New Zealand has been my home since the 1980s. I was born in Sri Lanka, and my parents fled the civil war to settle here. My mum worked in aged-care and my dad was an engineer. I’m fighting for workers like my mum and dad who need good jobs, a public health system and affordable living.

I’m 46 and live with my family in South Auckland, where I've worked as an immigration lawyer. Before that I was overseas as a UN peacekeeper in war zones and as an adviser to the UN Secretary-General, former Portugese Prime Minister António Guterres for four years. 

I also completed a Master's degree at Harvard University studying economics and politics on a full merit-based scholarship, passed the New York Bar Exam, and was a Wasserstein Fellow at Harvard Law School.