National MP and former leader Simon Bridges has opened up about the driving force behind his shock resignation from politics.
Last week he announced his retirement from politics to spend more time with his wife and three young children - but what he didn't mention was the heart-stopping incident involving his eight-year-old son.
Speaking to Woman's Weekly, Simon and his wife Natalie recalled the moment their son had a near-death experience.
On December 2, 2021, their son Harry, who was seven at the time, was hit by a swing in the liver at the school playground - giving him the second-highest-grade liver injury.
Harry was rushed to Tauranga Hospital and then transported to Auckland Starship Children's Hospital with severe trauma and internal bleeding. Simon was luckily in Tauranga that day and was able to be by his son's side.
"I couldn't really comprehend how serious it was until he had nearly 20 medical staff all around him. They were just swarming around him. I thought, 'This is not good,' and he was in Tauranga Hospital for only a few hours before doctors made the decision to transport him to Auckland," Simon told Woman's Weekly.
"It did change everything because life had to stop. We haven't really had that before with anything else - where that was all that mattered. That was the start of us knowing that we had to change our life and priorities."
Fortunately, Harry's liver started to heal and the bleeding stopped. But reflecting on life after the incident, Simon decided to withdraw from politics and pursue opportunities that will allow him to be at home more often than politics.
"More important to me than being a politician or a businessman, I'm a partner to Natalie and dad to Emlyn, Harry, and Jemima. This week my oldest two children turn 10 and 8 years old, and I want to be able to give them the best of me," Simon said in his resignation statement released last week.
Bridges will formally hand in his resignation to Speaker Trevor Mallard in the coming weeks.
"I love the National Party and this year I will have been a proud member for 30 years. For the first time in a while, National is in a good place under Chris Luxon's leadership with momentum heading into the next election," Simon said in his resignation statement.
"I am proud to have played a significant role recently in getting National back in the hunt for government in 2023. I have every confidence in National to win the election."
Luxon, in a statement released shortly after, thanked Bridges for his "immense contribution" to the National Party.
"I want to pay tribute to Simon's relentless efforts to make New Zealand a better place - and also thank Natalie, Emlyn, Harry and Jemima for letting their husband and dad spend so much time away from home to help achieve that goal," Luxon said.
"Simon, go well. I wish you the very best."
