Kushmiita Parmjeet Kaur Parmar (born 1970)[1] is a New Zealand politician who was elected to the New Zealand parliament at the 2014 general election as a representative of the New Zealand National Party.
Parmjeet Parmar
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Member of the New Zealand Parliament for List | |
In office 20 September 2014 – 17 October 2020 | |
Personal details | |
Born | 1970 (age 53–54) |
Political party | National |
Spouse | Ravinder Parmar |
Children | 2 |
Website | http://www.parmjeetparmar.co.nz/ |
Alma mater | University of Pune University of Auckland (PhD) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Biochemistry, neuroscience |
Thesis | Neuroserpin regulates neurite outgrowth in AtT-20 and PC12 cell lines (2003) |
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Parmar grew up in India where her father served in the Indian Air Force. She completed a masters in biochemistry in India and in 1995 moved to New Zealand to join her husband. In Auckland, she gained a PhD in neuroscience and worked as a scientist. She worked as a current affairs and talkback host in radio broadcasting, and accompanied former prime ministers Helen Clark and John Key on their official visits to India. The National Party appointed her to the board of the-then Families Commission in 2013. She entered Parliament as a National list MP in 2014.[2]
Years | Term | Electorate | List | Party | |
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2014–2017 | 51st | List | 48 | National | |
2017–2020 | 52nd | List | 34 | National |
In early 2014, Parmar was photographed wearing a National Party ribbon with John Key at an Auckland event. This led to Labour MP Rajen Prasad to question whether it was appropriate for Parmar to remain as a commissioner for the Families Commission, fueled also by rumours of Parmar's potential of running as a candidate for the 2014 general election.[3]
After originally contesting the National Party's Hunua selection, Parmar contested the Mount Roskill electorate at the 2014 election, placing second after Labour's Phil Goff. Ranked 48th on National's party list, she was elected as a list MP.
In November 2015, it was revealed housing officials tried to hide Parmar's attempt to use a Government housing roadshow to raise her profile in the Mount Roskill area.[4]
Parmar contested the 2016 Mount Roskill by-election[5] on 3 December 2016, but she was unsuccessful, with Labour's Michael Wood winning by a comfortable margin.[6] She was successful in campaigning for the party vote in the 2014 election, with National winning the party vote in the electorate for the first time since the seat's formation.[7] National won the party vote in the seat again in the 2017 election.[7]
During the 2020 general election, Parmar contested Mount Roskill but was defeated by Wood, who retained the seat by a margin of 9,514 votes.[8] She also lost her seat in Parliament based on preliminary results.[9]
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