HON SIMON BRIDGES MP for TAURANGA - Newsletter

nospam@example.com (admin) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:24:56 +1300

The Bridges Brief - February 2012

nospam@example.com (admin) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 12:08:48 +1200

The Bridges Brief - August 2011

Weekend Sun Column

nospam@example.com (admin) — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 16:43:00 +1300

While it is debatable when it begins, we are clearly now well into the “silly season” with all the end of year Christmas functions, the present shopping (which some of us who are less organised haven’t even started yet!) and the putting up of Christmas trees and Christmas decorations and lights. While those of us who have behaved ourselves during the year wait eagerly for Santa’s visit, I encourage you to go and look at the house lights trails around Tauranga and to check out some of the wonderful nativity scenes our local churches have put up.

My past fortnight has been very hectic with select committee duties taking me around the country. In between that I have enjoyed coming home for the weekend. Last weekend I particularly enjoyed attending the Tauranga Special Olympics swimming races at Greerton Aquatic Centre. This wonderful event was attended by hundreds of competitors and family members from around the country and I commend Patricia Wakelin and her team for all their hard work making this and other events for sports people with special needs happen.

Focusing on the frontline of health

In October, you voted for people to be members of our District Health Board. They are responsible for providing frontline public health services for you and your family.

Last week, Health Minister Tony Ryall appointed additional members to DHBs. These appointments included 10 new DHB chairs, and some who will serve on more than one board.

Cross-appointments in DHBs allow for greater cooperation across regions. They improve the planning and management of healthcare. They help doctors, nurses, and health professionals in different DHBs work together more effectively. They will help improve the delivery of healthcare to people in our communities who need it.

DHBs play an important role. They work with the new National Health Board to drive better frontline health services and ensure that scarce health dollars are spent wisely.
They manage local priorities and are responsible for meeting the six national health targets.

Our health targets simplify the previous complex reporting systems in our health service.

The targets are helping DHBs improve the quality of frontline care and treatment for patients. They are:

-Shorter waiting times for emergency department treatment.
-Better help for smokers to quit.
-Increased immunisation for children.
-Better diabetes and cardiovascular services.
-Shorter waiting times for critical cancer treatment.
-More elective surgery.

The latest reports on our health targets show real progress. DHBs are delivering better frontline services for more people with our growing investment in health.

For example, in September last year, 20 per cent of patients were waiting more than six hours in emergency departments. That has now reduced to 13 per cent. That’s a big improvement. And it’s just a start.

Shorter waiting times mean better treatment for patients in emergency departments, and better frontline services across our hospitals.

In addition to our health targets, we’re training and hiring more doctors and nurses for public hospitals. We are also continuing to increase places in medical schools and GP training. More than 1000 extra nurses and 200 extra doctors are now working in hospitals around the country to ensure better frontline services for patients.

National is improving the way that DHBs work together. We’re reducing waiting times and providing more elective surgery. And we’re hiring more doctors and more nurses. Our relentless focus on the health frontline is helping to provide better, sooner, more convenient healthcare for you and your family.

nospam@example.com (admin) — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 09:22:00 +1300

The Bridges Brief -October 2010

The Bridges Brief - August 2010

nospam@example.com (admin) — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 17:30:10 +1200

World Expo – Shanghai, China

At the end of July I was privileged to attend the Shanghai World Expo with a large Bay of Plenty delegation made up of over 50 business people, educationalists and other civic leaders such as MP Todd McClay, Mayor Stuart Crosby, EBOP Chair John Cronin, and Councillor Bill Faulkner. Much was achieved and I enjoyed a busy and fascinating trip to a remarkable country.

In contrast to expectations, Shanghai was clean, green, highly organised and prosperous. This wealth is growing a burgeoning middle class that is fuelling strong trade with New Zealand.

Shanghai: The old and the new

Indeed, on one set of figures I have seen the Chinese middle class – those earning at least 80,000 yuan (approximately NZ$16,500) annually – will reach 700 million, or 48 percent of the country’s population, by 2020. Most in this class live in economically go-ahead regions and big cities such as Shanghai, which currently has a population of around 20 million people.

Asia-wide there are today 3 million millionaires, 26 percent more than a year ago: this means a region, in which China is the leading power house, that controls more wealth than Europe and is closing in quickly on North America. As an example of this prosperity, that sees the Asian rich control $9.7 trillion in assets, think of this mind-boggling number: Chinese millionaires spent $830 million on fine art last year. That’s some pretty valuable paintings!

Of course this expanding group of middle class and very wealthy citizens are providing a ready market for all manner of goods and services increasingly from our country.

As you will probably know, New Zealand was the first developed country to negotiate and then complete a free trade agreement with China in 2008. The importance of this cannot be overestimated.

Stemming from our FTA, China has gone from well back in New Zealand’s trade pack to recently overtake the USA as our second biggest trading partner behind Australia. In the darkest days of the recession in the 2009 calendar year our exports to China increased a massive 43 percent.

It is estimated that China will very soon be our largest trading partner and when our PM John Key recently met with the Premier of China, Wen Jiabao, it was agreed in principle that our nations would work together to double our annual $10 billion in trade to $20 billion by 2015. Out of this figure, we hope to treble New Zealand’s exports from $4 to $12 billion and a large quantity will be in education, tourism and, of course, quality New Zealand produce.

Mayor Stuart Crosby and I roped into the Haka at World Expo – hundreds of adoring Chinese look on

While in Shanghai I got to see both the future potential but also the already proven success of our produce going to middle class Chinese willing to pay top dollar (or yuan). On a day with local representatives of Tauranga-based success story Zespri, I learned that Shanghai alone consumes 400,000 trays of kiwifruit a month.

Year-to-date growth is a staggering 66% and demand for gold kiwi is so strong we simply can’t supply enough. Chinese love the Gold kiwifruit for its sweetness and nutrition and unlike with the green variety, in the Gold market Zespri does not face competition.

