DR GAURAV SHARMA
Re-elect for Hamilton West
For the past 2 years I have been your Member of Parliament, and have raised your concerns and feedback both within the government and in Parliament. I am standing again as a candidate for the Hamilton West by-election and have what it takes to continue to raise your voice in Parliament and hold the government of any colour to account.
ABOUT ME
I did my schooling from Auckland Grammar and studied Bachelor of Medicine & Surgery at the University of Auckland Medical School. Before getting elected as an MP, I was working as a General Practitioner (GP) in Nawton, Hamilton. I also have a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the George Washington University in Washington DC where I was a Fulbright Scholar. I have previously been involved in clinical medicine, public health, policy, non-profit and business sectors in New Zealand, Spain, USA, Nepal, Vietnam, Mongolia and Switzerland.
ELECTORATE WORK
Increasing access to Hamilton West constituents has been an important focus of mine since I got elected as an MP. In the last 2 years, despite several lockdowns I have held 52
constituent clinics across different neighbourhoods of Hamilton in community centres, churches, markets, after-hours pharmacy, schools and cafes to give people more options to meet me and discuss their issues. I understand that not everyone is able to get time off during work hours to see an MP, so most of these neighbourhood clinics were in the weekends, after-hours or during lunch time. I have assisted over 2,000 constituents with issues. In addition to this I have hosted large public meetings with the NZ Police to discuss rising crime in the city, and with Kainga Ora regarding new public housing development in the electorate. I have also led a strong team of volunteers to help with 6 neighbourhood cleanups, 4 tree plantings and 6 blood donation drives.
PARLIAMENTARY WORK
I have been the Co-Chair of PCAL (Parliamentary Champions for Accessibility Legislation) and have been on the Health Select Committee where I evaluated over 30,000 submissions on various bills and questioned the work of DHBs, Ministers and government agencies. I acknowledge that people of Hamilton West have a diverse range of opinions and I have tried to present all of these in Wellington. While I think 3 Waters has some merit, I was the only MP who took a petition against 3 Waters to present to Parliament as its important to me that we have a robust discussion on all policy issues.
Similarly I have taken and supported petitions on removing sugary drinks from our schools, on removal of the Russian Ambassador to NZ, on more support for patients with Eating Disorders, on offshore stuck migrants, and on cross-parliamentary collaboration. It is my view that as an MP I should be able to present views from across the spectrum whether or not I agree with these.
WHY AM I STARTING A NEW PARTY?
New Zealand at the moment is at a breaking point where ram raids have become a daily occurence and our health system is struggling with long waiting lists due to mismanagement and chronic underinvestment. Not only has the government spent $500 million on a botched up health reform, $200 million on centralising tertiary education sector, another $350 million is now being spent on TVNZ & RNZ merger. Our housing crisis is one of the worst in the world, and in the last 5 years the government has only built 1,400 KiwiBuild homes out of the 100,000 promised and there are 21,000 more people on the emergency housing waiting list with many families sleeping in cars. Workforce shortages along with unchecked crime is driving businesses to close.
Instead of focussing on ideologies, there is now a MOMENTUM for more centrist approach to focus on the basic stuff first - fixing our crime problem, addressing our housing crisis, planning for our workforce shortage in healthcare, hospitality, education and other sectors, while making sure policies are pragmatic and delivered.
WHY SHOULD YOU VOTE FOR ME?
As a doctor I entered politics to challenge the status quo and to make meaningful change. It is my belief that if an MP can't speak up for themself, they will never be able to speak up for their constituents. This is true for MPs across the political spectrum from the big parties. Over the last many months you would have seen me repeatedly ask the government serious and important questions on a range of issues. I have what it takes to continue to raise your voice in Parliament and hold government of any colour to account in these tough times because for me
COUNTRY COMES BEFORE PARTY.
Vote between 28 November - 10 December