National celebrates 82 years
The National Party has marked its 82nd birthday by releasing a new video to help New Zealanders get to better know new
Leader Simon Bridges.
‘’The National Party has a long and proud 82-year history exemplified by strong and committed leaders who have driven
our efforts to improve the lives of New Zealanders,’’ National Party President Peter Goodfellow says
‘’Leadership has always been incredibly important in politics and we have been fortunate to be led by some of the best.
‘’From Adam Hamilton to Keith Holyoake, Jim Bolger, Jenny Shipley, John Key and Bill English, our Leaders and Prime
Ministers have all brought their own unique personalities, skills, and strengths to the job and demonstrated the values
we hold dear.
“And for 82 years National’s values have held true. We remain proud to champion personal responsibility, strong families
and caring communities, and individual freedom and choice.
“Our new Leader Simon Bridges represents the very best of our Party, and his inspiring story is one we are incredibly
proud of.
‘’The video we are releasing today shows New Zealanders more about what Simon stands for, and his personality as a
father, politician and husband.
‘’It helps show why he is the best person to lead the party and to lead New Zealand and why he will be our next Prime
Minister in 2020.
‘’But we have much work to do.
‘’Today, National remains the largest and most popular political party in New Zealand. At the last election National
received the largest number of votes of any party, in any election in New Zealand’s history. But it wasn’t enough and we
will need to do better in 2020 in order to earn the right to govern again.
“Fortunately we are privileged to have the personal support of tens of thousands of New Zealanders, from the far north
to the deep south, who volunteer their time and energy to make a difference for our Party, and our country, and to every
one of them we are truly grateful.
‘’Our members and their leadership are our foundation, and it is a testament to our founders that their vision for our
Party’s future, and the future of New Zealand, endures to this this day.
“We are proud of our 82 year history, and look forward to Simon and his team earning the trust and confidence of New
Zealanders to convince them that we have the ideas to take New Zealand forward.”