Perhaps most interesting is who the target market is. Given what I have already said, you will appreciate that it is from amongst the rising middle class and the rich. But the primary target audience is even more specific: young women eating kiwifruit because they care about their health and beauty and with China’s one child policy they care about their child’s health.

Zespri kiwifruit is known in China by the slogan, “small fruit, big nutrition.” In one plush inner supermarket I visited, Zespri Gold kiwi were selling for - wait for it - $5 a piece.

The kiwifruit story is by no means the only good news for the Bay of Plenty coming out of China. Many other businesses on our trip developed and deepened relationships while I was there so that discernable advances could be seen.

The Bay of Plenty Aquaculture delegation in Shanghai with me realised trade and investment opportunities beyond their best expectations. In particular, meetings with Oriental Ocean, the number one seafood business in China, has resulted in its President coming to New Zealand next month. He will in all probability conclude arrangements that will see our green lipped mussels processed in Tauranga before heading to Oriental Oceans’ high value seafood stores throughout China.

There also remains the potential for us to export further sea produce through Oriental Ocean such as sea cucumbers (a delicacy in China), scallops, and other fish, sourced mainly from the Eastern Bay of Plenty, but set to be processed and shipped from Tauranga.

Sea cucumbers in the water and ready for sale in Shanghai

Out and about

In addition to attending to my parliamentary duties this month, I have greatly enjoyed visiting nearly every primary school in the Tauranga electorate. Before the end of the year I will have visited all of our schools (some several times). Our teachers and principals do a wonderful job for us and ensure that our children get one of the best educations in the country.

My vision is our city’s students will be able to put skills learned to great use in our region in the future. Perhaps they will be involved in the science needed to keep our horticulture and aquaculture businesses at the cutting edge worldwide, so that affluent Asians of the future will continue paying a premium for our top quality nutritious produce.

The Bridges Brief - July 2010

nospam@example.com (admin) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 16:48:42 +1200

June was a hectic month in Tauranga and Parliament. Looking back at my diary so much happened but my happiest memories are of some great groups I met with. Let me give you a flavour.

In Tauranga

With National MPs Melissa Lee and Kanwaljit Bakshi it was great to see thriving Korean and Indian communities in our city. Their populations and contributions are steadily growing. I also always get a kick out of talking to student groups, and in June I spoke to class rooms of young people from Mount Maunganui College (at the Mount), history students from Bethlehem College and tourism students from the Bay of Plenty Polytech (who both came to Parliament).

The students got a better sense of how our New Zealand democracy works and I always learn a lot about the issues our youth face. They make me confident for our future.

Simon and Melissa Lee MP with Korean mothers in Tauranga.

Other highlights in the electorate included a full day visit by our Prime Minister John Key. Tony Ryall and I worked him hard for a full twelve hour day, during which he met and spoke with several groups totalling well over 1000 Tauranga people. I know he learnt a lot about the current state of Tauranga.

I continue to enjoy my weekly constituent clinics where Tauranga people and I meet for twenty minutes to discuss current issues, usually with Glenn Harris in my office. The issues Glenn and I confront are always wide ranging. In June I recall us dealing with rest home care, early childhood education, maritime safety, and even the oil spill off the Coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

As I have said previously, our National office in Tauranga is a busy one. Together, Maree, Glenn, Trish, Nigel, Tony and I deal with hundreds of matters in any given month.

Parliament

In Parliament a personal highlight for me has been the passing into law of the Animal Welfare Amendment Act in June. This law, which started life as my Member’s bill, was greatly enhanced by Minister of Agriculture Hon David Carter and has greatly toughened our country’s response to animal cruelty.

It was also good to host a meeting of local business giant Zespri with the National Party Caucus. While the kiwifruit success story is well known by many of us in the Bay, it was surprising to me how many MPs were unfamiliar with what is happening to grow trade and prosperity through horticulture, primarily in our neck of the woods.

Bethlehem College history students and Simon in Parliament.

July has been a rather different month to June. It has seen me take my only overseas trip this year. First, to the United Kingdom and then to Shanghai, China, as part of a large Bay of Plenty export delegation for the 2010 World Expo. I will report on this later trip next month but in this Brief I want to let you know about the UK.

Primarily my time in the UK with my wife Natalie has been personal (all privately paid for!) as we have spent time with her mum, dad and sister who live in Coventry. Many of you will know that Natalie and I met when we were both studying at Oxford University in 2004/2005.

We got married at the end of our time there and I whisked 22 year old Natalie back to my home in Tauranga. This month we have been married 5 years and it was a wonderful trip down memory lane to go back to the church and restaurant at which we celebrated our wedding.

Nevertheless, I haven’t been able to resist dabbling in some politics while away, and the political scene in Britain could not be more fascinating.

Tony Ryall, Roly Hammond, Prime Minister John Key, and Simon at Bureta Park for a combined meeting of local Probus, Grey Power and Age Concern – Photo used with kind permission from Sunlive – www.sunlive.co.nz

British politics

The UK has a new coalition Government made up of the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties. On a couple of occasions I visited Westminster and several Conservative (and one Labour) MP contacts that I have.

The overwhelming issue for Britain at this time is the Government’s debt and deficit. While in New Zealand we must be disciplined and show restraint, we can be very thankful we are not in the predicament the UK is in and that the level and quality of our public services are ever improving.

Let me put the UK’s situation into numbers. In the last few days Britain’s Office of National Statistics has stated that Britain’s Government debt is about four times higher than previously thought, standing at an eye watering GBP4 trillion (GBP4 thousand billion). This works out at GBP65,000 per British man, woman and child. The Government’s annual deficit is also massive, standing at about GBP155 billion this year.

As neutral commentators have made clear, a failure by the Government to cut back now and/or raise taxes will leave future taxpayers with an additional burden of GBP200,000 each over their lives to pay for public services enjoyed by this and previous generations.

