Kiwi Kids Books

Simon Bridges aka Dr Do-Little

It is a beautiful Sunday afternoon and I have just sat down to read the news via my computer screen and clicked on the SunLive webpage. There is no better way to spend a Sunday afternoon. What caught my attention was this brief description of a featured article.

Simon wants to ‘get tough’.

This sounded good. I like it when MP’s get angry, feisty and get the bit between their teeth. I my experience it is the first step on their path to making a difference in our community. I read some more and my appetite was further moistened.

Tauranga MP Simon Bridges is seeking multi-party support for his Private Member’s Bill that if passed into law would raise the More…

I clicked on the ‘More’ button with anticipation. What could the man I voted for be putting forward as his area of need for the Bay of Plenty. I had seen him almost weekly snap up photographic opportunities with old ladies or take part in pointless publicity stunts that nobody cares about. But this little snippet looked different. Bridges was actually going to do something useful in Parliament and through the simple act of me voting for him, I was a small but vital cog in this wheel. I was about to help the Bay of Plenty, and therefore, New Zealand become a better place.

My mind raced with possibilities. As my page loaded my mind gently probed what areas my representative may be about to touch with his magic wand.

-          Perhaps a law to raise the standards of driving in the Bay of Plenty.

-          Perhaps a law to raise the penalty for drinking driving.

-          Perhaps a law to raise the funding for our local schools.

-          Perhaps a law to raise the penalty for petty crime.

-          Perhaps a law to raise the penalty for graffiti.

-          Perhaps a law to raise the drinking age.

Suddenly my computer screen loaded and I was forced to hang my head in disappointment. What flashed up was a grotesque picture of Bridges hugging his dog. If that wasn’t enough to ruin my afternoon the following paragraph did that for me.

“Tauranga MP Simon Bridges is seeking multi-party support for his Private Member’s Bill that if passed into law would raise the maximum penalty from three to five years imprisonment for wilful ill-treatment of animals.”

I couldn’t believe it. Only a year into his job as our representative in Parliament, has turned Bridges into Dr Do-little. I wonder if he can talk to the animals too. With reluctance I skimmed the rest of the article. What followed was a collection of well written sentences about how we need to get tough on animal cruelty and the importance that it has in the community. I always wonder how important a law is if a MP needs to justify it to the community. Now I will be honest and admit I am not a real pet lover. Apart from looking after a guinea pig for two weeks, and my wife having a goldfish I have never owned a pet. However, even if I did want to waste my money like that, I would still be disappointed in our MP spending more time on looking into an animal rights bill than dealing with the issues we have in the Bay of Plenty.

Added to this I can’t recall Mr Bridges campaigning on the issue of animal welfare when he was trying to get into Parliament. Back then it was roads, tunnels, the economy and tourism as the main areas he was going to work on. There wasn’t a stray dog, a scarred cat or even a malnourished sheep mentioned back then. Oh how times have changed.

It is with great sadness that I am going to write this next sentence and I can’t even understand why I am going to do it but I will.

Could you have imagined Winston Peters putting forward a proposal like this? While I couldn’t stand that man and his grey rinse but at least he put forward ideas that benefitted the community for which he stood for. So Mr Bridges I do admire your love for our animals but when you represent me spend time working on laws that will actually benefit the wider community.