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Parmjeet Parmar

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Parmjeet Parmar
MP
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for ACT party list
Incumbent
Assumed office
14 October 2023
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for National Party list
In office
20 September 2014 – 17 October 2020
Personal details
Born1970 (age 53–54)
Political partyACT (2023–present)
National (before 2023)
SpouseRavinder Parmar
Children2
Websitehttp://www.parmjeetparmar.co.nz/
Alma materUniversity of Pune
University of Auckland (PhD)
Scientific career
FieldsBiochemistry, neuroscience
ThesisNeuroserpin regulates neurite outgrowth in AtT-20 and PC12 cell lines (2003)

Kushmiita Parmjeet Kaur Parmar (born 1970)[1] is a New Zealand politician.

She was first elected as a Member of the New Zealand House of Representatives in the 2014 general election, representing the National Party. After being deseated in the 2020 general election, Parmar changed allegiance to ACT New Zealand and was elected for that party in the 2023 general election.

Parmar is the first Indian woman to be elected to the New Zealand Parliament.

Early life and career

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Parmar grew up in India where her father served in the Indian Air Force. She completed a master's in biochemistry in India and in 1995 moved to New Zealand to join her husband. At the University of Auckland, she gained a PhD in neuroscience and the title of her 2003 doctoral thesis was Neuroserpin regulates neurite outgrowth in AtT-20 and PC12 cell lines.[2] She then worked as a scientist.

In 2007, Parmar and her husband became directors of confectionery company, Kiwi Empire Confectionery Limited.[3] She also worked as a current affairs and talkback host on Radio Tarana, and accompanied prime ministers Helen Clark and John Key on their official visits to India as a member of the press.[4]

Parmar held two government appointments prior to becoming a politician. She was appointed as a community representative on the Film and Video Labelling Body in 2012.[5] The following year, she was appointed to the board of the Families Commission (later Superu).[6]

In early 2014, Parmar was photographed wearing a National Party ribbon with John Key at an Auckland event. This fuelled rumors of that Parmar would run in that year's election as a National candidate, and led Labour MP Rajen Prasad (who was also a former chief Families Commissioner) to question whether it was appropriate for Parmar to remain on the Family Commission board.[7] When Parmar was eventually confirmed as a National candidate, she said she would resign from the board immediately.[8]

Political career

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New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2014–2017 51st List 48 National
2017–2020 52nd List 34 National
2023–present 54th List 9 ACT

National Party

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Parmar was announced as a National Party candidate in June 2014.[8] She contested the Mount Roskill electorate at the 2014 election and came second place after Labour's candidate Phil Goff. Ranked at 48 on National's party list, she was elected as a list MP. Goff retired in 2016; Parmar unsuccessfully contested Mount Roskill against Labour's Michael Wood in the subsequent by-election, and again at the 2017 general election where she was returned as a list MP.[9]

In her maiden speech of 28 October 2014, Parmar stated her values of "strong, caring families and communities, personal responsibility, and equal citizenship and opportunities" and set out her priorities for the science sector and small businesses.[10] In her first term, during the final three years of the Fifth National Government, Parmar was a member of the social services committee and transport and industrial relations committee.[11] In 2017, she was briefly deputy chair of the transport and industrial relations committee.[11]

Parmar’s member’s bill, the Newborn Enrolment with General Practice Bill, was introduced on 10 May 2017.[12] The bill, which proposed to require newborns to be enrolled with a general practice before the age of 6 months, passed its first reading with support of all parties and was referred to the health committee.[12][13] At its second reading in mid-2018, the bill was voted down with members in the majority arguing that enrolment of newborns with general practices is already required without legislation.[14][15]

In her second term, when National formed the official opposition, Parmar was appointed the party's spokesperson for research, science and innovation from 2017 to 2020, as an associate spokesperson for economic development from 2018 to 2020, and as spokesperson for statistics in 2020.[11] She was a member of the economic development, science and innovation committee from 2017 to 2018 and chair of the education and workforce committee from 2018 to 2020.[11] As science and innovation spokesperson, Parmar advocated for more certainty of funding for fire research in light of Port Hills and Nelson fires[16] and for financial security for Crown Research Institutes.[17] She supported legislative change to enable gene-editing as a means to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.[18][19]

Parmar's second member's bill, the Patents (Advancement Patents) Amendment Bill, was debated in August 2018. It proposed to create a second-tier patent with lesser eligibility requirements and protection compared to the standard patent.[20][21] The bill attracted attention from local patent attorneys,[22] the software industry,[23] and from overseas jurisdictions[24][25][26][27] but was ultimately unsuccessful at its first reading.