Not surprisingly, Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osbourne have told new Ministers and Government Departments to prepare and present this month alternative budgets showing savings of between 25 and 40%. This has accurately been described as the biggest squeeze on public spending ever in Britain.

Many other issues are present in modern day Britain – reform of the National Health Service, Tertiary Education, and big moves to push power downward to local communities. But let me just mention two final matters.

Referendum on Alternative Vote system

Britain has been promised a referendum on changing its electoral system from First Past the Post to Alternative Voting. This is part of the coalition agreement between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. The Conservatives will oppose change while the Lib Dems who stand to gain a lot from change will support it. Interestingly, the talk I have heard and read is that change is unlikely. Many back bench Conservative and Labour MPs oppose it, and even if it proceeds through Parliament to the people, newspapers over here seem reasonably consistently opposed to AV as a less democratic and transparent system than FPP.

Champagne living on a beer income?

Finally, as a proud Kiwi I have searched long and hard for mention of New Zealand in the UK news. The papers report that in the new age of austerity in which Britain finds itself, no senior Government Minister will be caught sipping Champagne as they used to. Instead, it is complained, the best you can get at a Government function these days is a NZ white wine. Hardly slumming it I would have thought!

Simon

Simon Bridges MP congratulates local environmental winner at Beehive

nospam@example.com (admin) — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 09:12:54 +1200

Simon Bridges, MP for Tauranga, congratulates the Tauranga based Environmental Education for Resource Sustainability Trust (EERST), who won a Community Action award at the annual Ministry of Environment Green Ribbon Awards this evening at the Beehive, Wellington.

“I was delighted to be able to present the award at the Beehive this evening and pay tribute to the actions EERST have made in addressing environmental issues,” Mr Bridges says.

EERST won the Community Action for the Environment: Volunteers and not-for-profit-organisation category.

“This award was one of only thirteen in separate categories that reflect the Government’s different environmental priorities. Each award recognises outstanding contribution to protecting the environment,’ Mr Bridges says.

“EERST’s successful and innovative programme called Paper4Trees aims to reduce waste to landfill and increase resource recovery rates, especially for paper and cardboard. It already has nearly 65 percent of New Zealand schools enrolled in its programmes.

Marty Hoffart, Hon. Dr Nick Smith, Bruce Trask. Photo courtesy of www.pixs.co.nz

“It’s great to see a local organisation using practical initiatives that make a real difference to the environment.

“Special mention needs to be made of the driving forces behind EERST, Tauranga’s Bruce Trask and Marty Hoffart. They are great environmentalists and Tauranga citizens.

Notes on EERST

Community Action for the Environment: Volunteers and Not-for-Profit organisations
Winner: Environmental Education for Resource Sustainability Trust (EERST) Paper4trees Programme

Paper4trees is a successful, innovative programme that has dramatically increased recycling rates and environmental awareness in schools - and it continues to grow. The programme, run by Environmental Education for Resource Sustainability Trust (EERST) is now embedded in more than 1600 New Zealand educational institutions – that’s almost 65% of the nation’s schools.

Paper4trees rewards schools’ recycling efforts with gifts of native trees. The more they recycle, the more plants they receive. On average, 70% of a school’s waste is paper and cardboard. Since the programme’s inception 10 years ago, participating Paper4trees schools have diverted more than 5700 tonnes of paper from landfill and planted more than 21,500 trees.

The potential for growth is enormous, particularly in early childhood centres. What’s more, EERST is committed to continuing and expanding its work in schools with spin-off initiatives like Water4schools (rain water harvesting) and Energy4schools (energy reduction).

The Bridges Brief - May 2010

nospam@example.com (admin) — Tue, 25 May 2010 14:23:05 +1200

Budget 2010

20 May 2010 – Budget day - was the best day I have had as a new MP at Parliament. I think the same may be the case for many MPs both new and not so new.

Put simply, 20 May was a day when I felt that I was part of history. I felt that by winning the seat of Tauranga and contributing to National’s election win I was helping to change the economic performance of this country to grow jobs, create prosperity, and ensure a brighter future for New Zealanders.

High drama

Our National Party Caucus met at 1.15pm so that Finance Minister Hon Bill English could take us through the details of the Budget. The air was charged with a sense of anticipation by all.

We backbench MPs had a sense of what the Budget would contain from earlier Caucus discussions, but when Bill went through the numbers it is fair to say MPs were excited. Bill and his team had managed to put together a set of books that will maintain firm control of the Government’s finances in the years ahead, while also delivering better and more frontline public services. He had also written a Budget that reforms the tax system so that there are great incentives for all to get ahead off their own steam. As I will explain later, we were impressed that there are going to be tax cuts for the many – not merely for the rich as some critics had predicted.

At 2pm all MPs went to the Debating Chamber where certain formalities were gone through before Bill English read his Budget speech. Following this, all party leaders spoke. I am convinced Labour leader Hon Phil Goff was wrong footed, expecting a different and much less compelling Budget. My view is that because of this, his speech fell flat.

In contrast, Prime Minister and National Leader Hon John Key gave one of the best speeches I’ve heard in the House. National MPs were roused and rallied by his words, which were sometimes funny and sometimes hard hitting. As I have said, it was a great moment in time, and made me proud to be a National MP.

Simon enters 1°C icy water for five minutes at Bunnings, Tauranga, to help raise funds for children with heart defects.

Control of Government finances and tax reform

Earlier I have said that this Budget will help change the economic fundamentals of this country in a special way. Bill English in Parliament outlined four main objectives:

1. Lifting the long-term performance of the economy.
2. Reforming the tax system to make it fairer, more sustainable, and more supporting of economic growth.
3. Better delivery of public services to make them better for users of those services and better for taxpayers.
4. To maintain firm control of government finances, so we can return to budget surpluses and pull back our rising debt.

