those who<br />
matter on the professional front. Being<br />
regular in your workouts will prove good<br />
for your health. You will be much more<br />
conscious of your financial situation now,<br />
than previously and budget your expenses.<br />
Organising a function or an event on the<br />
home front can keep some busy today.<br />
SCORPIO (OCT 24-NOV 22)<br />
Good financial planning can get you in a<br />
happy state. Professional front brightens<br />
up for some as new projects come your<br />
way. Some of you are likely to participate<br />
in a fun-filled activity on the home front.<br />
Resuming an exercise routine is indicated<br />
for some. Getting something new may get<br />
some youngsters all excited. A trip may get cancelled or<br />
postponed. Some sacrifice on your part will be required to<br />
get close to your partner emotionally.<br />
SAGITTARIUS (NOV 23-DEC 21)<br />
You are likely to adopt healthy options<br />
to achieve total fitness. You are likely to<br />
grasp a situation on the work front quickly<br />
and turn it to your advantage. <strong>The</strong>re are<br />
indications that some of you can be asked<br />
to travel out of the station on short notice. A<br />
lucrative deal that brings in good returns is<br />
likely to be seized. Religious-minded will be able to achieve<br />
total peace of mind. Socialise more.<br />
CAPRICORN (DEC 22-JAN 21)<br />
Completing an assigned job will give you<br />
the edge at work. Discussing investment<br />
options with a financial expert will help you<br />
make the correct decision. Homemakers<br />
may be tempted to buy an appliance or<br />
gadget. Your fitness regime will benefit.<br />
Property investments may not get<br />
immediate results but promise big money at a later date. <strong>The</strong><br />
desire for a change of scene may take you out on an exotic<br />
vacation.<br />
AQUARIUS (JAN 22-FEB 19)<br />
You are likely to benefit immensely by<br />
making health your priority. Despite rising<br />
expenses, you will be able to remain fairly<br />
well off financially. You may have to seek<br />
alternatives if you are unable to accomplish<br />
something at work. Efforts on the academic<br />
front put in now will pay rich dividends later.<br />
People are likely to appreciate your upholding the family<br />
traditions. A chance to convert an official trip into a leisurely<br />
one may come to some.<br />
PISCES (FEB 20-MAR 20)<br />
An active lifestyle will help keep minor<br />
ailments at bay. You will manage to plan<br />
your expenses well to remain within the<br />
budget. Homemakers will need to be<br />
motivated to go in for cleaning and painting<br />
of the house. A promotion or increment<br />
is likely for some, especially those in the<br />
armed forces. Those travelling on a long journey will be able<br />
to find entertaining company en route. <strong>The</strong> social front can<br />
keep some busy entertaining guests.
Read online www.iwk.co.nz Friday, 3 <strong>May</strong> <strong>2024</strong><br />
FEATURE 17<br />
A big, bountiful salad is the best way to celebrate delicious seasonal produce!<br />
Broccoli salad<br />
Ingredients<br />
• 1 pound broccoli crowns<br />
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive<br />
oil<br />
• 3 tablespoons mayo, I like Sir<br />
Kensington's or vegan mayo<br />
• 1½ tablespoons apple cider<br />
vinegar<br />
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard<br />
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup or<br />
honey<br />
• 1 garlic clove, minced<br />
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt, more to<br />
taste<br />
• cup diced red onions<br />
• cup dried cranberries<br />
• Smoky tamari almonds<br />
• ½ cup almonds<br />
• ½ cup pepitas<br />
• 1 tablespoon tamari<br />
• ½ teaspoon maple syrup<br />
• ¼ teaspoon smoked<br />
paprika, more to taste<br />
Methods<br />
• Preheat the oven to 350°F<br />
and line a baking sheet with<br />
parchment paper.<br />
• Chop the broccoli florets<br />
