Bakshi Kanwaljit Singh: General Debate 
Bakshi Kanwaljit Singh: General Debate 
[Volume:662;Page:10553] 
KANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI (National) 
: 
 This is my first contribution in a general debate. From time to time I will continue to express my views in this esteemed House. People in the Indian community have been telling me that they are fortunate to have the Hon John Key as the Prime Minister of New Zealand to take them through these difficult times. I tell this House that the Indian community is very happy with the change of Government. People feel more confident safer and more comfortable. 
While I was interviewing young candidates to represent me in the Youth Parliament 2010 one entrant from Manurewa told me that she and her friends felt much more confident while walking back from school than they used to a few years ago. When I asked why that was she said it was because she and her friends now encountered more police on the streets in South Auckland. She mentioned that the mere fact that people saw more police walking around neighbourhoods and police cars driving around more frequently made them feel safer as they believed criminals would think twice. She also mentioned that her parents are more confident with the economic situation. They think that the country will improve significantly under this Government—more than it did under the previous Government. That seems to be the recurring theme when I speak with many Indian families. 
I shall now talk about the small and medium sized businesses—the majority of which are dairies liquor shops petrol stations and vege shops—that are owned by ethnic people who have migrated to New Zealand. We have a history of more than 120 years in this country. We started from cutting bush in the King Country and the Waikato region but now we own businesses from dairies around the corner to multi-storey office buildings in the central business districts of Auckland Wellington and Christchurch. When I talk to these people they say: “Thank God Labour is gone!”. 
We have had good times in the past but opportunities have been lost. The previous Labour Government did not capitalise. The Opposition is talking about flawed tax policies by this Government but the latest Roy Morgan New Zealand poll shows that there is no decrease in support for National and that the confidence rating is up by 6.5 points. Sixty-one percent of people think that the Government is going in the right direction. The Indian community is thus doing well on the economic front. 
Another thing of importance to this community is education. Indians believe that education is the most important thing. It is something exceptionally important and valuable that no one can take away. This is why ethnic students do very well at schools and at university level. On this note I inform members that the Indian community is very pleased with the introduction of national standards. They feel that they will be more informed and that their children will get a very good education. On my last visit to Papatoetoe High School I was told by the principal that more than 40 percent of the students are of ethnic origin. In the upcoming Youth Parliament we will have seven youth of Indian origin and six from other ethnic backgrounds. 
Unemployment among Asians is very low. That is because our community commenced by being employees and gradually over the years we have developed and expanded our horizons by buying small businesses. That is why so many small businesses are owned by members of the ethnic community. 
As an incentive towards growing our economy the Government will announce beneficial tax changes in the Budget the outcome of which will be more jobs and higher incomes for families especially those on lower and middle incomes; beneficiaries; and our senior citizens. Income tax cuts across the board will also generally bring about an increase in purchasing power thereby improving the lot of our shopkeepers and communities as a whole. 
Another thing that concerns our community is safety. The unfortunate deaths of Navtej Singh the liquor shop owner and Hiren Mohini the taxi driver struck fear into many taxi drivers.