Just 29 new cases recorded as deputy prime minister calls on Ardern to move election from September to November
Jacinda Ardern has refused to postpone New Zealand’s September elections over the coronavirus pandemic, despite calls for a delay from her deputy and the deputy opposition leader.
On Thursday New Zealand recorded a significant drop in corona cases for the fourth day in a row, with just 29 new infections, 21 fewer than the previous day.
Continue reading...Jacinda Ardern has got the support of the nation, but after the lockdown, when the job losses mount, the government will need all the courage it can muster
Jacinda Ardern acted decisively in an attempt to get ahead of the Covid-19 curve, putting New Zealand into strict lockdown far earlier than other western leaders. It was a bold decision with massive economic implications. The public are listening to their prime minister and are united behind her. But the road ahead is littered with pitfalls as the nation comes to terms with the economic and social cost, and nervously waits to see whether these measures will deliver the knock-out blow to the virus in New Zealand.
So far, there has been extraordinary buy-in to the lockdown, with opinion surveys showing extremely high levels of support. Ardern’s directive to “be kind” to one another during the crisis, has become ubiquitous. There is an overwhelming consensus that, while the individual and societal costs are huge, the right call has been made.
Continue reading...Many left for home without even the chance to say goodbye, knowing that their big overseas experience may be lost forever
Swapping in “aubergine” for “eggplant” and “pepper” for “capsicum” – when you remember. Watching two clocks, one 13 hours fast. Smugly renouncing Boris Johnson as “not MY prime minister”.
To some extent, the experience of being a New Zealander in London has always been one of being split between two places. Now the coronavirus crisis has forced us to pick one.
Continue reading...After putting her daughter to bed, New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern hosted a Facebook live Q&A focused on coronavirus. Ardern implored New Zealanders to remain in self-isolation, while explaining the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the country will go up, but not to be discouraged
Her blend of steel and kindness is praiseworthy but come voting time in September the state of the economy will be the deciding factor
In her short tenure as prime minister, Jacinda Ardern has shown herself to be extremely good in a crisis.
After taking on the leadership of the Labour party just seven weeks before the 2017 general election, Ardern has put together a disparate coalition government, had a baby while in office, dealt with the Christchurch terrorist attacks, guided the nation through a deadly volcano eruption, and now this.
Continue reading...Australia’s home affairs minister had linked New Zealand prime minister’s comments to her upcoming re-election bid
New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has brushed off criticism from Australia’s home affairs minister Peter Dutton, saying his policy decisions are “regrettable”.
At her weekly news conference in Wellington on Monday, Ardern was scathing about Dutton’s criticism of her recent meeting with Scott Morrison, saying it was not her plain-talking that was to blame for increasing tensions between the neighbours – but Australia’s policy decisions on immigration matters which were hurting Kiwis.
Continue reading...The New Zealand prime minister said the Australian government's policy of deporting NZ citizens, no matter how long they had spent in Australia, was “testing” the friendship between the two nations, at a joint press conference in Sydney on Friday.
Jacinda Ardern lashes Scott Morrison for 'testing' friendship over deportations to New Zealand
The New Zealand prime minister was justified in taking Scott Morrison to task over a policy that is both spurious and damaging
We’ve seen this movie before.
Then, in Love Actually, Hugh Grant played the unlikely prime minister of Britain, standing up to an oleaginous Billy Bob Thornton as president of the US.
Continue reading...New Zealand PM says Australia is deporting ‘your people and your problems’ using unfair policies
The New Zealand prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has lashed Scott Morrison for “testing” the friendship between the two nations, accusing Australia of deporting “your people and your problems” using “unfair” policies.
Ardern took her strongest stance yet opposing Australia’s policy of deporting New Zealand citizens, no matter how long they had spent in Australia, if they had committed a crime.
Continue reading...Thorny issues await the two prime ministers when they meet in Australia this week
As gang violence in New Zealand soars – partly fuelled by Australian deportees, police say – prime minister Jacinda Ardern is heading to Sydney for her annual bilateral with Scott Morrison.
The issue of New Zealanders with only distant links to their home country being summarily shipped back to Aotearoa will again be on the agenda, but experts say it is unlikely Ardern will take as tough a stance as last year, when she said the issue was having a “corrosive” affect on trans-Tasman relations.