into ½-inch pieces and any<br />
remaining stems into ¼-inch<br />
dice. Peel any woody or course<br />
parts from the stem first.<br />
• In the bottom of a large bowl,<br />
whisk together the olive oil,<br />
mayo, apple cider vinegar,<br />
mustard, maple syrup, garlic,<br />
and salt.<br />
• Add the broccoli, onions, and<br />
cranberries and toss to coat.<br />
• Place the almonds and pepitas<br />
on the baking sheet, toss with<br />
the tamari, maple syrup, and<br />
smoked paprika and spread<br />
into a thin layer. Bake 10 to 14<br />
minutes or until golden brown.<br />
• Remove from the oven and let<br />
cool for 5 minutes (they’ll get<br />
crispier as they sit).<br />
• Toss the almonds and pepitas<br />
into the salad, reserving a few<br />
to sprinkle on top. Season to<br />
taste and serve.<br />
Kale salad with carrot ginger dressing<br />
Ingredients<br />
• ½ cup chopped roasted<br />
carrots, from 3/4 cup raw<br />
carrots<br />
• 1/3 to ½ cup water<br />
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil<br />
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar<br />
• 2 teaspoons minced ginger<br />
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt<br />
• Salad<br />
• 1 batch Roasted Chickpeas<br />
• 1 bunch curly kale, stems<br />
removed, leaves torn<br />
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice<br />
• ½ teaspoon extra-virgin olive<br />
oil<br />
• 1 small carrot, grated<br />
• 1 small red beet, grated*<br />
• ½ watermelon radish, very<br />
thinly sliced<br />
• 1 avocado, cubed<br />
• 2 tablespoons dried<br />
cranberries<br />
• ¼ cup pepitas, toasted<br />
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds<br />
• Sea salt & Freshly ground<br />
black pepper<br />
Instruction<br />
• Make the dressing and roast<br />
the chickpeas: Preheat the<br />
oven to 400°F and line a large<br />
baking sheet with parchment<br />
paper.<br />
• Toss the chickpeas with<br />
a drizzle of olive oil and<br />
sprinkle with pinches of salt<br />
and pepper. Place the carrot<br />
pieces for the dressing in their<br />
own corner on the baking<br />
sheet to roast alongside the<br />
chickpeas. Roast for 25 to<br />
minutes, or until the chickpeas<br />
Chicken Hawaiian salad<br />
Ingredients<br />
• 1/3 cup coconut milk<br />
• 1 tablespoon tomato ketchup<br />
• 1 teaspoon lime zest<br />
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder<br />
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika powder<br />
• 1/4 teaspoon salt<br />
• 1 large chicken breasts<br />
• 1/2 cup pineapple<br />
• 1/2 avocados<br />
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes<br />
• 1 cup rice<br />
• 2 1/2 tablespoon virgin olive<br />
oil<br />
• 1/2 teaspoon honey<br />
• black pepper as required<br />
• 1/4 cup pineapple juice<br />
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce<br />
• 2 cloves garlic<br />
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin powder<br />
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger powder<br />
• 1/2 tablespoon virgin olive oil<br />
• 1/2 cup corn<br />
• 4 cup lettuce leaf<br />
• 1/2 red onion<br />
• 1 carrot<br />
• 1 1/2 tablespoon lime juice<br />
• 2 tablespoon cilantro<br />
• 1/4 teaspoon salt<br />
Method<br />
• Take a large bowl and mix<br />
together coconut milk,<br />
Chicken broccoli<br />
Ingredients<br />
• 500 chicken breast fillet, skin<br />
off<br />
• 2 broccoli, chopped<br />
• 420g canned cream of chicken<br />
soup<br />
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise<br />
• 1/2 lemon, juiced<br />
• 1 tbs mild curry powder *to<br />
taste<br />
Method<br />
• Cut chicken breasts in half and<br />
if too thick slice lengthways,<br />
as well.<br />
• Fry each piece gently on both<br />
sides.<br />
• Steam broccoli until tender.<br />
• Place broccoli in a long or<br />
square casserole dish, then add<br />
chicken.<br />
• Mix soup, mayonnaise, lemon<br />
juice and curry powder in a<br />
bowl. Pour evenly over chicken<br />