All of these things are related, but let me focus on the Government’s finances and tax reform.

It was particularly striking that our country’s debt is now $168 billion, up from $90 billion in 2000. You will be very familiar with the figure of $240 million. This is what our Government borrows from overseas each week to keep entitlements going.

In reality, our economic growth in recent years has been overly driven by debt and government spending rather than by exporters and import competing industries.

Without wanting to be alarmist, New Zealand remains vulnerable because of our foreign debt. What can happen in extreme cases has been seen in Europe recently.

For this reason the Government through the Budget committed to tilting our economy away from debt and consumption and towards savings, investment, and exports.

We have also worked hard to ensure we head back to surpluses sooner and to ensure Crown debt goes down over time.

One powerful way to tilt our economy is through tax policy which can incentivise savings and investment, while also discouraging property speculation and consumption.

We want people to earn more, save and invest what they earn. For this reason income taxes will from 1 October this year come down across the board. Tax breaks providing unnecessary advantages to property, and GST which can discourage unnecessary consumption, will also change.

All in all, the income tax, GST, property and company tax changes deliver a package over four years of around $15 billion in tax cuts. This in turn represents the most thorough overhaul of our system in 25 years.

Tax cuts for the many

As I said earlier, Labour had hoped the Budget would be a fat cats’ budget and were wrong footed when it wasn’t. Tax cuts will occur across the board and three figures stand out to me as powerful illustrations of where the benefits fall:

1. Two-thirds of the cost of personal income tax cuts will reduce tax for those in the bottom two tax brackets, that is, those earning less than $48,000 a year.
2. 73% of income earners will now face a top personal tax rate of 17.5% or less.
3. Before the tax changes from 1 October all Australians earning up to about $228,000 a year pay less tax than New Zealanders on comparable incomes. The Government package will reduce that to a figure of about $55,000. In other words, all Kiwis on $55,000 or more will pay less tax than our Aussie cousins.

Through tighter control of Government finances and tax reform across the board we reduce our vulnerabilities as a nation and give ourselves both collectively and as individuals much greater options for the future. More jobs and prosperity will be created and we will ensure a brighter future for all New Zealanders.

Simon and fellow MPs gear up for a Mid-Winter fun debate in Tauranga next month'.

The Bridges Brief - March 2010

nospam@example.com (admin) — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:17:21 +1300

A creative class?

I have just finished reading a very thought provoking book, particularly in the context of the future of our city of Tauranga. Richard Florida’s The Rise of the Creative Class came out in 2002 and persuasively argues something that I have long believed has truth for us.

Countries, regions and cities are engaged in a global battle for talent. The most creative people can live more or less wherever they want to. But when making their decisions about which city to live in they are often basing their decision on reasons other than the allure of a specific job. In fact they are generally picking a location that offers not only material comfort, but the stimulation of lifestyle interests and being surrounded by great amenities and other creative types.

Creative people don’t just cluster where the jobs are. They cluster in places that are centres of creativity and also where they like to live.

This makes things exciting and also encourages technological advancement. When clever people cluster, ideas get bounced around and economic growth occurs.

Putting this another way, a city’s economic prospects depend to a large degree on whether it’s a place people want to be. Desirable places attract talent. Less desirable places suffer brain drain.

By creative people Mr Florida doesn’t just mean artists, designers, and musicians as you might think. He also includes scientists, engineers and knowledge-based professionals, and sometimes even those down on the factory floor creatively remaking their business’s processes to achieve better results for their boss. Anyone who has “the ability to create meaningful new forms” is part of the creative class. Taken like this, you will appreciate that the numbers of people engaged in creative work has increased vastly over the last century and especially in the past thirty years.

Tauranga

What does this mean for Tauranga? I believe our city is already a particularly desirable place to live. Our climate, our beaches, and the calibre of our people are by no means all we’ve got, but they are big basic building blocks in the battle to attract talent.

Of course we should not be complacent. The reality for us is not so much an internal competition throughout New Zealand but rather a comparison internationally with cities such as Brisbane, Perth, and even San Francisco and London.

I am confident a lot of recent exciting developments are working in combination to make us economically and culturally vibrant in the way Mr Florida says we need to be. Think just of the following handful of examples as illustrations of what is going on here.

Farmers’ markets. I have been amazed how in recent times farmers markets such as the one at Tauranga Primary School every Saturday have proliferated throughout the city. Creative people increasingly want to make more individualised choices about food and want to buy local. These markets increase choice and add to our lifestyle in the Bay.

The Arts. In addition to Farmers’ markets, arts stores have grown in number. Creative Tauranga’s new Cargo Shed has been a great success and in recent times the number of galleries has grown including of course the Tauranga Art Gallery on the corner of Wharf and Willow Streets, an area that is increasingly becoming something of a culture quarter.

The Bay of Plenty Clinical School. Opened last year by our very own Hon Tony Ryall this school located at the Hospital ensures a hub of high knowledge medical students increasing both their and society’s knowledge through medical trials and research. The school also does a great job creating our future health workforce.

Kiwifruit Research and Development. The recently announced collaboration between Government and Zespri is seeing over $35m being spent locally on scientists working to develop new kiwifruit varieties. As I said at the time this was made public, having the world’s largest project like this will mean a serious injection of highly-skilled, high-value work being done here over the long-term. This in turn means more people enjoying the markets and arts on offer for all.

University of Waikato in Tauranga. The University’s presence in Tauranga with all that entails academically, culturally, and economically, has been hugely beefed up recently. A very significant part of this is the announced collaboration between Waikato and Germany’s University of Bremen in a major centre of marine science research excellence called INTERCOAST in Tauranga.

Over nine years, $11m is being provided by the German Government in projects that will focus on our coast. Environment Bay of Plenty, Priority One and the Port of Tauranga have also been involved in significant ways in making INTERCOAST a success. As many as 39 PhD students and fellows will be working here.