Parmar worked with a Mt Roskill local amenity, Stardome Observatory, to help fix an issue that all Auckland Regional Amenities faced in regards to their financial reporting requirements. Parmar sponsored a private bill, the Auckland Regional Amenities Funding Amendment Bill, which was supported by all parties and became law on 2 July 2020.[28]

In response to comments by New Zealand First MP Shane Jones in which he stated that immigrants that criticised immigration policies should "catch the first plane home," Parmar sent a letter to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern expressing her concerns.[29][30] On the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's birth, Parmar ran a petition for his statute to be installed in Auckland to acknowledge his legacy. At the time of launching her petition, she said "that a statue of Mahatma Gandhi is not just about India and New Zealand, and/or Indians in New Zealand, it is about honouring his legacy – the legacy that is ever lasting and is influencing civilised societies all around the world."[31]

Parmar was defeated in Mount Roskill at the 2020 election and the National Party did not win enough support for her to return as a list MP.[32] She sought the National candidacy in Mount Roskill, Upper Harbour, and Maungakiekie ahead of the 2023 general election but was not selected.[33]

ACT New Zealand

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On 31 May 2023, Parmar announced her return to politics, switching her party affiliation from National to ACT. That same day, she was confirmed as the ACT candidate for Pakuranga.[34] In July, ACT placed her ninth on its party list.[35]

During the 2023 New Zealand general election held on 14 October, Parmar was elected to Parliament on the ACT party list.[36] She also came third place in the Pakuranga electorate, gaining 1,298 votes.[37]

As ACT's education spokesperson, Parmar objected to the University of Auckland's designated safe spaces for Māori and Pasifika students. She argued that the policy was racially discriminatory, divisive and failed to address historical injustices faced by ethnic minorities in New Zealand.[38]

Personal life

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While still living in India, Parmar's family arranged for her to marry Ravinder Parmar, who was a New Zealand citizen.[29] They have two sons.[10]

References

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  1. ^ "Roll of members of the New Zealand House of Representatives, 1854 onwards" (PDF). New Zealand Parliament. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  2. ^ Parmar, Parmjeet (2003). Neuroserpin regulates neurite outgrowth in AtT-20 and PC12 cell lines (Doctoral thesis). ResearchSpace@Auckland, University of Auckland. hdl:2292/1074.
  3. ^ "KIWI EMPIRE CONFECTIONERY LIMITED (1967482) Registered". New Zealand Companies Office.
  4. ^ "Military upbringing aids National candidate Parmjeet Parmar's Roskill fight". The New Zealand Herald. 29 November 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  5. ^ "Film and Video Labelling Body appointments | Beehive.govt.nz". www.beehive.govt.nz. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  6. ^ "Appointments to the Families Commission". New Zealand Gazette. 30 May 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  7. ^ "Families Commission questioned over political links". Stuff. 12 March 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  8. ^ a b "National selects Parmjeet Parmar as Mt Roskill candidate". www.scoop.co.nz. 14 June 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  9. ^ "Mt Roskill: Electoral Profile – New Zealand Parliament". New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  10. ^ a b "Parmar, Parmjeet: Address in Reply - New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  11. ^ a b c d "Parmar, Parmjeet - New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  12. ^ a b "Newborn Enrolment with General Practice Bill – New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  13. ^ "Newborn Enrolment with General Practice Bill — First Reading". www.parliament.nz. 13 December 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  14. ^ "Newborn Enrolment with General Practice Bill — Second Reading - New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  15. ^ "Govt to withdraw support for National's bill requiring newborns to be registered with GPs". Stuff. 8 May 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  16. ^ "Bushfires illustrate need to fund fire research – Parmjeet Parmar". www.voxy.co.nz. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  17. ^ "Three state research institutes on watch amid funding concerns". NZ Herald. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  18. ^ "Comment: Time to modernise our Biotech laws". NZ Herald. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  19. ^ "National would overhaul law governing gene editing". NZ Herald. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  20. ^ "Bill to introduce second-tier patent system drawn". www.voxy.co.nz. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  21. ^ "Patents (Advancement Patents) Amendment Bill – New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  22. ^ "Second-tier patent system proposed for New Zealand". www.thelawyermag.com. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  23. ^ "Software industry to benefit under proposed patent law changes". NBR. 9 April 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  24. ^ "New Zealand's proposed second-tier "Advancement" patent yet to advance". Shelston IP. 18 July 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  25. ^ "Same-same but different: Will the fate of second-tier patents be the same on both sides of the tasman?". www.griffithhack.com. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  26. ^ Summerfield, Mark. "With Second-Tier Patent Rights in Retreat in Australia, Are They Making an 'Advancement' in New Zealand?". Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  27. ^ "New Zealand to adopt the Innovation Patent 'baby' Australia is threatening to throw out with the bathwater?". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  28. ^ "Auckland Regional Amenities Funding Amendment Bill – New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  29. ^ a b "Shane, you're wrong: National MP happily in an arranged marriage for 25 years". Stuff. 9 November 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  30. ^ "Parmjeet Parmar writes to PM about Shane Jones". indiannewslink.co.nz. 3 November 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  31. ^ "Honour the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi". The Indian News. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  32. ^ "Labour's red tide sees its parliamentary diversity increase". RNZ. 19 October 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  33. ^ Pearse, Adam (31 May 2023). "'National needs to work harder': Former National MP jumps to Act Party". Newstalk ZB. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  34. ^ Smith, Anneke (31 May 2023). "Former National MP Parmjeet Parmar switches to ACT for 2023 election". RNZ.
  35. ^ Whyte, Anna (16 July 2023). "ACT releases candidate list, MP James McDowall to retire". Stuff. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  36. ^ "2023 General Election - Successful Candidates". Electoral Commission. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 22 November 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  37. ^ "Pakuranga - Official Result". Electoral Commission. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  38. ^ Parmar, Parmjeet (30 March 2024). "Auckland University's designated Maori and Pacific spaces: ACT education spokeswoman Parmjeet Parmar's view". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 4 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
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