Simon Bridges National MP simonbridges.co.nz

Watching the America's Cup has reminded me that Kiwis are constantly punching above our weight on the global stage. Sometimes we can be guilty of taking this for granted and not fully appreciating some of these remarkable achievements.

I wanted to take this opportunity to recognise the success of Zespri.

The marketer of kiwifruit recently won the Marketing Campaign of the Year award for the quality of its marketing programmes across Asia at the annual Asia Fruit Logistica & Asiafruit Congress event. This event is the leading trade exhibition for Asian fresh produce business and is attended by about 6000 top-level buyers and trade visitors from more than 60 countries.

Kiwifruit growers have faced unprecedented challenges during the last couple of years, and it is great to see the industry doing so well. This achievement is not only a testament to the company, but also to all their growers and processors.

Staying with fruit, last week I opened the New Zealand and Australian Avocado Growers' Conference here in Tauranga. Avocados are the country's third largest fresh fruit export, and about 70 per cent of all production takes place in the Bay of Plenty. The conference was last held in New Zealand in 2005, so it was a real honour to have this opportunity.

Better educational support for children

National wants every child to have the best opportunity to succeed. That's why we're investing $27 million in education initiatives targeted at those who are falling behind.

For older children, we're investing $3.15 million during two years to work with 141 schools. The aim is to increase NCEA Level 2 achievement and help students transition to tertiary study, training, or employment.

We have set Better Public Services targets at early childhood and secondary levels. We have also introduced National Standards at primary and intermediate levels, so we can see how children are doing, and identify those who are falling behind and need help.

We now have a good set of data across our whole education system. This allows us to see where we can better target our resources, and that is what we're doing.

Ensuring each and every child gets a good education is the single most important thing our Government can do to raise living standards and create a more productive and competitive economy.