Bay of Plenty Polytechnic’s Applied Technology Workshop. The $2.7m construction of this is almost complete and the two storied complex will double capacity making way for specialist fabrication and welding work as well as teaching and research facilities. This in turn will provide valued creative workers in predicted growth areas such as the electrotechnology, automotive and engineering trades.

Tauranga Moana Coastal Cycle Trail. This trail from Waihi Beach to the Tauranga waterfront has just had the greenlight from central Government to go to stage two in the funding rounds. If we get to the final stage, this trail will showcase our region’s spectacular natural beauty. All going well, construction will begin at the end of this year.

Many more exciting developments could be mentioned but these give a good flavour. I hope you agree, we are well placed in coming years to be a winner in the global battle for creative talent.

Simon

The Bridges Brief: November 2009

nospam@example.com (admin) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:41:32 +1300

November has been a very stimulating month. I have visited a lot of business and community groups. And I have also been lucky enough to have cabinet ministers, including Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bill English, with me in Tauranga.

Big Business

Most of my business visits have been to small and medium sized firms. However, I also spent three days with big New Zealand infrastructure company Infratil and its related businesses. The first day was at NZ Buses, the second at Wellington Airport, and on the third day at Tauranga-based TrustPower.

I’ve increasingly held the view that it is really important that MPs understand how big business operates, and that getting in and spending some time on the ground at a large firm is the best way to learn. After all, governments of all stripes sure know how to spend the wealth that businesses like Infratil create, and what government does can have a dramatic affect on businesses and vice versa. Big businesses employ large numbers of people and in the case of the Infratil companies there are many bus drivers, firemen, accountants, and engineers working every single day.

This trip was me putting my money where my mouth was. I spent a lot of time in the boardroom but also on the shop and factory floor. I will definitely spend several days at another big Kiwi business next year but in this Bridges Brief let me tell you about the Infratil businesses.

NZ Buses

NZ Buses is, among other things, the main bus operator in both Wellington and Auckland. In Wellington, where I was for the day, I was very impressed with the cool way ticketing was handled. No longer do you have to go up to the driver and fumble about with cash and coins, though you can do this if you wish. Instead, ticketing is on a smart card called a Snapper. At the start of your ride you simply tag on. At the end you tag off. This is easier for passengers and drivers, and you can also use your Snapper card to buy a latte and magazine at many trendy cafes and the like throughout the Wellington region.

Wellington Airport

My time at Wellington Airport the next day was absolutely fascinating. I learned a lot about how airports are run, but it was a lot of fun too, driving down the runway (when no planes were scheduled to land!), going in the fire trucks (there are 25 fulltime fire officers), going up the control tower (the only one in the world entirely ensconced in suburbia with houses on every side), and checking out the baggage handling process.

Inside the terminal you now get a very upmarket experience with the likes of cafes, and sunglass, music, book, clothing and tourist stores. Yet for all the things going on and an estimated contribution to the Wellington region of over $1 billion a year, the actual business is very efficient employing only 80 staff. About 1400 people work on site but for other operations such as Customs and Aviation Security, Whitcoulls and taxi companies.

A personal highlight was seeing The Rock, the airport’s new international terminal which will be opened next year. His amazing piece of architecture has also been called The Peanut and The Pumpkin and has drawn some opposing views. Personally, I loved it and see it as a fantastically bold architectural and aesthetic statement. Prediction – it picks up top architectural awards in 2010 and 2011. It certainly deserves to.

TrustPower

Yet if NZ Buses and Wellington Airport were very good operations, the best in business terms had been left till last.

TrustPower is a Tauranga-based electricity generator and retailer with a market capitalisation of $2.35 billion. Its assets include hydro and wind generation plants throughout New Zealand and a windfarm in South Australia. More generation sites are, excuse the pun, in the wind.

Despite TrustPower’s strong asset base it impressed me as a very lean and mean operation that sticks to what it is good at. I also came away with a sense that it is ready to seize good opportunities that might come its way, and that it has a strong vision for its future.

Again, despite its good asset base, it is worth remembering that Trustpower is not nearly as big as the largest two or three players in the electricity market. Nevertheless, it seems to me it is something of a role model from which others in the industry could learn a lot.

The ownership structure of TrustPower is worth pausing on for a moment. It is listed on the NZX (the stock exchange) and owned by a mix of Infratil, TECT (who most in Tauranga will know well for its welcome annual cheque), but also ordinary Kiwi mums and dads. This ownership structure is similar to another leading light in Tauranga, the Port, in that for both companies there is a mix of both quasi-public ownership (through TECT for TrustPower and Environment Bay of Plenty’s Quayside Holdings for the Port), but also private Kiwi shareholders.

What such a model would seem to do is subject the businesses to a desirable level of commercial scrutiny and analysis that comes from being listed on the stock market, while also through the public ownership ensuring strong dividends go back into the local community. In other words, the ownership structure is both profitable and socially responsible. What a wonderful combination. Anyone who has spent much time in Tauranga will know TECT is a powerful force for good, supporting many a community group such as the rescue helicopter and the coastguard. Long may that support continue.

On a personal note, TrustPower chief executive Keith Tempest was good enough to spend a lot of time with me during my day with the business. Keith retires from his long and very successfully held role soon to pursue a few other things. I wish him all the very best for the future. He has done a really great job for this area and the power sector.

The Bridges Brief: October 2009

nospam@example.com (admin) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:34:41 +1300

Taiwan

As I said in my September issue of the Bridges Brief, I was privileged to spend a week at the start of last month in Taiwan with three other new National MPs, courtesy of the Taiwanese Administration.

We were treated to a lot of beautiful countryside and had a series of high-level meetings with academics, business people, officials and politicians, not to mention kiwis doing business there such as representatives from Bay of Plenty based companies Comvita and Zespri.

