Todd Talks By Todd Muller

It's encouraging to see the progress New Zealand is making through the hard work of households and businesses up and down the country.

The economy continues to grow, jobs, wages, and household savings are increasing, and unemployment is coming down.

Businesses are confident and hiring more staff, all of our regions are growing and more New Zealanders are voting with their feet and either staying home or coming home.

Consumer confidence in the Bay of Plenty has topped regional rankings and increased to a 10-year high, according to ANZ's Regional Trends report released last week.

This has been reflected in a strongly performing retail sector, with sales increasing 6.7 per cent in the last year, and households choosing to spend more on house construction, with the value of dwelling approvals up 23 per cent in the last year.

This good news reflects the positive feedback I've received from businesses I've visited recently.

However, in order to sustain this growth long-term, I believe we must also develop and grow our skilled locals.

That's why increasing the provision for local tertiary institutions, which align to our local industry and needs, is important.

Nationwide we're also continuing to see improved results from our public services in areas that really matter – such as lower crime, higher educational achievement and more New Zealanders moving from welfare into work.

Locally, our Bay of Plenty District Health Board has been performing well since National streamlined national health targets to improve health services for patients.

In the last quarter, this includes 341 more discharges from elective procedures than the national target as well as ensuring all cancer patients receive radiotherapy or chemotherapy within four weeks.

Overall I think we have reason to be optimistic as we go into the Christmas period.

The economy is growing at 3.9 per cent and 72,000 extra jobs were created in the year to September; also our health services are improving, we have the lowest crime rate in 35 years, and our children are getting a good education.

New Zealand is on track, growing, and the future is bright as New Zealanders and the Government work together to lift our country's performance.