and broccoli.<br />
• Bake at 180C for 50 minutes.<br />
Serve with rice.<br />
are browned and crisp and<br />
the carrots are soft. Set the<br />
roasted chickpeas aside.<br />
Transfer the carrots to a<br />
blender and add the water,<br />
olive oil, rice vinegar, ginger,<br />
and salt.<br />
• Blend the dressing until<br />
smooth and chill in the Place<br />
the kale leaves into a large<br />
bowl and drizzle with the<br />
lemon juice, ½ teaspoon of<br />
olive oil, and a few pinches of<br />
salt.<br />
• Use your hands to massage<br />
the leaves until they become<br />
soft and wilted and reduce in<br />
the bowl by about half.<br />
• Add the carrot, beet,<br />
watermelon radish, half of the<br />
cubed avocado, cranberries,<br />
pepitas, a few more good<br />
pinches of salt and a few<br />
grinds of pepper, and toss.<br />
Drizzle generously with the<br />
carrot ginger dressing.<br />
• Top with the remaining<br />
avocado, more dressing, the<br />
roasted chickpeas and sprinkle<br />
with the sesame seeds.<br />
Season to taste and serve.<br />
pineapple juice, tomato sauce,<br />
soy sauce, lime zest, garlic,<br />
onion powder, cumin, paprika,<br />
ginger powder and salt.<br />
Marinate chicken for minimum<br />
3 hours, preferably overnight.<br />
• Mix dressing ingredients<br />
together in a jar, (lime juice,<br />
olive oil, chopped cilantro,<br />
minced garlic, honey, salt and<br />
black pepper) set aside for at<br />
least 15 minutes.<br />
• Heat oil in a non stick pan over<br />
high heat. Add chicken and<br />
cook each side for 3 minutes<br />
or until golden. Remove and<br />
Healthy taco salad<br />
Ingredients<br />
• 2 corn tortillas, sliced into<br />
strips<br />
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for<br />
drizzling<br />
• 1 medium head romaine<br />
lettuce, chopped<br />
• 1 cup shredded red cabbage<br />
• ½ cup cooked black<br />
beans, drained and rinsed<br />
• 2 red radishes, thinly sliced<br />
• ½ cup sliced cherry tomatoes<br />
and/or pico de gallo<br />
• 1 avocado, sliced<br />
• Jalapeno slices, optional<br />
• Cilantro Lime Dressing, the<br />
creamy avocado variation<br />
• Sea salt<br />
• Lime wedges, for serving<br />
• Shiitake Taco 'Meat'<br />
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive<br />
oil<br />
• 8 ounces shiitake<br />
mushrooms, stemmed and<br />
diced<br />
• 1 cup crushed walnuts<br />
• 1 tablespoon tamari<br />
• 1 teaspoon chili powder<br />
• ½ teaspoon balsamic vinegar<br />
• Sea salt and freshly ground<br />
black pepper<br />
Instructions<br />
• Preheat the oven to 400°F<br />
and line a baking sheet with<br />
parchment paper.<br />
• Toss the tortilla strips with a<br />
Grilled corn salad<br />
Ingredients<br />
• 3 ears of grilled corn on the<br />
cob<br />
• 1 red pepper, diced<br />
• 1 green pepper, diced<br />
• ½ small cucumber, diced<br />
• 2 ripe peaches, pitted and<br />
diced<br />
• 1 small avocado, pitted and<br />
diced.<br />
• 8 basil leaves, thinly sliced<br />
• juice of 1 lime, plus lime<br />
wedges for serving<br />
• 3 tablespoons Chile Lime<br />
Dressing, plus more to taste<br />
• sea salt<br />
• Chile Lime Dressing (this<br />
makes extra)<br />
• ¼ cup Sir Kensington’s<br />
Avocado Oil <strong>May</strong>o or<br />
vegan Fabanaise<br />
• 1 tablespoon olive oil<br />
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro,<br />
including stems, plus more for<br />
garnish<br />
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice,<br />
plus extra slices for serving<br />
• serrano chile, plus more to<br />
taste<br />
• pinch of garlic powder<br />
• pinch of onion powder<br />
cover with foil for 5 minutes,<br />
then slice thick strips. Cook<br />
plain rice and keep aside.<br />
• Sear 1/2 cup pineapple<br />
pieces and corn in the skillet<br />
tiny bit of olive oil and a few<br />
pinches of salt. Spread onto<br />
the sheet and bake for 10 to 14<br />
minutes or until crispy.<br />
• Make the Shiitake Taco “Meat”:<br />
