He is Member of Parliament for Hamilton West in New Zealand. The 33 year old Dr Gaurav Sharma won the election as a Labour Party candidate.

Dr Sharma first took oath in the Maori language- the indigenous language of New Zealand- and followed by taking oath in the Sanskrit language.

The decision to take oath in Sanskrit surprised many, while others appreciated him for showing deep respect for cultural traditions of both India and New Zealand.

“To be honest I did think of that, but then there was the question of doing it in Pahari (my first language) or Punjabi. Hard to keep everyone happy. Sanskrit made sense as it pays homage to all the Indian languages (including the many I can’t speak),” he tweeted.

To be honest I did think of that, but then there was the question of doing it in Pahari (my first language) or Punjabi. Hard to keep everyone happy. Sanskrit made sense as it pays homage to all the Indian languages (including the many I can’t speak) https://t.co/q1A3eb27z3

— Dr Gaurav Sharma (@gmsharmanz) November 25, 2020

Mr Sharma defeated Tim Macindoe of the National Party by over 4,386 votes. This was his second attempt- he had earlier, fought the elections in 2017.

Kiwi-Indian Labour Party MP @gmsharmanz is the second Indian-origin leader (outside India) to take oath in Sanskrit. 
The first was Suriname President Chandrikapersad Santokhi who took oath of office in July this year. @WIONews @sidhant pic.twitter.com/yhfzvBZFHS

— Palki Sharma (@palkisu) November 25, 2020

Dr Gaurav Sharma is the second political leader in the world to take an oath in Sanskrit on foreign land. The first Parliamentarian of Indian origin was Suriname President Chandrikapersad “Chan” Santokhi when he took the oath of office in Sanskrit while holding Vedas during the inauguration ceremony on July 16 2020.

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A delightful video of police officers shaking their legs has now gone viral on the internet. The program was organized by Wellington Multicultural Council, and in the video, police officers can be seen grooving to a perfectly coordinated dance routine with filmy steps and beautiful smiles on their faces.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=258100222376877

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Priyanca has been given multiple roles as the Minister of Diversity,Inclusion and Ethnic Communities, Minister for Youth, Minister of Community and Voluntary Sector and Associated Minister for Social Development and Employment.

Earlier, Priyanca has served as the private Secretary to the then Minister for Ethnic Communities Jenny Salesa and later as the Assistant speaker in the second term of the government led by Labour Party. She had also acted as policy advisor to former MP Phil Goff.

This is the second time Priyanca is elected as MP representing Labour Party. She has been active in Labour Party for the last 14 years.

Priyanca completed her education from Singapore and New Zealand. She holds a masters degree in Development Studies from Victoria University. Hailing from Paravoor in Ernakulam, Priyanca is daughter of Raman Radhakrishnan and Usha. IT professional Richardson is Priyanca’s husband.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern unveiled what she called an “incredibly diverse” cabinet on Monday, as she promised to prioritise economic recovery in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

Ardern has revamped her ministerial lineup in the wake of a landslide election victory, allowing her form the single-party government since New Zealand moved to a German-style system of proportional representation in 1996.

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With two thirds of the vote counted, Ardern’s centre-left Labour Party was on 49.2 percent, far ahead of the opposition National Party at 27 %. The Labour Party is forecast to take around 64 seats in the 120-member pariliament.

While the count has not been finalised, the figures were enough for opposition leader Judith Collins to congratulate Ardern.

Her conservative National Party was expected to take around 35 seats in what appears to be its worst result in nearly 20 years.

No leader has achieved an absolute majority since New Zealand adopted a proportional voting system in 1996, leading to a succession of multi-party governments. Typically, parties must form alliances to govern, but this time Ardern and Labour can go it alone.

Her emphatic victory is the result of her success in controlling COVID-19 across New Zealand. Jacinda,40, said that she would use her mandate to rebuild an economy battered by the coronavirus pandemic and tackle social inequality.

Ardern had dubbed the vote “the Covid election” and campaigned on her government’s success in eliminating community transmission of the virus, which has caused just 25 deaths in a population of five million.