I came away with the deep impression that while trade is already significant between New Zealand and Taiwan, we can and should push matters even further, raising the current $768m worth of goods and services we export (compared to the $872m we import from Taiwan).

Yet if one thing about my Taiwan experience really got me thinking it was to do with Taiwan’s GDP per capita and lifestyle in comparison to ours here in Tauranga. GDP per capita is of course one measure of how much money each Taiwanese is making. It takes the gross domestic product of a place and divides it by the population.

In Taiwan the figure is about US$33,000 while in New Zealand it’s about US$27,000. This means both Taiwan and New Zealand are wealthy countries, but Taiwan’s 23 million people are wealthier than us. That is a remarkable feat given that New Zealand has long been considered a first world country while Taiwan has transformed itself since WWII from a predominantly poor agrarian economy into a vigorous and sophisticated industrialised one. In other words the so-called Asian Tiger has overtaken the Kiwi.

I mention all of this because these figures are not simply pie in the sky. They represent the ability of ordinary Taiwanese to purchase more and have greater choices than us. The same is true when we compare ourselves to our Aussie cousins and many Europeans and Americans.

I believe that for too long we have been too complacent about this, as many kiwis have voted with their feet, leaving our shores. This John Key-led government however, is complacent no longer. A top-tier priority for us is lifting productivity and therefore economic growth, so new generations don’t have to leave New Zealand to get ahead. They should be able to thrive in Tauranga, New Zealand. That is my mission.

There is nevertheless a silver-lining to the economic figures. While I am full of admiration for the Taiwanese and what they have done, there really is no place like home. For some time New Zealand has consistently done much better in international studies and surveys as a great place to live in terms of quality of life and lifestyle than it has by the more economically driven GDP calculation.

Instinctively, I can see why this is. While people in Taiwan may have more expensive clothes and cars, housing wasn’t really housing so much as apartment living. While it may be cliché to say so, by my very subjective assessment, it’s very hard to beat the good weather and beaches on offer in Tauranga, not to mention the space that most still have in their homes and on their sections (the well known quarter acre paradise!).

My fundamental point is that this doesn’t need to be an either/or thing. We can have it all. With increased productivity and consistently strong economic growth, we won’t be just a great place to live where the trade-off is relatively poor income. We will have both, and be the envy of everywhere. For this reason lifting productivity and economic growth is a central aim for National in Government.

We will do this by concentrating on these six policy drivers:
1. Regulatory reform
2. Better, smarter public services
3. Investing in productive infrastructure
4. Education and skills
5. Innovation and business assistance
6. A world class tax system

I appreciate that these are only the headlines without the story. For more details go to www.national.org.nz and check out the economic speeches made by either the Prime Minister or the Deputy Prime Minister.

Out and about

The rest of my month in September was equally eventful, and I got to spend most of it in Tauranga. In addition to visiting most of the rest homes in the electorate, I have attended a function with the All-Blacks and Wallabies at Parliament, and I was deeply moved attending the tangi for Sir Howard Morrison with the Deputy Prime Minister Hon Bill English.

To see more details of my movements you can check out my website – www.simonbridges.co.nz - where my diary is constantly being updated and where there is a link to my Facebook where photos of my activities are put up nearly every other day.

In October I am personally looking forward to Labour Weekend when Natalie and I will both attend some events for the Tauranga Arts Festival and the Steamers’ game against Taranaki at Baypark. Otherwise, Parliament is sitting each week and that will keep me very busy.

I sincerely hope that it gives an insight into some of my personal thoughts and movements.

Simon

Bridges Brief: September 2009

nospam@example.com (admin) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:25:41 +1200

In Tauranga we have had a substantial increase in members and supporters, as well as people who have made it clear they want to receive this e-newsletter from me. For those of you who receive this for the first time, let me tell you what it is about.

“Bridges Brief” is a much more candid and intimate monthly letter from me and is probably also a bit more oriented towards people who are pretty interested in politics than my fortnightly columns in the Weekend Sun.

The Bridges Brief is for insiders. I hope that you enjoy it. In this one I examine being an MP several months on, and in particular how it is different to what I expected. I also touch on some highlights for me in from August and coming up in September.

MP for Tauranga

When I stood for selection as the Tauranga National Party’s candidate in the middle of last year I thought I knew exactly what I was getting myself in for. After all, before then I had been an actively involved member of National since my teens, and had known many Members of Parliament pretty well.

For the most part I have found that I did know what I was getting myself in for, and nothing I have experienced in the last several months has put me off standing. It has been an amazing, humbling, and fascinating experience. Indeed, it’s a real privilege to be your MP and I pinch myself daily to remind myself it is
all real.

Some things about the job of electorate MP have been more intense than I imagined. In summary, this privileged role has been busier, more people-oriented, and has included much less time for reflection than I thought it would. Having previously been a Crown prosecutor in Tauranga, I say to my lawyer friends who think they work hard, try being an MP!

Busier

Life as an MP is like nothing I have experienced. Far from being a nine till five routine, when I am not in Parliament it is often back-to-back meetings and events from seven till eleven. Before this job I didn’t realise there could be so many breakfasts, lunches and evening meetings in one city, not to mention all the community, business and public groups that it takes to make us what we are.

What is more, it is certainly much more than a five-day–a-week role. My experience has been that it can fill seven days because an MP has a lot happening in their weekends such as Church invitations and sporting events that one should take interest in.

Parliament also makes for a long day – generally from seven till ten or a little later. I often wonder whether I go to Tauranga for a break or if I come to Wellington for one! Both I suppose are busy in their way and satisfying in
differing respects.

People-oriented

Another surprise for me has been the huge number of people I meet in a typical day in Tauranga. Often it will be over 200 hands shaken, and even in Wellington where it is less, I will generally have a series of meetings where I meet scores
of people.