In a medium skillet, heat the<br />
olive oil over medium heat.<br />
• Add the mushrooms and cook,<br />
stirring only occasionally, until<br />
they begin to brown and soften,<br />
3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the<br />
walnuts and lightly toast for 1<br />
to 2 minutes. Stir in the tamari<br />
and the chili powder.<br />
• Add the balsamic vinegar and<br />
stir again. Remove from the<br />
heat and season with salt and<br />
pepper to taste.<br />
• Assemble the salad with the<br />
romaine lettuce, cabbage, black<br />
beans, taco meat, radishes,<br />
tomatoes, avocado, jalapenos,<br />
if using, and generous dollops<br />
of cilantro lime avocado<br />
dressing.<br />
• Drizzle with olive oil and<br />
sprinkle with sea salt. Serve<br />
with lime wedges and extra<br />
dressing on the side.<br />
• sea salt<br />
Method<br />
• Make the dressing: In a small<br />
food processor, combine the<br />
avocado mayonnaise, olive oil,<br />
cilantro, lime, serrano, garlic<br />
powder, onion powder and a<br />
few generous pinches of salt.<br />
• Pulse until combined. Chill until<br />
ready to use.<br />
• Slice the kernels off of the<br />
grilled corn and place in a large<br />
bowl.<br />
• Add the red pepper, green<br />
pepper, cucumber, peaches,<br />
avocado, basil, lime juice, a few<br />
pinches of salt, and toss.<br />
• Add a few tablespoons of<br />
dressing, toss again, then taste<br />
and add more dressing and/or<br />
salt to taste.<br />
until golden. Assemble salad<br />
ingredients on a platter and<br />
top with sliced chicken. Drizzle<br />
over Dressing and serve the<br />
delicious Hawaiian salad.
18<br />
ENTERTAINMENT<br />
Aditi Rao Hydari<br />
reveals Sanjay<br />
Leela Bhansali told<br />
her ‘khana mat<br />
khana’<br />
Sanjay Leela Bhansali's<br />
Heeramandi is one of the<br />
most anticipated shows of<br />
the year. Aditi Rao Hydari plays<br />
Bibbojaan in the magnum opus,<br />
and revealed in a new interview<br />
with Rediff how she landed the<br />
part in the series. <strong>The</strong> director<br />
even told her not to eat before a<br />
crucial scene.<br />
In the new interview, when<br />
Aditi was asked about how she<br />
collaborated with Sanjay Leela<br />
Bhansali, the actor recounted her<br />
experience and said:<br />
“He's very passionate about<br />
everything he does. He's also very<br />
knowledgeable. He has true love<br />
for each and every art form that<br />
goes into making cinema, and that<br />
I find very infectious.<br />
"I would say that whatever<br />
one comes with in one's blood,<br />
when you walk on to a Sanjay<br />
Leela Bhansali set, it is complete<br />
surrender. You have to become a<br />
sponge."<br />
Aamir Khan talks<br />
about ‘power of<br />
namaste’<br />
Aamir Khan has appeared<br />
on Kapil Sharma's show<br />
for the first time. In the<br />
latest episode, the actor shared<br />
several anecdotes from his acting<br />
career. He also appreciated the<br />
humility of the people of Punjab<br />
and said he learnt the power of<br />
'namaste' from them, when he<br />
shot for Dangal (2016) in a village<br />
there.<br />
Aamir said in Hindi, "This is a<br />
story which is very close to me.<br />
We shot for Rang de Basanti in<br />
Punjab, and I really loved it there.<br />
<strong>The</strong> people, the Punjabi culture is<br />
full of love. So, when we went for<br />
the shoot of Dangal, it was a small<br />
village we were shooting in. We<br />
shot for more than two months in<br />
that location and that house. You<br />
won't believe it, but when I used<br />
to reach there at around 5 or 6 in<br />
the morning, as my car entered,<br />
people would stand outside their<br />
homes just to welcome me with<br />
folded hands and 'Sat Sri Akaal.'<br />
<strong>The</strong>y used to just wait to welcome<br />
me. <strong>The</strong>y never disturbed me,<br />
never stopped my car, nothing.<br />
After my pack-up, when I would<br />
return, they would again be<br />
