Category Archives: Jacinda Ardern

A contrast of styles: New Zealand v US leaders’ election debate – video

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New Zealand and the United States both had leaders' debates this week, and some political junkies noticed a distinct difference in tone. In New Zealand, where the Labour leader and incumbent prime minister Jacinda Ardern faced off against National leader Judith Collins, the pair exchanged compliments in a debate described by Collins as 'robust and a win for politics'. Meanwhile, in America, president Donald Trump's attacks on his Democratic rival Joe Biden turned highly person 

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Score draw for New Zealand leaders in pub quiz-style debate | Steve Braunias

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Quickfire questions led to dope-smoking and Trump-admiring revelations from Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins

Queen Street! The main shopping drag in New Zealand’s biggest city, a valley that rolls down towards the harbour in downtown Auckland, is hanging in there, just, even in these stay-at-home Covid days, as someplace fun and weird and chaotic – rare virtues in New Zealand life at the best of times – after dark.

True, the only joint to get a feed after 9pm is up the hill at Denny’s. And one of the few signs of commerce is the homeless man with his cardboard sign reading: “Let’s beat Covid. We can do this. Please give me money.”

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Jacinda Ardern admits using cannabis ‘a long time ago’ in election debate – video

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New Zealand's prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has admitted to using cannabis 'a long time ago', in a heated televised debate with the opposition leader, Judith Collins.

Speaking during the 90-minute debate on Newshub, the Labour leader and incumbent PM chose not to disclose how she would vote in the forthcoming cannabis referendum, drawing ire from her opponent, the National party leader

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New Zealand must match its Covid ‘in this together’ rhetoric with action on basic services | Max Harris

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If the country is to honour the pandemic’s spirit of collective solidarity there must be a genuine commitment to healthcare and education

New Zealand’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic has been a master-class in inclusive communication. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described the country as a “team of six million”. The top public health official, Ashley Bloomfield, said: “The virus is the problem, not people ... people are the solution”.

But the policies arising out of the pandemic, especially in the run-up to New Zealand’s election on 17 October, have not always been as inclusive as the communication. There’s a mismatch between universalist rhetoric in the pandemic response, and policy offerings that seem to give up on universalism in public services.

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Jacinda Ardern’s Covid success gives National little room to move on policy

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Labour’s Covid policies and popularity means the opposition is effectively cornered when it comes to presenting a different choice to voters

Its record on eliminating Covid-19 and bringing a second outbreak under control has drawn praise for New Zealand from around the world. Now, the centre-left Labour party, led by the wildly popular Jacinda Ardern, faces an election bolstered by their success in containing the virus – but darkened by the shadow of the country’s worst recession in years.

At the polls on 17 October, voters will be asked to choose between slightly different approaches to who would be allowed to enter the country, whether border quarantine should be government-managed or partially privatised, and the best economic recipe to recover from the pandemic.

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New Zealand election debate: Collins edges it against ‘passionless’ Ardern

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PM widely expected to beat challenger in October but both criticised after ‘muddled’ exchanges

The first election debate between the New Zealand prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, and the opposition leader, Judith Collins, went off without a bang, with both leaders failing to properly ignite.

Ardern is widely expected to win the election on 17 October. In a Colmar Brunton poll released an hour before the debate, her Labour party garnered 48% as preferred leaders, compared with 31% for the National party.

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First TV debate between Ardern and Collins avoids being a horror show

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Spooky opening gives way to a leaders’ showdown with little drama and lacking in spark

There was high drama at the first televised debate last night between New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, and the leader of the oppositionNational party, Judith Collins, when host John Campbell crept out of the darkness and onto the studio floor in the spooky opening seconds. His eyes were bulging. He clutched some kind of weapon in his hands. Campbell has always had an excitable, untamed spirit, and his menacing entrance made him look like Michael Myers from Halloween except in a grey check suit.

And that was it for the high drama. After the curious stage direction, Campbell gave a warm welcome to Ardern and Collins, and revealed that he was holding nothing more sinister than a brand new clipboard. The next 90 minutes were all downhill.

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‘Bring it on’: New Zealand tourist hotspots bank on holidays to ease Covid pressures

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Regional mayors hope the easing of restrictions means boom time for domestic tourism

Covid-19 restrictions have been dropped and school’s almost out for a fortnight – to the delight of mayors in New Zealand’s tourism hotspots, where there are hopes the holidays will boost coffers in the struggling tourism sector.

“Bring it on, bring it on,” said David Trewavas, the mayor of Taupō district – an area in the central North Island that is home to some of the country’s most famed skiing and hiking. “You can even have a mass gathering down here.”

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New Zealanders want small parties at the political table, but the system is stacked against them | Claire Robinson

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In an election that sorely needs alternative voices, small parties face an impossibly steep climb to be seen or heard

If you are a follower of New Zealand politics, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the 2020 general election is fundamentally a contest between New Zealand’s two major parties, Labour and National. This is the 28th election they have been in the main ring together, and every government formed since 1935 has been led by one of them.

Outside these two, there are 16 other political parties registered with the New Zealand Electoral Commission. Most, though not all, will be standing candidates and/or a list in this year’s MMP (Mixed Member Proportional) election. The three “minor” parties will also context the vote – the Greens, New Zealand First and ACT – and those which have been in parliament before, like the Māori Party. But even in New Zealand, most voters would be hard pressed to name many, if any, of those remaining.

