Simon Bridges National MP simonbridges.co.nz

We've had a number of significant visits to Tauranga in the last couple of weeks which I have enjoyed being a part of.

Prime Minister John Key was here for a day and I took him to Otumoetai College to talk with senior students and to formally open the Susan Devoy Squash Centre on Devonport Road.

In addition, the Prime Minister spent time being updated on developments in regard to the Rena disaster.
I've also enjoyed having the Associate Minister of Tourism and the Minister of Agriculture, Chris Tremain and David Carter here. With Chris, I visited a number of tourism-related organisations and with David we spent time on Psa and at Ballance Agri-nutrients.

Governor General Sir Jerry Mateparae has been in Tauranga this week and it was good to see him officially open Tauranga Riding for the Disabled's wonderful new arena.
Other guests to our city have included the hundreds of people making up about 58 bagpipe teams from all round New Zealand. You might have seen them competing in our CBD as part of the National Pipe Band Championships last Saturday. I loved watching this, and found the combination of music and regalia very stirring. I was also impressed by the number of young people involved. The event almost made me feel Scottish!
Tauranga's organising committee under chair Kevin Nally are to be commended for their work in getting the event here. I'm sure it was a significant economic boost for our city.

Last, but not least on events, I enjoyed getting along to a thankyou barbecue for Rena recovery volunteers last Sunday in spite of some pretty bad weather. All who helped out on our beaches are heroes in my view. Tomorrow, I will be at the now very well established Tauranga Multicultural Festival at the Historic Village. I hope I see you there.

Making welfare work

National believes that those who can work, should work, and we'll help them to do just that. Delivering better public services is one of the National-led Government's four key priorities for our second term – and welfare reform is a significant part of this.

The benefit system is simply not working and not delivering for New Zealand. One in eight New Zealanders of working-age, is on a benefit, while 220,000 children live in benefit-dependent homes. This is creating too many vulnerable people and trapping them in a life of limited choices, poverty and poor health. Evidence clearly shows children are better off when their parents are in work and not on welfare.

At the beginning of this month, we announced a two-stage programme to fundamentally alter the welfare system with a new work-focused benefit, greater work expectations, and an approach that focuses on the long-term cost of welfare dependency.

By the end of this month we will introduce legislation that will require some beneficiaries with children to be work available, as well as those on Widow's and Women Alone benefits. It will also target support for youth who are on a collision course with long-term welfare dependency.

Later this year, we'll introduce more legislation to overhaul benefit categories and clamp down on fraud.