The pandemic is just one of a string of crises that showed Ardern’s leadership qualities during a torrid first term.

She displayed both empathy and decisive action on gun control after a white supremacist gunman killed 51 Muslim worshippers in the Christchurch mosques attack last year.

Ardern again found herself comforting a shocked nation when a volcanic eruption at White Island, also known as Whakaari, killed 21 people and left dozens more with horrific burns.

Labour is pledging massive spending on infrastructure to boost the economy and has pledged to impose a higher tax rate on income over NZ$180,000 ($120,000) a year to raise more revenue. Ardern has ruled out implementing the wealth tax proposed by the Greens.

Ardern said she would govern for all New Zealanders and declined to say whether she would invite the Green Party into her government until final results were in. The Greens had 7.6% of the vote.

The landslide victory will give Ardern more scope to deliver the transformational government she promised when she came to power three years ago, particularly if the Greens push her to be more progressive on issues such as poverty and climate change. Still, she will be wary of alienating centrist voters with increased social spending at a time when debt is spiraling due to the government’s pandemic response.

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Brenton Tarrant, a 29-year-old Australian, admitted to 51 charges of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder and one charge of committing a terrorist act during the 2019 shooting rampage at two Christchurch mosques which he livestreamed on Facebook.

High Court Judge Cameron Mander said in Christchurch that a finite term would not be sufficient. “Your crimes, however, are so wicked that even if you are detained until you die it will not exhaust the requirements of punishment and denunciation,” said Mander in handing down the sentence. “As far as I can discern, you are empty of any empathy for your victims,” he said.

Judge Mander said that behind Tarrant’s “warped” ideology was a “base hatred” that led him to attack defenceless men, women and children last year in New Zealand’s worst terror attack.

“It is incumbent on the court to respond in a way that decisively rejects such vicious malevolence,” Mander said as he announced a sentence unprecedented in New Zealand legal history.

Prosecutors told the court earlier that Tarrant wanted to instill fear in those he described as invaders and that he carefully planned the attacks to cause maximum carnage.
Tarrant, a white supremacist who represented himself during his trial, said through a lawyer in court on Thursday that he did not oppose the prosecution’s application for a life without parole sentence.

It is for the very first time a sentence of such a degree has been handed down in New Zealand. Tarrant, through Crown-appointed counsel Pip Hall QC, did not oppose life without parole.

Mander, who delivered the sentence, asked the gunman if he wished to address the court before sentence was imposed. “No, thank you,” he answered in an even and formal tone.

The judge said Tarrant had failed in his aim of promoting right-wing extremism as he gunned down victims in cold blood but the New Zealand Muslim community had still paid a terrible price.

“It was brutal and beyond callous. Your actions were inhuman,” the judge said.

Tarrant seemed unfazed by the sentence, and remained expressionless during his interaction with the judge. The Australian waived his right to make any sentencing submissions, but instructed a standby lawyer to tell the court that he did not oppose a sentence of life without parole.

Tarrant, a 29-year-old Australian national who also believed in the ideology of white supremacy, sent down shivers across the world community when he went on a rampage massacaring 51 worshippers during Friday prayers in two Christchurch mosques in New Zealand by spraying bullets on them for 20 minutes

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New Zealand’s health minister David Clark has resigned over criticisms in his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. He was under pressure since the start of the government’s response to the outbreak some months ago.

“I’ve always taken a view that the team must come first … so I’ve made the call that it’s best for me to step aside.” said Clark.

In his resignation, Clark said he got distracted from the government’s response to the pandemic. Recently, he was widely criticised for violating the lockdown rules twice. He breached strict lockdown orders by going mountain biking and second when he took his family to the beach driving 20 km from his home.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern accepted his resignation and appointed education minister Chris Hipkins giving him the additional charge as health minister. He would handle the Health portfolio until the next elections.

New Zealand has been widely praised for its handling of the crisis. So far New Zealand has recorded 1,530 coronavirus cases with 22 deaths. A total of 1,490 patients recovered, with only one patient currently in the hospital, according to the Health Ministry.

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