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It feels like no one can be bothered with the New Zealand election any more | Claire Robinson

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Even Labour’s tax policy cant’t spark fury. The only numbers people are concerned about are coronavirus-related

Parents will be only too familiar with this scenario. It’s family holiday time. The car is packed with everything but the kitchen sink. Each child is strapped in with their own screen and headphones. You slip the car into gear and drive off. Finally you can let out a sigh of relief; the holiday has begun! Then a small voice from the back says: “I need to go the toilet.” You divert to the nearest petrol station, and sit back and wait for the journey to restart.

That, folks, is the New Zealand general election campaign of 2020.

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Jacinda Ardern begins election campaign from her parents’ home – video

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New Zealand’s prime minister has launched her pre-election tour of the country from her parents' home in the rural town of Morrinsville so they can can babysit. The rescheduled general election, now taking place on 17 October, is unlike any the country has seen before, with party leaders hitting the campaign trail in face masks and maintaining social distancing 

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Jacinda Ardern begins New Zealand election tour at parents’ house so they can babysit

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New Zealand prime minister starts campaign with a sleepover at the ‘folks’ in the small rural town of Morrinsville

New Zealand’s prime minister has launched her election tour of the country from her parents’ home in rural Waikato – so her “folks” can babysit.

The rescheduled general election, now taking place on 17 October, is unlike any the country has seen before, with party leaders hitting the campaign trail in face masks and practising social distancing.

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#NZhellhole: how Kiwis are hitting back at Trump’s Covid taunts

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In August the US president said New Zealand was seeing a ‘big surge’ in cases, but it only reminded people of how well they had done

Following comments by Donald Trump that New Zealand was dealing with a “big surge” of new Covid-19 cases, Kiwis have snapped back with some light social media trolling under the hashtag #NZhellhole, which has trended at number two on New Zealand Twitter.

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Jacinda Ardern says 2020 has been ‘frankly terrible’ as Auckland lockdown extended

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Masks made mandatory on public transport across New Zealand as coronavirus cases continue to rise

New Zealand’s biggest city will remain in lockdown until midnight on Sunday, the extra four days necessitated by the rising number of Covid-19 cases, the prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has said.

A total of 101 people have been infected by the outbreak in south Auckland, making it the largest cluster in New Zealand.

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‘Big surge’: Trump angers New Zealand with coronavirus comments – video

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Donald Trump has called out New Zealand for its recent Covid-19 outbreak, saying places once hailed as a success story in the pandemic are now facing a 'big surge' in cases. However, New Zealand's prime minister, Jacinda Ardern said there was 'no comparison' between the situation in her country and that in in the US

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By delaying the New Zealand election Jacinda Ardern appears magnanimous and conciliatory | Bryce Edwards

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Keeping the date while her own party’s polling was sky-high would have looked like self-interest; instead she has been praised for her leadership

At its heart, democracy is about participation. And yet, there have been serious questions about the quality and quantity of public engagement expected in this year’s general election, given the Covid-19 crisis overshadowing everything at the moment in New Zealand. Prime minister Jacinda Ardern has therefore made the right decision to delay the election by a month.

Voter turnout has been trending downwards in recent decades, hitting a low point in 2011 of only 69.6% of eligible voters. It’s plausible that in 2020 it could drop below even this. If the election were still to be held in just a few weeks, as originally scheduled, this would have been especially possible.

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Jacinda Ardern postpones New Zealand election due to coronavirus – video

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Jacinda Ardern has postponed the New Zealand general election by four weeks, to 17 October, but ruled out delaying it any further, as the country tackles a new outbreak of the coronavirus. The outbreak centres on New Zealand's biggest city, Auckland, after the country had been free of coronavirus cases for 102 days 

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Jacinda Ardern extends Auckland coronavirus lockdown by 12 days – video

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New Zealand has reported 13 new cases of coronavirus, with two cases emerging from Auckland where the country’s outbreak began. The two cases occurred in the Waikato town of Tokoroa, 125 miles south of New Zealand’s biggest city, and were linked to the Auckland outbreak, bringing the number of cases in the cluster to 29. One person is being treated in hospital.

The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, said Auckland would remain in lockdown for an additional 12 days as health workers try to contain the 'perimeter' of the outbreak, the source of which remains a mystery. She said a North Island-wide lockdown was not being considered

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New Zealand Covid-19 cases all linked to single cluster, with more cases expected

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Cabinet to meet at 3pm to discuss Auckland lockdown as health minister Chris Hipkins says city not yet looking at moving from level three to four

New Zealand is not yet looking at a level 4 lockdown, because the rising number of Covid-19 cases are all related to a single cluster, the health minister has said.

Chris Hipkins told Radio NZ that more than one cluster would have to be circulating for the country to rise to level 4 restrictions, and so far there was no evidence of that, though more cases from the same cluster had emerged overnight.

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Ardern changes Auckland Covid-19 rules as New Zealand records first local cases in 102 days – video

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Auckland has been swiftly put under a three-day lockdown after four cases of coronavirus were confirmed in one family in the city.

The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, made the announcement at a late-night press conference after 102 days without any community transmission in New Zealand. The family had not travelled overseas and the source of the infection was unknown

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