The New Zealand Indian Central Association Inc. (NZICA) is delighted to announce the resounding
success of its highly anticipated Youth Conference held at the Mahatma Gandhi Centre, Auckland on
Saturday, 25 November 2023. The conference featured distinguished speakers, prominent guests,
and enthusiastic participants from all over New Zealand making it a remarkable and insightful
gathering.

The Youth Conference aimed to address crucial issues related to the well-being of young individuals
in the New Zealand Indian community. It provided a platform for thought-provoking discussions,
knowledge sharing and networking opportunities for the youth.

Renowned speakers who graced the conference with their wisdom and insights included Simran
Kaur, Jazz Thornton, IOPNZ (Arrun Soma, Ajay Chhibber, Moushumi Das). Their thought-provoking
talks and engaging discussions left a profound impact on the participants, empowering them with
valuable insights and knowledge.

The outstanding success of this event would not have been possible without the dedicated efforts of
the NZICA Youth Committee Chairman Shashi Patel and his highly energetic and enthusiastic team.
Their commitment to ensuring the success of the conference was evident in every aspect of the
event, from planning to execution.

The presence of esteemed NZICA Life Members, Harshad K Patel and Bhikhu Bhana added prestige
and significance to the occasion. Life Members guidance and support have been instrumental in
shaping the NZICA’s journey, and their attendance at the conference was truly appreciated.
The event was also graced by the presence of the NZICA Business Committee Chairman Dipak Bhana,
Navtej Randhawa from National Party and Suneel Kuncha from New Zealand Telugu Association,
who showed their support for the youth and their dedication to promoting Youth well-being.

NZICA would like to extend its heartfelt gratitude to all the participants who attended the
conference and actively contributed to the discussions. The event’s success was a testament to the
enthusiasm and commitment of the Youth within the New Zealand Indian community.

Special thanks goes to the Auckland Indian Association for their warm hospitality and for providing
the ideal venue for this significant gathering.

Last but not least, NZICA would like to express its sincere appreciation to the generous sponsors who
provided crucial financial support, making the Youth Conference possible. Their commitment to the
community’s well-being is truly commendable, and their financial contribution is deeply valued.
NZICA remains committed to fostering the well-being and growth of the New Zealand Indian
community, especially its Youth and Women. The resounding success of the Youth Conference is a
testament to the organisation’ dedication to this noble cause

Casino operator SkyCity had over a quarter of a billion dollars wiped off its market value on Monday after the Department of Internal Affairs applied to suspend its gaming licence.

SkyCity is accused of failing to uphold its host responsibilities due to the amount of time one customer was able to spend gambling between August 2017 and February 2021.

The news has prompted organisations like the Problem Gambling Foundation and Asian Family Services to call for more robust gambling harm reduction measures.

It was now up to the Gambling Commission to decide whether or not to suspend the casino giant’s licence after a customer complained about how long they were able to spend gambling over the three-and-a-half year period.

The Department of Internal Affairs said this was in breach of SkyCity’s harm-minimisation obligations, and recommended cancelling its licence for 10 days or so.

Problem Gambling Foundation spokesperson Andree Froude said the department was to be applauded for taking such quick action.

”It sends a clear signal to other gambling providers that they are required by law to provide effective host responsibility and that breaches have consequences,” Froude said.

“So it is good to see, without having all the details, that some action is being taken.”

Froude was also calling for a review of current harm reduction measures.

”New Zealand evidence suggests that people who gamble for three or more hours on casino pokies, have almost four times the risk of being a moderate or problem gambler, than someone who doesn’t gamble on casino pokies.

“So we’ve actually strongly recommended that the timeframe of 5 hours of continuous play be reviewed.”

Asian Family Services agreed.

National director Kelly Feng said more needed to be done to ensure services were accessible to non-English speakers.

”We know many Asians have little or lack of awareness of gambling harm and also the gambling addiction sites… there is very little information they have regarding help seeking behaviour,” Feng said

Gambling rates in the community were high, she said.

”The Asian community experiences 10 times the harm of gambling harm in particular… it is much higher than the general population, like Māori and Pacifica as well, particular for casino type gambling.”

Salvation Army’s director of social services Lynette Hutson believed current measures and processes were fit for purpose.

But she said providers need to ensure staff were trained to identify problem gamblers.

”I think that the training that is available is fairly robust, I mean we have been doing this work for a long time, so we know the kind of triggers and symptoms. It’s actually just a matter of the venues actually enforcing their training,” she said.

Meanwhile, Forsyth Barr head of research Andy Bowley believed the financial impact if the licence was suspended, would be minimal.

”In isolation, the potential financial impact of a suspended licence for ten days is relatively material… so it could be a few percent of their profits in any one year, which isn’t overly big,” he said.

”The bigger question is what else is out there, that the DIA [Department of Internal Affairs] could be investigating.”

But as of shortly after 3pm on Monday, around about $260 million was wiped off SkyCity’s market value.

In a statement, SkyCity said it was committed to maintaining the highest standards of host responsibility best practice, with priority given to minimising the impacts associated with problem gambling.

SkyCity’s Adelaide casino was also under scrutiny by Australian federal and state authorities for alleged breaches of anti-money laundering rules.

VIA RNZ

The gender gap on KiwiSaver balances has grown, with men having on average 25 percent more money in their KiwiSaver balance at the end of last year.

The KiwiSaver gender gap increased 5 percent in a year, according to new research from the Retirement Commission.

The commission studied more than three million KiwiSaver members, with the research representing approximately 94 percent of the total member base.

An age breakdown of the research participants showed the gender gap in every age group category widened, but larger gaps opened in younger age groups.

The gap for 18-25 year olds increased 7 percent, to 23 percent and the gap for 31-35 year olds widened 8 percent, to 27 percent.

Te Ara Ahunga Ora director of policy and research Dr Suzy Morrissey said the research showed some of the challenges women faced when trying to grow their KiwiSaver balances.

“Analysis of the widening gap does not appear to be explained by fund choice, withdrawal, or suspension behaviour of women compared to men,” she said.

“The widening of the gap at younger ages is particularly concerning because of compounding interest.

“Money invested earlier will have time to grow, but if women’s balances are lower than men’s in younger life, they will likely remain lower.”

For the first time, the research compared member balances across age and gender by fund type, finding more than a third of all funds under management were assets invested in growth funds, although this allocation decreased with age.

Men had more assets invested in growth funds, while women had more assets invested in conservative funds, Morrissey said.

“This difference is smaller at younger ages and more pronounced for those nearing age 65, and over 65.

“Analysis suggests that women are not necessarily more risk averse, as both men and women tend to be invested in lower risk funds if they have small balances and have more growth assets if they have larger balances.

“Women’s lower balances (on average) may lead them to be less risk-seeking.”

Morrissey said the widest gaps of average balances were still between men and women in their 40s and 50s, which likely reflected the combined impact of the gender pay gap, time out of paid work, and the higher percentage of women than men who work part-time.

Source: RNZ