Continue reading...With seven months to go, the internationally acclaimed PM must tackle queries over whether she has done enough at home
It’s time for morning tea at the Allen Bryant retirement home in Hokitika, New Zealand, and a rattling tea cart is doing the rounds as the 50 residents talk politics. The South Island district is a Labour party stronghold, and the party was born up the road at the Blackball pub 100 years ago.
The residents who live at the home in the West Coast region are overwhelmingly Labour supporters, with backgrounds in mining and lifetime union affiliation. It was on the west coast that the party celebrated its centenary. And it is here that it is beginning to alienate its once-loyal fans.
Continue reading...New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern takes part in the Waitangi Day dawn service, serving up a barbecue breakfast. The prime minister was among the many to gather at Waitangi before sunrise as part of commemorations on the 180th anniversary of the Treaty of Waitangi’s signing
Continue reading...Vote on 19 September will also see referendums on legalising euthanasia and recreational marijuana
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced her country’s next general election will be held on 19 September, firing the starting pistol on a campaign race lasting more than seven months.
On Tuesday, Ardern said the forthcoming election campaign would be “positive, factual and robust”, and that her party had signed up to Facebook’s advertising transparency tool to counter misinformation.
Continue reading...New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces the next general election will be held on 19 September and promises a transparent campaign free of misinformation. She says Labour has signed up to Facebook's advertising transparency tool, adding: 'New Zealanders deserve freedom from misinformation and some of the negative style of campaigning that we have seen take place overseas in the past.' Ardern says Labour will also have its major policy costings independently verified.
She says Labour has run 'a strong economy with low unemployment and growth rates that others look to with envy, outstripping countries we often compare ourselves to, like Australia and the UK while making critical investments in health and education and reducing child poverty.'
Continue reading...The prime minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, lets a phone call from her Australian counterpart, Scott Morrison, go to voicemail during a press conference. Ardern was speaking about the idea of cooperating with Australia on an evacuation of citizens from Australia and New Zealand from coronavirus-hit Wuhan, China
Continue reading...In 2019, politics was dominated by spin doctors PR professionals and talented communicators while a ‘Year of Delivery’ failed to do just that
Style isn’t always a bad thing in politics. There is a lot to be said for a politician who can channel emotions and values in a way that salves the soul or mobilises the masses. That’s the type of powerful leadership that makes history. Jacinda Ardern has been an exceptional world leader in this way. In 2019 the New Zealand PM responded to the 15 March terrorist attacks with an emotional and thoughtful response that was a lesson in leadership.
Understandably Ardern’s strong and appropriate statements made her the “politician of the year” in nearly every political pundit’s end-of-year summary. Similarly her pronouncement about the Muslim victims that “They are us” was clearly the quote of the year.
Continue reading...When Jacinda Ardern's popularity irked a 66-year-old Christchurch bricklayer, he spawned the #TurnArdern movement, urging people to turn over books, magazines and other items featuring the New Zealand prime minister's face on the cover. The publicity has boosted sales of the new Ardern biography, which has spent seven weeks on New Zealand’s bestseller list, and created the #ReturnArdern countermovement, with people filming themselves turning the items the right way round again
Continue reading...As an election year approaches, several key themes emerged from questions you sent in for the prime minister
As New Zealanders count down to the end of tumultuous year and look ahead to the election in 2020, the Guardian asked readers which questions they would like to pose to Jacinda Ardern.
We will publish the prime minister’s answers on Monday, but here we lay out the topics that people in New Zealand felt were the most pressing.
Continue reading...The families of those missing after the White Island eruption in New Zealand say they are 'standing together' as they wait for information about their loved ones. Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand's prime minister, said the scale of the disaster was 'devastating' and that reconnaissance flights had found no sign of life on the island. Police have launched an inquiry into the eruption after at least six people died and many more were injured
New Zealand’s Whakaari/White Island volcano erupted on Monday at 2.11pm as 50 people were visiting the country's most active volcano. At least five people were killed and authorities confirmed some people were still waiting to be rescued hours after the eruption on the island, as experts explained it was unsafe for emergency services to return