Before entering Parliament I thought I was a “people person” but it is only now that I think I really know what that phrase means. Listening and acting on what people tell you requires a large amount of energy and means I sleep well in
the evening!

Reflection

In the lead up to the election and possible victory I had a picture in my head of me in a pair of slippers on a comfy brown leather chair. I had a mug of hot tea in one hand and important papers in the other. I had thought that as MP there would be much time to think big thoughts, and scheme and strategise about Tauranga and New Zealand going forward.

Alas, the reality has been somewhat different because it has been busy, busy, busy, and people, people, people. Nearly every week I am given an article or book by one of you that it would be good for me to read. I want to report back that I do spend time reading and thinking but not as much as I had hoped, so I apologise if it takes me longer than you might like for me to get the book back to you.

Out and about in August

Like most months this year August has been full steam ahead. One of the more interesting happenings included my game of squash against Dame Susan Devoy where despite her going easy on me, I was thoroughly trounced.

Another was my launching of Otumoetai Intermediate’s Arts Academy. In speaking to the students, teachers and family present, I recounted my earliest professional desire to be the conductor of a musical orchestra following my attendance as a child to a symphony for children. As the saying goes, be careful what you wish for because not long after I was called up to help the Otumoetai College Orchestra by conducting a medley of Ray Charles numbers.

September

September will see me in Parliament for three out of the four weeks. I am looking forward to seeing Tauranga’s production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Cats at Baycourt.

At the start of the month I will be visiting Taiwan with three other National MPs (not a taxpayer funded trip by the way!). New Zealand’s economic future is increasingly tied to the sub-region of which Taiwan is part, and it is important we forge strong ties.

We have a lot to learn from Taiwan. It has experienced much higher economic growth than most countries very recently. GDP is currently growing at over ten per cent per year and its industrial output has jumped an eye-watering 89 per cent in what are of course difficult times globally.

While in Taiwan we will be visiting many groups of interest to Bay of Plenty exporters, including the Council of Agriculture and the local Comvita, Zespri and Fonterra offices. I will be sure to have more to say on this next month.

Bridges Brief: July 2009

nospam@example.com (admin) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:25:08 +1200

In last month’s brief, I detailed some of the work I am doing on Select Committees down in Wellington. In this one I’d like to give you a report on the big effort that I and (mainly) my staff, Glenn and Maree, put in at my electorate office at 184 Devonport Road, Tauranga.

As you will know, I am lucky enough to share this office with Bay of Plenty MP and Minister of Health and State Services (A.K.A Mr Swine Flu) Hon. Tony Ryall. Tony and my commitment to a joint office means we have been able to create what I see as a regional hub for constituents and National in the Western Bay of Plenty for the long term. Tony also has two staff, Trish and Nigel, and I know how well the four professionals get on, working and playing hard together.

As I say, what our joint approach means is continuity and stability, so that all of Tauranga will know where to come when they have trials and tribulations and they are in need a helping hand.

What a work load!

You may be surprised to know that over the course of this year the electorate office has received over 400 constituent enquiries a month. This is work that comes to Glenn, Maree and I for the Tauranga Electorate alone, and it does not include a host of other things I do in the electorate such as visits to businesses, schools, retirement villages and rest homes. This is simply the phone calls, correspondence and constituent clinics at the office.

I am told by experienced electorate office workers that this amount of foot traffic is exceptionally high. It is a testament to Glenn and Maree that to date there have been no real complaints about our handling of the myriad of issues we have faced. There have been bouquets only, not brickbats!

In terms of the issues, around 10% of those we deal with are immigration related as you might expect. The other big ticket items are Health, Education and Criminal Justice related at 9%, 8% and 7% respectively. After that we have enquiries regarding a miscellany of other Government portfolios including Social Development, Housing, ACC, and Inland Revenue. Tauranga based issues also take up a fair amount of our time.

Personally I see about 60 constituents in clinics a month (20 or so a week). I tend to see the most constituents on Fridays but also on other week days and even, if the constituent cannot get to me during a working day, after hours. We tend to give constituents twenty minutes each, which I think is just about the right amount of time. While some people feel this is too little time (for some people only 5 or 10 minutes is required), I reckon if a person can’t make his or her point in twenty minutes they probably won’t be able to in an hour. In the US Supreme Court lawyers get only twenty minutes for their oral presentation – if it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for me!

I am really enjoying the time I spend in the office each week with constituents. It is humbling to be able to help people with what are often very significant problems for them. As a local MP one has the keys to doors in Government that often other individuals may not. This is a privilege I do not take for granted.

Debates and dancing

A couple of personal highlights for me lately have been the National Midwinter Christmas Party out at Avalon in Te Puna and my Tauranga Dancing With The Stars experience. While I was able to capture some of the Party on camera, I just wish I had a video camera for when Sandra Goudie MP, resplendent in her elfin costume, tackled Tim MacIndoe MP live on stage during our debate. At the dancing neither Natalie nor I won, but we nevertheless had a fun ride along the way and will now be able to rock ‘n’ roll together once in a while.

Simon

The Bridges Brief: June 2009

nospam@example.com (admin) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 12:59:37 +1200

The thing I enjoy most about being a backbench Government MP is the time I spend doing interesting things with interesting people in the community. Whether that be (photos on flickr) time with Tauranga’s firemen, customs staff, or even dipping into ice cold water for charity (we raised $3,000 for children with heart defects by the way), it’s great to get out and about in the sunny Bay of Plenty.

That is not to say that time spent in Parliament doesn’t have its great moments – it does. Even after many hours of debate well into the night there are satisfying moments where people who had formerly been only colleagues become friends as the camaraderie of being part of a common effort takes hold. Even late at night the quality of debate can be high, and it is often at this point when most are getting ready for sleep, that the most humorous and sometimes insightful speeches are made.

