Simon Bridges National MP simonbridges.co.nz

Whenever I sit down to write these columns I am amazed by the wonderful things going on in our community. The last couple of weeks have been no different and a few special things have really touched me.

Last Friday I really enjoyed handing out books at a special Duffy Books in Homes Assembly at Arataki Primary School. Children each received a book and I know from the look on their faces that they will treasure these for a long time. Principal Dene Langley reminded me I have been coming to Arataki for Books in Homes for a decade now, but it never loses its shine. Providing our children with a lifelong love of reading is one of the best things we can do for them. It has been a privilege to have had an association with Books in Homes throughout the years.

With my colleague, Hon Tony Ryall, I did a couple of other interesting things. Firstly, we looked around the nearly completed TECT Arena at Baypark. This facility is going to prove its worth in the years to come. Not only will it allow Tauranga to host first class sporting events, it will also provide us with a great conference centre and a place for top acts to perform. There seems to be a real appetite for the latter if the strong demand for Meat Loaf tickets is anything to go by.

Minister of Health Tony Ryall testing out the new equipment on Tauranga MP Simon Bridges.

Finally, Tony and I opened the Otumoetai Community Dental Clinic at Otumoetai Primary last week. This clinic is the fourth and final hub dental clinic recently built in the Western Bay and has three surgeries to ensure good dental health for our children. These fixed clinics are supplemented by 11 mobile ones and are part of a $6.5 million investment by our DHB to revitalise dental health.

Action plan

For the past three years National has provided the responsible economic management that New Zealand sorely needed after nine years of Labour.

The economy is now really gathering momentum. The latest GDP data shows that economic growth was much higher than expected in the March quarter despite the Christchurch earthquake.

By contrast, when we came into office, New Zealand had been in recession for nine months – well before other countries and the onset of the global financial crisis.

Exports had flattened out. Government spending was out of control. Treasury's books showed never ending budget deficits and spiralling government debt.

Despite the surprises since then – including the devastating Canterbury earthquakes – the economy is now much stronger than it was three years ago and is far better placed to meet future challenges.

We've set the platform for strong economic growth while protecting our most vulnerable.

Tax system

We've improved our tax system so it encourages hard work and savings, rather than providing incentives to hide income or head overseas. Our tax reforms have made sure that after-tax wages have, on average, risen faster than the cost of living. They went up 7.1 per cent in the past year – faster than the rate of inflation.

We've made the government-run parts of the economy more efficient so that they don't get in the way of the parts of the economy that compete with the rest of the world. We've reduced our reliance on foreign lenders by limiting debt. The government's books will be in surplus by 2014/15.

We've cut red tape to encourage enterprise and flexibility.
We've boosted investment in vital infrastructure – such as roads, broadband, and the electricity network.

And we've improved the education system so that our schools and tertiary institutions produce better skilled workers for the future.

New Zealanders are starting to reap the benefits of our economic plan. Budget 2011 forecast 170,000 new jobs and three percent average annual growth over the next four years.