New Labour candidate Dr Ayesha Verrall, who has become a familiar face for Kiwis with her expertise during the Covid-19 pandemic, says she is ready to build a stronger health system for New Zealand if elected.
At the Labour Party's 2020 list announcement today, Dr Verrall said it was "an honour to be selected" and that she was proud to work alongside the party's other members.
"I am standing because the pandemic has made clear to me that we can't afford to leave the job of improving our public health system for another day.
"If elected to Parliament I'd like to bring my knowledge and skills to the ongoing fight against the virus because Covid still exists in the world beyond our shores," she said.
Health Minister David Clark dropped down the rankings, while seven new candidates made the list. (Source: Other)
Dr Verrall said as a doctor she wanted to play her part in building "a stronger and better co-ordinated" health system in New Zealand.
"In the last few months you've gotten to know me as a doctor, and an infectious diseases expert through my work on contact tracing," she said. "In Wellington I'm also an elected Labour member of the health board and a national expert on vaccines."
Dr Verrall also said she would bring her experience growing up in provincial New Zealand and being the child of a migrant New Zealander to the role.
"Knowing the conditions that led my mother to seek a better life here has meant that I've always known how lucky we are in New Zealand, and that lesson seems especially important today when we're safe from a virus that is killing hundreds of thousands of people overseas."
Health Minister David Clark, who caused controversy by violating lockdown rules, has slid down the rankings. (Source: Other)
SHARE ME