The Great New Zealand Road Trip: Nine Questions with ... Simon Bridges
Auckland Regional Chamber of Commerce chief executive and former National Party leader Simon Bridges. Photo / Dean Purcell
Each day on The Great New Zealand Road Trip, Shayne Currie catches up with a noteworthy New Zealander, measuring their mood and hopes for the country. Today, we hear from Simon Bridges, the Auckland Regional Chamber of Commerce chief executive and a former leader of the National Party.
What’s the one word to sum up your mood right now?
Uneven. There is so much that’s great and with opportunity going on, but the reality is we’ve also “got issues” as a country. Things are getting better slowly but we all need to work with impatience as we need more than just good enough to have great livelihoods and lifestyles here.
What do you wish people knew about where you live?
Auckland’s no one-trick pony. It has nearly everything going on. Within a kilometre or two from where I live there are parks, bars, and restaurants, live entertainment; great maunga with world-class views, walk and cycleways; high-tech businesses breaking into new opportunities; and so many amazing cultures I couldn’t even begin to list them.
What are your passions?
Seeing exciting things happen in Auckland that keep people here and attract more talented folks in. To reuse my word from earlier, this is uneven. We’ve a lot to celebrate but so have a lot of other places. Whether it’s Shanghai, Chicago, or Sydney, we want to ensure we are up there with other global cities both in terms of what makes us uniquely special but also how we foot it with the best on things everyone wants in terms of jobs and amenities for work and play.
Which New Zealander (alive or dead) do you most admire – and why?
I admire anyone who takes something global but remains centred in New Zealand. In that regard it’s hard not to admire the likes of Sir Peter Jackson, Lydia Ko, Neil Finn, Sam Neill, Parris Goebel, and Sir Peter Beck. In a way, they personify what we need to do as a nation. If I had to pick let’s go with Sir Peter Beck. He [along with others] has given us an entire high-tech sector. Let’s have more like him, please.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
In the end I think you need a job and people you love to be happy. I feel very lucky to have both. A perfect time for me would be a family holiday, maybe us all tramping one of our great walks and then eating a good meal together at the end of it.
What is your greatest fear?
My biggest fears for New Zealand are fairly pedantic and revolve around us falling down global league tables whether in education, socially, or say all of the OECD ones around our economy. These aren’t just numbers but go to whether our kids and grandchildren stay here or bugger off, not simply for the OE but more and more for good. More impatience from everyone including government on these matters is important.
What is it that you most dislike?
Where do we begin? Corporate jargon about deep dives and circling back is one. I also hate the way Americanisms have crept into our spelling and grammar. Way too many Zs and “programs” for my liking.
What is on your bucket list?
As a family we would love to walk the big pilgrimage, the Camino de Santiago, across the middle of Spain. Our kids are getting taller and better at long walks and I am sure we’d enjoy the paella very much.
What do you hope/think New Zealand will look like in 10 years?
I want to see more technology start-ups grow to become really large companies. Many more F&P Healthcares, Crimsons, Rocket Labs, and Xeros from sectors such as fintech, healthtech, and edutech are required. And we need them to be premium international brands used all around the world.
To turn SMEs into unicorns will require a concerted effort from each of government, business and community. Have we got the determination for something like this? I hope so, so our kids and grandchildren can stay here.
Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor.