Vote Parmjeet and get Fia

Stuff reports:

A politician who believes in stigmata and thinks Donald Trump was “anointed” by God could have the most to gain from the Mt Roskill by-election on Saturday.

Labour’s Michael Wood and National’s Parmjeet Parmar will vie for the seat recently vacated by new Auckland mayor and Labour stalwart Phil Goff.

If Wood wins the seat, party numbers will remain unchanged in Parliament.

However, Parmar is already a list MP – so a win for her as an electorate MP means the next National list MP also enters Parliament. She is Mangere’s Misa Fia Turner.

National Party president Peter Goodfellow backed Turner and her beliefs as being suitable for Parliament.

In a statement, he said: “While Labour likes to attack people based on Chinese sounding names or exclude people with proud religious beliefs, like a lot of our friends in the Pacific community, National welcomes people of all ethnicities and cultures.”

Fia has strong religious beliefs, but National is a party that has wide diversity from devout Christians to staunch atheists.

Fia’s background is here:

Misa Fia Turner was born and raised in Samoa, and has lived in Mangere for nearly twenty years. She is a mother of four and grandmother of three.

She is the co-founder and Clinical Manager of ‘Malu I Uo Faatuatua Family Relationship Services, providing counselling, family therapy, clinical and cultural supervision, facilitation and mediation, training and mentoring. She is also Clinical Practice Manager for Genesis Youth Trust, a Police Youth Development Programme working with youth at risk and families with a focus on reducing youth crime and re-offending.

Amongst a wide range of community activities, Ms Turner is an active church leader and a member of the South Auckland Family Violence Prevention Network.