Neverthless, spending Friday and Saturday nights in May debating a Bill Labour opposes arguably for the mere sake of opposition is not my idea of fun. I entirely accept the need for a vigorous opposition, but sometimes it does seem Labour is more interested in game playing than principles. When that substantially eats into time in the electorate and with friends and family, it is annoying.

Sadly, the next couple of months look set to be dominated more by Wellington than usual, as the select committees I am on really begin to pick up pace. Fortunately, Tauranga looks set to benefit from the hard work as laws aimed at making our streets safer are progressed and as I play my part sorting out Auckland’s governance. This can only be good for Tauranga, as New Zealand as a whole needs an Auckland that is working well.

Law and Order

The first select committee I am on is Law and Order. This has numerous laws before it, but let me fill you in on just a couple.

The Sentencing and Parole Reform Bill is one which will dramatically toughen sentences for the very worst offenders. Part of it implements National’s pre-election pledges around tightening up parole, and part of it includes Act’s three strikes policy, on which National has not expressed a concluded view. The three strikes policy in essence says that for serious specified offending an offender has three strikes. On the final one it is life imprisonment with a minimum sentence of 25 years jail. What this means is that for the final strike, a crime that would otherwise be worth 5 years jail may carry a sentence of a minimum 25 years. People making submissions before the select committee have expressed very divided opinions and I am frankly still undecided. I would be really interested in your views.

Another interesting law before the Committee is the Corrections (Contract Management of Prisons) Amendment Bill. This law implements National’s policy of opening up prisons on a case by case basis to private operators. I am strongly in favour of this for a very simple reason. When National did it earlier in New Zealand it worked. The one private prison in Auckland was safer and more innovative, benefiting our prison system as a whole. We can do the same again.

Justice

On the Justice Select Committee we currently have nine laws before us. With Committee Chair Chester Borrows away in July I will be chairing the meetings and this in itself should be a worthwhile experience. One law we are dealing with is the Criminal Investigation (Bodily Samples) Amendment Bill. This euphemistically titled law will substantially widen the group of people from whom Police can obtain DNA samples to include all people police are going to charge with imprisonable offences. Again I am strongly in favour of this law. Not only will it mean more guilty are brought to justice. It will also clear the innocent more quickly as they are eliminated from Police enquiries.

Auckland Governance

Last but not least is the Auckland Committee. We have only had one meeting so far, but I understand we may be very busy in the next month or two. As you will have seen on TV and in the papers, this issue has generated a lot of heat, if not light, so far. I expect a lot of submissions and some robust debate to occur.

As my long suffering but wonderful wife Natalie can attest, she is now what I believe those in the know call a “Parliamentary Widow”, seeing me only in weekends and even then sometimes only between meetings. Perhaps because of this I have finally agreed to her repeated requests for a puppy. A week or two back we went to Animates in Tauranga, and Tilly, a Tibetan spaniel, is a very loving and welcome addition to our small family. If I can show enough responsibility and care for Tilly, who knows, the next step might be real children.

Simon

The Bridges Brief: May 2009

nospam@example.com (admin) — Mon, 18 May 2009 21:43:03 +1200

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – The 120th Inter Parliamentary Union Assembly

As I said in my last brief to you, I was privileged to head a delegation of MPs to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in April for seven days.

We were there to represent New Zealand at the 120th Inter Parliamentary Union Assembly that included over 1000 Members of Parliament from over 100 nations.

Discussions at the Assembly were wide ranging but included much work on the global economic situation, disarmament, sustainability, and human rights (a subject I was heavily involved in).

I came away believing that Ethiopia is a testing, awe-inspiring and heart breaking place. It is amongst the ten poorest nations of the world and while the people are beautiful, disease is everywhere, and in Addis Ababa nearly two in ten have HIV Aids.

In terms of lessons learnt, my trip profoundly affected me. My view that New Zealand is an exceptionally lucky and blessed little country has been strongly reinforced. At the Assembly where rich and poor countries sat next to each other (I was for example sandwiched between the Netherlands on one side and Niger and Nigeria on the other) I realised how comfortable and secure New Zealand is compared to most of the world. Our problems, while still serious, are incomparable to the issues faced in Africa and much of Asia for example, where the problems encountered can range from poverty and ill health through to slavery and torture.

I also gained a sense of the positive role New Zealand can play internationally. As a small but mature little democracy, we are highly respected by countries as diverse as Japan through to Zambia. While other prosperous countries can tend to polarise opinions, New Zealand does not have enemies, and because of this we are listened to, are able to act constructively as peacemakers, and as is so often said, can “punch above our weight”. It should not be underestimated how violently many countries in the world are opposed to each other, as their ideologies and religions clash.

At the end of the Assembly there were mountains of papers to prove all the work that had been done by us, but it would be easy to be cynical and say instantaneous results were not measureable. Nevertheless, I came away convinced that it is very important that New Zealand attend at international forums given the positive and long term role we can play and given my strong feeling that at conferences like this one nations increase their understanding of each other and so can gradually further economic prosperity, peace, global sustainability and human rights. As Winston Churchill once stated, “jaw jaw is better than war war”.

Back in Tauranga

Since being back in our city, my team and I have busied ourselves with constituents’ work, and I have of course been back into the hurly burly of Parliament. In addition, I have held forums with a diverse range of groups from Maori Tourism operators in the Bay to the Western Bay of Plenty Certified Builders’ Association. I have spoken at conferences and several local schools, and have been special guest at large National Party functions in Nelson, Palmerston North, and Taupo.

In the month of May I am really looking forward to jumping out of a plane with Todd McClay, MP for Rotorua, as well as throwing myself into a busy schedule for the three weeks when Parliament will sit.

National in Tauranga

Most who receive this monthly brief are of course members of National locally. I write this report entirely to provide you with a more intimate sketch of what I have been up to, to add value for my friends and members, and to keep myself accountable to the people that matter.