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Your Local Paper
MAY 18, 2018
Bumper crowd to hear Simon By Claire Castle Opposition leader Simon Bridges was in town last week, part of a national roadshow that included more than 70 towns across the country. Speaking to a crowd of around 300 jammed into the Cambridge Health and Community Centre, Mr Bridges said the meeting was to give people the chance to get to know him. “In two and a half years’ time, I will be asking you to choose me as your Prime Minister,” he said. “You have a right to know me.” He said he was also keen to hear what communities were concerned about, to ensure that the National Party has the best policies going into the 2020 election and provide the current government with a “real opposition” in the meantime. Part of that was staying connected with the electorate, hearing what he expected would be similar concerns up and down the country, he said. “Labour didn’t do a good job in opposition,” he said, “I don’t want to make that mistake from opposition this time.” Speaking briefly before opening up the floor for questions, Bridges said Jacinda Ardern’s government has
Leader of the opposition Simon Bridges, visiting Cambridge as part of a roadshow to engage with the wider electorate. the government’s initiative to “been left with billions and climate change, among other billions of dollars” in the coffers give students their first year topics of concern to locals. of study free but was quick to from the National Party’s time Bridges, a former crown bring the dialogue back from in office, and he was critical of prosecutor, was not keen to the “doom and gloom”. “We some areas they are spending endorse the return to capital live in a fabulous country,” he money in. Describing the punishment suggested for said. government as having their drug dealers but said the issue Questions from the crowd priorities wrong, Mr Bridges of P had been raised at every ranged from dealing with the was unimpressed by the meeting he’d had so far. Placing P epidemic, to future of the $900M spend on “diplomats the cause of the problem Piarere extension to SH1, to not doctors”, spearheaded squarely at the root of gangs, ditching MMP. The issue of by the Minister of Foreign Bridges said they are not the 24-hour policing in Cambridge Affairs and Labour’s coalition benign motorcycle clubs some came up, as did issues of partner, Winston Peters. people think they are. “They’re housing affordability, and Bridges was also not a fan of out there, peddling misery.”
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And as for the extension of the expressway, Bridges said that in his view it is unlikely to proceed. “That road, I think, isn’t going to happen,” he said, describing the project as having been “almost there in terms of getting it up and running” before the change of government. Rather than doing a $350M road, Bridges expects the government to instead opt for $15M worth of safety improvements, “but that’s not going to cut it,” he said. Describing his desire to travel around the country doing roadshows as “open ended”, Bridges said he felt that as a relative unknown compared with the likes of his predecessors John Key and Bill English, and he needs to make sure voters have gotten to know him by the next general election in 2020. A large number of people were turned away, as the community centre was overwhelmed by the turnout, however Taupō MP Louise Upston said she would get the leader of the opposition back for those who had missed the chance to hear him speak.
CountryL Friday May
18, 2018
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Welsh ho rsepower
Faye Flintoff
(right) pictured
during the
North Island
Carriage Driving
Champs, with
groom (assistant)
Kathleen Flintoff
and ponies
Clyde and Coal.
See story page
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Photo – Louise
Savage / Louise
Savage Photograp hy
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MAY 2018