standing outside their homes and<br />
would greet me 'Good Night.'"<br />
Aamir added that being a<br />
Muslim, he was not used to<br />
folding his hands and greeting<br />
people with 'namaste.' He said, "I<br />
belong to a Muslim family, I am<br />
not used to folding my hands in<br />
namaste.'"<br />
She further continued, "People<br />
perceive actors in a particular<br />
way. <strong>The</strong>y may be like, Oh, if you<br />
blow, she'll just fly away. She's so<br />
delicate! But for him, there's more<br />
to a person than that. One day, he<br />
kept me hungry because I had to<br />
do a scene which was full of fire.<br />
"People perceive actors<br />
in a particular way.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y may be like, Oh, if<br />
you blow, she'll just fly<br />
away. She's so delicate!<br />
But for him, there's<br />
more to a person than<br />
that."<br />
He said, 'Aaj khana mat khana',<br />
and that helped me get that<br />
simmering sense of injustice.”<br />
Heeramandi features Manisha<br />
Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Richa<br />
Chadha and Sanjeeda Shaikh in<br />
Sonali Bendre is once again<br />
back to acting with the<br />
newsroom-drama series<br />
<strong>The</strong> Broken News. <strong>The</strong> sequel to<br />
the show is going to stream on<br />
ZEE5 in <strong>May</strong> <strong>2024</strong>. <strong>The</strong> actor, who<br />
has been vocal about her cancer<br />
diagnosis, opened about her<br />
journey in a podcast for Humans<br />
of Bombay.<br />
Sonali was asked how did<br />
she deal with her cancer<br />
diagnosis and what was<br />
her initial reaction. She<br />
said, “When I received my<br />
cancer diagnosis, my first<br />
thought was, ‘Why me?’ I’d<br />
wake up thinking it was all<br />
a nightmare; I couldn’t believe<br />
that this could happen to me.<br />
That’s when I started to change<br />
the way I thought.<br />
Instead of ‘why me?’ I started<br />
asking, ‘Why not me?’ I started to<br />
feel grateful this wasn’t happening<br />
to my sister or my son. I realized I<br />
had the strength to deal with this, I<br />
had the resources to go to the best<br />
hospitals, and the support system<br />
to help me through this. Starting to<br />
ask ‘why not me?’ helped me start<br />
the healing process.”<br />
For the unversed, Sonali was<br />
diagnosed with stage four,<br />
metastatic cancer in 2018. After<br />
undergoing treatment in a New<br />
York City hospital, she became<br />
cancer free in 2021. Post her<br />
recovery, she has been advocating<br />
pivotal roles. It<br />
also marks the comeback of actor<br />
Fardeen Khan after a gap of 14<br />
years.<br />
<strong>The</strong> series explores the cultural<br />
reality of Heeramandi, a dazzling<br />
district, through the stories of<br />
courtesans and their patrons set<br />
against the tumultuous backdrop<br />
of the <strong>Indian</strong> freedom struggle of<br />
the 1940s. It releases on Netflix<br />
on <strong>May</strong> 1.<br />
Sonali Bendre reveals her<br />
first reaction to cancer<br />
diagnosis: ‘Why me?’<br />
awareness and support<br />
for cancer survivors. <strong>The</strong><br />
actor also penned an Instagram<br />
post on Cancer Survivors Day in<br />
2021. She wrote, “How time flies...<br />
today when I look back, I see<br />
strength, I see weakness but most<br />
importantly I see the will to not<br />
let the C word define how my life<br />
will be after it…You create the life<br />
you choose. <strong>The</strong> journey is what<br />
you make of it... so remember<br />
to take #OneDayAtATime and to<br />
#SwitchOn<strong>The</strong>Sunshine (rainbow,<br />
sunshine and heart emojis)<br />
#CancerSurvivorsDay.”<br />
Sonali Bendre will next<br />
be seen in <strong>The</strong> Broken<br />
News 2, co-starring Shriya<br />
Pilgaonkar and Jaideep Ahlawat in<br />
crucial roles.<br />
Friday, 3 <strong>May</strong> <strong>2024</strong><br />
India's presence<br />
at the Cannes<br />
