Page 2355 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 30 July 2019
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In my life I have been blessed to have a great diversity of experience. I completed my bachelor degree in arts in India, I did my diploma in IT in Melbourne, and I was a nationally ranked butterfly swimmer during my college days. I have been a small business owner and I worked as a car washer. I will tell you what, Madam Speaker: since the news has broken about the car wash, a lot of my friends are leaving their cars outside my house for a good clean-up! I also worked in the e-commerce industry before entering the public service, and now I am here as an MLA. Some people have referred to me as the Indian Forrest Gump.
I loved all of those jobs, but as a young man working in many humble jobs I also learnt lessons about earning and saving money. These embedded in me the values of standing by working people and working Australians. I learnt about the inherent dignity of all workers, and this drew me to the Australian Labor Party.
For the past many years, I have worked for the Department of Defence, but I have kept up my community engagement during this time. During my time I have been lucky enough to serve as the President of the Australia India Business Council ACT chapter. In this role I was involved in policy and advocacy, to enhance the bilateral Australia-India business and trade relationships. This role allowed me to transform the traditional boundaries of business into practical engagements through cooperative interactions.
My time with the Australia India Business Council helped me to partner with all stakeholders, including business houses, and implanted a spirit to pursue development and the fulfilment of common goals for the economies of Australia and India. I believe these cumulative experiences have prepared me to serve my community in the best way I can.
I have lived in Gungahlin for 18 years. It is a beautiful place in which to live. My wife, Shuchi, and I have made our home in Gungahlin and we have raised our two children in Gungahlin. We have sent our children to local schools. Our region is one of the fastest growing in the country, and during this time I have been lucky enough to watch my children grow along with our region. I want to make our region even better for my children and for my community.
A common theme is that I have always been passionate about working for the community, and this gives me a true sense of purpose. This prompted me to engage with my community at a higher level, which led me to political participation. I joined the Australian Labor Party because I wanted to contribute to the development of my local community in Gungahlin, particularly in the areas of growing opportunity for small business, multiculturalism and education.
A great deal of my professional life has been dedicated to improving opportunity for small business. As a former small business owner, I understand the challenges that people face in starting their own enterprises. In the past few weeks I have been sitting down with many small business owners in Gungahlin, having coffee with them, talking to them and trying to understand how I can assist them.
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