Simon Bridges National MP simonbridges.co.nz

There has been a lot of focus in the media and from opposition parties recently on the level of inequality in New Zealand.

For those of you who don't watch Parliament TV, there were more questions in the House this week on the subject.

It appears in the lead up to Election Day this is one issue the opposition will be trying to make a key focus.

This is surprising to me, given the latest research from the OECD.

This shows while inequality increased in many other countries during the global financial crisis, this was not the case in New Zealand.

We were one of only six developed economies in which both income inequality and disposable income inequality didn't increase between 2007 and 2011.

Information from the Ministry of Social Development backs up the OECD's findings.

The household incomes report found the disposable incomes of the top 10 per cent of earners were hit harder than the bottom 10 per cent of earners during this period.

This is because, unlike many other countries, this Government did not undertake severe austerity measures or cut support programmes in response to the global financial crisis.

Instead, we focused on helping those vulnerable people most affected by the recession while at the same time putting a plan in place to responsibly manage our own finances.

This has meant we came out of the crisis a lot better off than most countries. We're the third fastest-growing economy in the developed world and will be returning to surplus in 2014/2015.

A growing economy that delivers more jobs and higher incomes is the best solution for improving people's situations.

I appreciate there are people who are still struggling to get by, which is why we are remaining focused on supporting the most vulnerable New Zealanders by improving public services, lifting education standards and helping more people off welfare and into work or study.