*Ginny Andersen Should Look in the Mirror Before Lecturing on Small Business Pain*
When Ginny Andersen talks about the struggles of small businesses, I can’t help but ask: what’s her real understanding of the Indian community and the corner dairies, takeaways, and small family shops that keep our suburbs alive? Because from where I stand, her record as Police Minister showed not empathy, but detachment. She will go down in history as one of the most ineffective ministers to ever hold the portfolio.
*Where Was She When Our Community Needed Her*?
Dairy owners across New Zealand cried out for help while violent crime swept through their shops. Assaults, robberies, and ram raids became a daily reality. Families feared for their lives simply by opening their doors to trade. Yet when Ginny Andersen held the power to act, she did nothing meaningful.
Let’s not forget Janak Patel, murdered in cold blood while working in a dairy. His death should have been a turning point. Instead, it became another symbol of government inaction. Even after this tragedy, small business owners continued to be robbed, raided, and attacked. Ms Andersen did not deliver policy, practical solutions, or even a shred of urgency.
*Photo Ops Instead of Policy*
Over the last 3–4 years, she was asked time and again to come and experience what dairy owners face. Stand on a corner on a Friday or Saturday night, we told her. See what it’s like. Listen to our people. But she never did.
Instead, she turned up for photos and left without answers. No wonder the Dairy Owners Association walked away after four failed meetings with her before the 2023 election. They realised what many of us already knew: her concern was more about political optics than about the safety of small business families.
From her Wellington office, she now writes about “small business pain.” In reality, those words only highlight her own failures.
*The Record Speaks for Itself*
Here are the shocking statistics during her tenure as Police Minister:
• Small businesses were burgled and robbed 18 times a day.
• Ram raids occurred every 10 hours.
• Retail crime rose 99%.
• Violent crime rose 33%.
• Ram raids skyrocketed 550%.
This was the reality when we took a petition with 40,000 signatures to Parliament in May 2023, demanding action. What did we get in return? Platitudes. Opposition to real safety measures. Empty rhetoric.
*Communities Deserve Better*
When she points fingers at the current government, she forgets her own record. She forgets the sleepless nights endured by shopkeepers. She forgets the children of dairy owners who grew up watching their parents assaulted and traumatised.
The Indian community in particular has been on the frontlines of retail crime. Yet Ms Andersen never listened, never engaged deeply, and never fought for us when she had the chance. That’s why her newfound concern for small business rings hollow.
*Less Talk, More Action*
If Ginny Andersen wants to speak about economic pressures on families and businesses, she should first acknowledge her failure to provide safety and security when it mattered most. Because without safety, no small business can thrive.
Small business owners don’t need more slogans. They need practical solutions, safer communities, and leaders who stand alongside them, not just when it’s convenient, but when it’s dangerous.
That’s what leadership looks like. And that’s what New Zealand’s hardworking small business families deserve. –by Ash Parmar, Ash Parmar is a well-known retailer and respected community leader based in Waikato