| Simon Bridges | |
|---|---|
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Tauranga |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 8 December 2008 |
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| Preceded by | Bob Clarkson |
| Majority | 11,742 (31.69%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 1976 (age 35) Auckland, New Zealand |
| Political party | National |
| Spouse(s) | Natalie Bridges |
| Residence | Mount Maunganui |
| Alma mater | University of Auckland, University of Oxford |
| Profession | Senior Crown prosecutor |
| Religion | Christian |
| Website | simonbridges.co.nz |
Simon Bridges (born October 1976 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a New Zealand politician and former District and High Court Crown prosecutor. Bridges is currently the representative for the electorate of Tauranga in the 49th New Zealand Parliament, as a member of the National Party.
Bridges currently lives in Mount Maunganui with his wife, Natalie.
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Simon Bridges was born in October 1976 in Auckland, the youngest of six children. His father, a Māori of Ngāti Maniapoto descent, was a Baptist Minister, and his mother, a NZ European from Waihi, was a primary school teacher. He is also related to former Labour Cabinet minister Koro Wetere.[1]
Bridges grew up in Te Atatu, where he attended high school at Rutherford College. There, he was taught by future Labour Education Minister Chris Carter, and also became Head Boy of the college.[2][3] He went on to complete a BA in political science and history and an LLB (Hons) at the University of Auckland.
Bridges began his legal career as a litigation lawyer at a major Auckland law firm, Kensington Swan.[2] He moved to Tauranga in 2001 to take up a position as a Crown prosecutor in the District and High Courts. During this time, he took leave to travel to the United Kingdom to study at the London School of Economics, and later to complete a postgraduate law degree at St Catherine's College, Oxford; he also worked as an intern in the British House of Commons.[2] As a Crown prosecutor in Tauranga, Bridges mainly worked on jury trials.[4] Bridges ended his legal career in 2008, when he was nominated by the National Party to stand for election to the New Zealand Parliament.[5]
Bridges became a member of the Young Nationals at the age of 16 and was elected Deputy New Zealand Chair in 1997. He was active in National's West Auckland organisation as a member of Brian Neeson's electorate team, whom he supported at the 2002 general election against a challenge by John Key for the National Party candidacy to contest the new seat of Helensville.[2] In the following years, he held several senior positions within the party, including sitting on the National Party rules committee and chairperson of the Tauranga National Party.[5]
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| Years | Term | Electorate | List | Party |
| 2008–2011 | 49th | Tauranga | 51 | National |
| 2011–present | 50th | Tauranga | 30 | National |
In 2008, Bridges stepped down from his positions within the National Party to seek his party's candidacy for the seat of Tauranga in the 2008 election, after incumbent Tauranga MP Bob Clarkson (National) announced that he would not be standing for re-election. Bridges was successful in his campaign, appointed in June 2008 as the National Party candidate for the seat;[6] he was eventually listed as #51 on the National's party list.[7] Several polls during the campaign indicated that Bridges would win the seat by a large margin.[8][9]
For the 2008 general election, the seat of Tauranga was contested by 11 candidates, including New Zealand First leader Winston Peters. In the election, Bridges won the electorate vote with a majority of 11,742 votes, which saw him become the new MP for the seat of Tauranga, and barred New Zealand First from winning any parliamentary seats, as it did not meet the 5% party vote threshold either.[10] Bridges began his parliamentary career when the new Parliament convened on 8 December 2008.
In early 2010, Bridges's Animal Welfare Amendment Bill was drawn from the ballot. After passing its first reading, the government, particularly Agriculture Minister David Carter, adopted the bill.[11]
| Parliament of New Zealand | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Bob Clarkson |
Member of Parliament for Tauranga 2008 – present |
Incumbent |