Simeon Brown may be one of the busiest politicians in New Zealand.
When the National Party was elected to Government at last year’s general election, he went from Opposition and the MP for Pakuranga to a Cabinet Minister.
Brown holds the roles of Minister of Transport, Energy, Local Government, and Auckland, as well as being Deputy Leader of the House.
Away from politics he’s a devoted husband to wife Rebecca and dad to their three young children, Anna, Grace, and Thomas.
The Times caught up with Brown to ask how he’s enjoying his new political roles and how he juggles the demanding job with spending time with his family.
“It’s a significant increase in the workload, but it’s also a huge privilege having these roles and responsibilities,” he says.
“So yes, it’s a change, but at the same time it’s the ability to give effect to the policies we campaigned on and deliver on those things.
“I’m really enjoying it. We’ve got rid of the Auckland regional fuel tax, we’ve delivered tax relief, we’ve been able to do a deal with Auckland Council around Watercare to keep people’s water rates down, and we’re really focused on the cost of living.”
Brown says the Government knows Kiwis are doing it tough in the current economic climate.
“The work we’re doing around finding savings and delivering those savings to people in the form of tax relief means we’re able to help people through this cost-of-living challenging time and get inflation and interest rates down.
“It’s all about focusing on those key issues that matter to people and it’s a real privilege.
“But yes, I’m a lot busier than I used to be and I spend a lot more time in Wellington, and that’s a privilege, but it’s also more time away from home.”
He says he’s unsure how many hours he works each week, but it’s a job that “occupies every moment of every day in terms of the responsibility”.
“The phone rings and there’s things to do, and we’ve got a big and busy agenda that we need to keep moving.
“I spend more time in Wellington as there’s a lot of stakeholders to meet and to get around the country, and also spend time in the electorate, so it’s a lot to balance.
“I’m at home on the weekends which is great, so it’s good to be able to do that.
“We make sure when I am in Auckland we really prioritise being at home as much as I can because we need to make sure I spend time with my wife and children.”
