Dr. Chula Rajapakse MNZM

I write  among others, to thank you for giving us the opportunity once again of listening to your precise and succinct analysis of current issues pertaining to New Zealand, both nationally and internationally , as you always do on occasions such as these. As a resident of the Hutt for over two and a half decades, it has been a delight to see Hutt receive the unprecedented Prime Ministerial attention   it has received under your stewardship and the support you have given Chris Bishop MP , as he attempts to transform the “Hutt Valley” into a Smart Valley”  technically and economically.

As indicated in the discussion, whilst acknowledging the support your government has already shown by awarding immigration points to potential new immigrants for settling out side Auckland for I believe five years, there many other measures that are conceivable to ease the housing congestion and disproportionate cost of them in Auckland compared to for e.g.  Wellington or the Hutt. Actively making those already resident  as individuals or businesses  in Auckland , aware of the opportunities of much greater space at a much lesser cost and without gridlock traffic both AM & PM, in the latter centres , through active and catchy  marketing campaigns, initiated by relevant local bodies and central government, using multi media and dedicated seminars , are  some of these measures that come to mind.

On the issue of central government supporting the lengthening of the  Wellington airport runway to take on long haul international flights, as in the past on Tuesday too  you emphasised the importance of securing the buy in from Air New Zealand for making the business case for this project. Whilst accepting this entirely. I would venture that one way to do this might be through exploring the potential for  new routs currently poorly serviced by any air line. One such rout that I have been painfully aware of  for a while is the access to South Asia  ( India,Pakistan Sri Lanka & Bangladesh) from Australia & New Zealand. At the moment the only way to access these destinations is to go east unnecessarily  to South East Asia and deviate westerly to ones destination in South Asia.. A more economical way would be to go direct to South Asia for eg. Colombo and have connections from there with local airlines to the ultimate city destinations in these neighbouring countries , so reducing considerably flying time and cost.Further accessing Europe via Colombo would also  be shorter from Australian and New Zealand   than the current flight paths via south east Asia, and  in fact used to be the flight path to Europenih before south east Asia came into prominence. These opportunities could attract potential traffic, tourist and expatriates from all of Australia and New Zealand to these destinations that account for a population of over 1.5 billion not to mention European traffic.  These are some thoughts I believe are worth pursuing .

You may remember that I wrote to you a few weeks ago updating you on the recent happenings in Sri Lanka ahead of your meeting with it’s new President, Mr Maitripala Sirisena at the UN in September. Many Sri Lankans still continue to entertain the concerns I referred to that Mr Sirisena’s government has been forced into accepting intrusive  investigations at the hands of foreign judges and lawyers based on questionable allegations initiated by the international Tiger diaspora, the very people that sustained three decades of terrorism in Sri Lanka. The real reason it is felt,  for the US led resolutions that led to this was  the economic closeness of Sri Lanka to China under the previous Mahinda Rajapakse regime. This closeness was considered contrary to US’ s interest in influencing the geopolitics of the Indian Ocean.

Listening to you on Tuesday, detailing the beneficial impact for New Zealand on the  ever increasing trade & tourism with China,  considering Australia’s extensive business links with China & now the the glittering  Golden Chariot welcome  UK led by Her Majesty the Queen is extending to the visiting Chinese president at Buckingham palace, courting Chinese investment and business  leaves me with absolute frustration at the unfairness  of  Sri Lanka  being singled out for a beating  for doing what seems to be entirely in order  for every one else to do. New Zealand’s role in the security council must surely include being aware of &  standing up against such deplorable double standards.

Thank you once again for affording us a very pleasing evening.

Yours Sincerely

Dr. Chula Rajapakse MNZM

FRCP/FRACP/ D.Med Rehab

Physician/ RheumatologistVisit & Speech At Dowse Museum Lower Hutt.Tuesday  20.10.15