Simon Bridges National MP simonbridges.co.nz

Well it's all on now, with the Prime Minister's announcing on Monday the general election will be held on September 20, just more than six months away. It is a great privilege and responsibility being your local MP and it's something I never take for granted. I will continue door-knocking, as I have been during the last year, and look forward to discussing what you see are the big issues facing Tauranga and the country.

Hairini underpass

NZTA has recently confirmed the construction phase of the Hairini underpass will get underway later this year.

This is an election promise the Prime Minister made in Tauranga back in 2008. The Hairini link is an important strategic freight route and this upgrade will provide a more efficient traffic flow and make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists.

Minister marks Tauranga Hospital centenary

Last Friday, Health Minister Tony Ryall celebrated Tauranga Hospital's centenary.

The hospital was officially opened on March 6, 1914, by the Inspector-General of Hospitals, Dr T.H.A Valentine. It originally had six beds and four staff who lived on-site. Today it covers 58,000 square metres and employs 2300 staff. The average bed occupancy is 307.

Significant investment and upgrades have been made in the hospital recently, including the acute Stroke Unit which opened in January last year. This has reduced the delays for stroke victims in getting to the hospital and receiving the treatment they need.

Youth unemployment in the Bay

According to the latest quarterly figures from Statistics NZ youth employment has decreased by more than 60 per cent in the last year and indications are this will continue to drop.

Even more pleasing is news the number of unemployed youths who are not in education or training dropped from 2500 to less than 1000 in 2013.

Much of this success can be put down to the range of initiatives we've introduced to get young people into trades and training, including the fees-free Youth Guarantee scheme at tertiary education, the trades and services academies around the country, the new vocational pathways at secondary school, and the new apprenticeship reboot announced in January.

Of course, ideally we would like all our young people in training or employment, as research shows the longer people are out of work the harder it is to break the cycle.

National will continue to focus on building a more competitive and productive economy and ensuring businesses have the confidence to invest, grow, and create more jobs.