Last week, Priyanca Radhakrishnan MP, Labour Party, List MP based in Maungakiekie, sat with Gaurav Sharma, Associate Editor, The Indian News, and discussed a wide range of issues.

These included recent changes [and then back-tracking] on culturally-arranged partnership visas; the reopening of parent category visa with a new threshold of at least two times the country’s median income; as well as her experience of representing New Zealand in the recently-concluded Nairobi Summit, which made huge strides in women rights.

Highlights of the conversation

• I have not been invisible. I am always available if someone expresses their concerns, and ask questions. Moreover, I have felt immigration is an issue, which the Immigration Minister is best suited to address.

• There is no confusion on how the government has fixed culturally-arranged partnership visas. In cases, where prospective partners are introduced to each other by their respective families, followed by few dates, after which they decide to get married; this will be termed as a culturally-arranged marriage, as far as I understand it.

• I understand the concerns on the threshold being high for the parents visa category, which I must say, was closed earlier. We have reopened it. Moreover, this is a coalition government. But I am sure, my party, Labour, will have internal discussions on the newly introduced threshold for the parent visa category, leading up to the next elections.

• It’s true that some of the attacks on me have become personal, which are not welcome. On allegations that I don’t care about the higher thresholds for parent category visa, as my parents are already here, nothing can be farther from truth. While I lost my mother early this year, my father still lives in India.

• I am proud of what we have achieved at the Nairobi summit, as well as in the New Zealand Parliament, in regards to the rights of women and young girls.

-Gaurav Sharma