Bridges Simon: Maiden Statements 
Bridges Simon: Maiden Statements 
[Volume:651;Page:732] 
SIMON BRIDGES (National—Tauranga) 
: 
 Nearly every maiden speech that I have read has begun with the member congratulating Mr Speaker on his appointment to high office and I congratulate you Mr Deputy Speaker and also Mr Speaker the Hon Lockwood Smith. I congratulate the Hon Lockwood Smith not only as a matter of professional courtesy but because of our personal friendship going back to a beer we shared at Auckland University’s Shadows bar when he was getting a hard time as education Minister and I was a pimply young Nat. 
Indeed I joined the National Party at a young age not because of any longstanding family connection to the greatest political party in the history of our nation but because then as now I believed in less not more government in individuals doing as much for themselves as possible and in reward for hard work and enterprise. Then as now I was generally economically dry and socially conservative but never unthinkingly or uncaringly so. We need to do what works not what sounds good in theory. In human affairs matters are often shades of grey and not simply black or white. In economic times like these rigid adherence to orthodoxies may not solve things for ordinary Kiwis. World-class health and education systems are essential. New Zealanders clearly understand this and voted on 8 November for a John Key - led Government and the fresh approach to our nation’s challenges that it brings; they voted to move away from a slavish adherence to ideology towards a new style of politics that is inclusive dignified and decent and that believes that politics can be noble and deliver greater justice. 
Can I today in this hallowed hall acknowledge my wonderful family and my amazing wife. My mother is from Waihi dairy-farming stock and my father from Frankton in Hamilton. Like so many in this nation my mother’s ancestors came from England while my father’s mother Naku Joseph was Ngati Maniapoto and came from rural Oparure near Te Kuiti. She remained in an unhappy relationship with her hard-living husband Alf Bridges because in those days early last century she thought that marriage to a Pakeha man was bettering herself and her children’s prospects. She continually told my father that she wanted her children and grandchildren to have letters behind their names without really understanding what that meant. The dysfunction my father grew up with and the sacrificial example he saw from his mother played large roles in his becoming a Baptist minister and dedicating his life to service in many parts of New Zealand. 
All my childhood and teenage years were in Te Atatu North. Just as my father has lived a life of service so has my mother—bringing up six children of whom I am the youngest by some way. All six of us children despite a lack of material wealth have gone on to higher education the surest path from poverty to prosperity that I know of. 
In relation to my amazing wife Natalie I acknowledge my debt of gratitude to her. She has sacrificed a lot because of my journey to Parliament. She is the daughter of a Welshman and a Polish woman and she and I met in England while both of us were studying at Oxford University. She is here in New Zealand because she married a Kiwi. New Zealand must develop a fuller policy for stemming the brain drain than intermarriage; a John Key - led Government will. 
My story is that I am the product of the wonderful family and world-class health and education systems with which I grew up. I am grateful to all hues of Government for the provision of health and education systems of such a standard. Following on from degrees at Auckland and Oxford universities I have worked as a litigation lawyer and a Crown prosecutor prosecuting over a hundred jury trials in the last several years in my electorate Tauranga. These trials have included trials for the city’s worst murderers rapists drug dealers and violent offenders. 
Martin Luther King Jnr once said that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere and in many jury trials I have seen injustices—indeed manifest indignities—performed on the weakest in our society as court rules worked against them. We need to make law that redraws the balance between victim and community on the one hand and criminal accused on the other. Victims and the community deserve better than the so-called justice I have seen served up to them on occasion and although there has been tinkering previously more reform is needed to make the jury trial a more just institution. In short juries need to be trusted with more information and victims need to be treated more evenly when compared with accused. 
Just as constant vigilance and scrutiny are required in relation to the ancient tradition of the jury trial so is diligence necessary regarding our rules for elections and our constitutional arrangements. Nothing is ever perfect; there is always a better way. 
My already-mentioned ancestry or whakapapa of course makes me who I am. In reference to it again let us remember what another MP for Tauranga the Rt Hon Winston Peters said in his maiden speech to this House which is equally apposite for myself: “I am a New Zealander I am a Maori and I am also a lawyer. New Zealand is not a monotonous garden where every flower is the same; it is a garden where the diversity of the blooms enriches the view.” The diversity of my ancestry enriches my outlook and deepens my empathy for all New Zealanders no matter their race or background. 
Can I at this point acknowledge Winston Peters whom I stood against in Tauranga. As I said on the evening of the election Winston Peters I respect you and I acknowledge that I learnt a lot from you while we jousted on the campaign. You have been amongst the very longest-serving members in this House and now you are no longer here. You will nevertheless be long remembered and I wish you well in the future. Can I also acknowledge another colourful Tauranga politician—we seem to have had a few of them—Bob Clarkson. Bob you have been a great servant of Tauranga inside and out of Parliament and you put National back on the map in Tauranga. I know that your high level of service will continue and I also wish you well in the future. 
Tauranga has attracted politicians of colour because it is a place of singular loveliness. Its beaches weather and people are special and renowned throughout our nation. Tauranga is a jewel in the crown that is our nation. And no longer is it the sleepy little seaside village of yesteryear. Since the early 1980s it has grown exponentially from approximately 50000 people to become a vibrant city of the future with a population of over 110000. School rolls have burgeoned as young families have flooded in. A baby boom has occurred in our city. In years to come and perhaps even while I am still privileged to represent it Greater Tauranga is on some estimates set to rival both Hamilton and Wellington in population terms. Accordingly National Ministers can be assured I will fiercely advocate my city’s cause on the back of a strong case based on growth in numbers now and going forward. 
As a student in Te Atatu North and then at Auckland and Oxford universities and later as a professional in Auckland and then in Tauranga I have always kept the fire of my politics alight. Indeed since 1992 I have continuously held office in the National Party at nearly all levels. 
Although to many this is not a selling point I say to this House that I have long dreamt of standing here and delivering my maiden speech. Just as in some quarters it is no longer de rigueur to believe in jury trials so in others Parliament is a place out of fashion. Nevertheless I believe in it and want to do all I can to uphold its integrity and central position in our society. As I have said I have long dreamt of standing here and delivering my maiden speech. I have wanted to for my ancestors and family and for my future family and people. I have wanted to as a pimply young Nat and now as a man in his 30s because then and now I have realised that Parliament is a place that matters. This is still the place that makes a difference to the Naku Josephs of yesteryear and to the Simon Bridgeses of tomorrow. This is still the place that can deliver world-class health and education systems and can ensure that individuals get ahead regardless of their race or background. 
Although it is perhaps unusual to quote from a valedictory speech in a maiden speech let us remember former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s final words to the House of Commons last year: “to all my colleagues from different political parties. Some may belittle politics but we who are engaged in it know that it is where people stand tall. Although I know it has many harsh contentions it is still the arena that sets the heart beating a little faster. If it is on occasions the place of low skulduggery it is more often the place for the pursuit of noble causes.” My prayer in this House is to always pursue noble causes and greater justice on behalf of all who need it in Tauranga and further afield; to be in the service of those ends and no other master. 
Can I end by once again congratulating you Mr Deputy Speaker and Mr Speaker the Hon Lockwood Smith and by thanking my wonderful family my amazing wife my multitude of terrific Tauranga supporters and my God for getting me here.