Film Festival has<br />
grown manifold in<br />
the last 30 years.<br />
Today, there could<br />
easily be 300 <strong>Indian</strong>s<br />
on the French Riviera,<br />
including actors,<br />
directors and even<br />
some journalists.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re is even an<br />
India Pavilion, which<br />
was first set up by<br />
Nina Lath Gupta<br />
from the NFDC.<br />
India at Cannes<br />
But sadly, India's<br />
movie representation<br />
at the festival has<br />
been poor. It could be<br />
that we do not make<br />
cinema that caters<br />
to an international<br />
audience. Or, it just<br />
could be that for<br />
a Western mind,<br />
<strong>Indian</strong> cinema is too<br />
confusing. Or, it can<br />
also be that selectors<br />
who are supposed<br />
to promote and<br />
push films from our<br />
country have little<br />
understanding of what Cannes is<br />
looking for.<br />
Once, it seemed like a joke<br />
that Devdas from Bollywood<br />
was picked as part of the official<br />
selections. Later, the Cannes chief,<br />
Thierry Fremaux, did tell me –<br />
although not in so many words –<br />
that Devdas was a mistake.<br />
Anyway, two <strong>Indian</strong> titles have<br />
made it to Cannes this year: Payal<br />
Kapadia's All We Imagine As Light<br />
is vying for the top Palme d'Or<br />
and Sandhya Suri's debut feature<br />
Santosh is in Un Certain Regard,<br />
the most important section after<br />
Competition. An <strong>Indian</strong> title arrives<br />
in Competition 30 years after<br />
Shaji N. Karun's Malayalam work<br />
Swaham.<br />
Also a matter of concern, <strong>Indian</strong><br />
jurors at Cannes have been few and<br />
far between. In fact, between 1982,<br />
when respected auteur Mrinal Sen<br />
became the first <strong>Indian</strong> to serve<br />
on the main Competition jury,<br />
and 2022, when actress Deepika<br />
Padukone was picked for this slot,<br />
there have been a mere handful --<br />
director Mira Nair (1990), novelist<br />
Arundhati Roy (2000), actors<br />
Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan (2003),<br />
Nandita Das (2005) and Sharmila<br />
Tagore (2009), moviemaker<br />
Shekhar Kapur (2010) and actor<br />
Vidya Balan (2013).<br />
Great <strong>Indian</strong> filmmakers<br />
ignored?<br />
Sadly, giants of cinema like<br />
Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Girish<br />
Kasaravalli and Ritwik Ghatak<br />
were never invited to be on the jury.<br />
Even Satyajit Ray, who was an<br />
icon of India, was ignored by the<br />
Read online www.iwk.co.nz<br />
Why are <strong>Indian</strong> movies and<br />
jurors so few and far between<br />
at Cannes Film Festival<br />
Festival.<br />
Why were these great auteurs<br />
never invited? It could be that<br />
Cannes is no longer a cerebral<br />
Festival as it once was, especially<br />
during Sen's days.<br />
Today, there is far more glamour<br />
there than what we would like to<br />
imagine.<br />
Cannes has gravitated towards<br />
this glamour goal, which has<br />
been hugely promoted by big<br />
businesses.<br />
A cursory glance at the Cannes<br />
jury over the years, and we cannot<br />
miss the fact that members have<br />
all been global achievers who have<br />
come with a fair degree of glamour.<br />
This year for the 77th edition of<br />
the Festival, there are international<br />
celebrities like Greta Gerwig (of<br />
Barbie fame who will chair the jury),<br />
moviemakers Nadine Labaki, Juan<br />
Antonio Bayona, Pierfrancesco<br />
Favino, Ebru Ceylan, and Kore-eda<br />
Hirokazu. <strong>The</strong>y are undoubtedly<br />
exceptional filmmakers, but they<br />
also come with an aura of allure.<br />
All said and done, Cannes may<br />
be liberally swathed in glamour,<br />
but the 12-day Festival -- which<br />
runs from <strong>May</strong> 14 to 25 – also<br />
offers memorable movies that are<br />
hard to ignore or forget.
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