Simon Bridges National MP simonbridges.co.nz

Even in the middle of winter, Tauranga is a stunning place. The temperatures may have dropped but people are still getting out and about. And it never ceases to amaze me how many people still take time to enjoy our beautiful beaches, parks and reserves and how many still make their daily climb up Mauao.

You can see why Tauranga is such a popular place to be. It's not new for me to say people are moving here in their droves. But with a booming local economy, great local assets and a great community atmosphere, you can see why.

Of those moving here, many are families; and they are all set to benefit from some great initiatives, both locally and through the Government.

Work is being done to make Tauranga a vibrant and exciting city to live in. The new Greerton Library was officially opened last week, with more than 200 people in attendance. There's plans for a new school to accommodate the growing population, plus millions is being spent on making Bay roads safer.

Families in Tauranga will benefit from the recent increases to Paid Parental Leave and free doctors' visits and prescriptions to children under 13.

On July 1 the Government's new Raising Healthy Kids target came into force. It aims to get 95 per cent of children, who are identified as obese in our free B4 School health checks, referred to a health professional for support to improve their family's lifestyle through better nutrition and more physical activity, by 2017.

That's just part of our programme to give children the best possible start in life. We are also helping more children to succeed at school through a record $11 billion investment in education.

We're also investing about $2 billion every year in housing to support close to 470,000 New Zealanders. And in Tauranga 449 buyers have been helped into their first home through the Government's HomeStart scheme.

We are ambitious for New Zealand families, and back them to succeed. We have a busy work programme ahead of us and National will continue working hard to build the brighter future we all want for ourselves and our country.