Following a nearly five-year engagement, the wedding had been a long time coming as the couple had originally planned to marry in 2022 but postponed it due to the country’s Covid restrictions at the time.  

“13.01.24 Worth the wait. ”, Ardern wrote on Instagram, next to a stunning wedding photo of herself and Gayford at Craggy Range vineyard. 

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Ardern wore a fitted ivory sleeveless, cowl-neck halter gown with a high neckline and low back by New Zealand fashion designer, Juliette Hogan – who is reportedly a close friend of Ardern. Her shoes were from Mount Maunganui designer Chaos and Harmony, the New Zealand Herald reports. 

The couple’s daughter, Neve, walked down the aisle with her father, wearing a dress made from Ardern’s mother’s wedding dress. 

Details of the event were kept private, but it’s believed only family and close friends, as well as a handful of Ardern’s former political colleagues were invited. Among them were Ardern’s successor and former prime minister Chris Hipkins. 

During her emotional remarks to reports when she resigned as prime minister in January 2023, she had said, “To Clarke, let’s finally get married”. 

Ardern’s resignation shocked many as she stepped down after five-and-a-half years as prime minister, citing burnout by saying she did not have “enough in the tank”. 

“It’s about knowing when you’ve got what it takes and what is needed to lead, but also have the courage to know when you don’t,” she said.

During her time as PM, her leadership style earned international recognition for navigating the country through a number of crises, including the Covid-pandemic, a horrific mass shooting in Christchurch and the White Island volcano eruption.

One year since departing politics

After stepping down from Prime Minister, a job she called ‘the greatest role of my life’, Ardern has been continuing her advocacy work and enjoying more family time. 

In April 2023, she was appointed a trustee of the Prince of Wales’ environment award, the Earthshot Prize, which was created by Prince William to fund projects that aim to save the planet.

Ardern said since Earthshot’s creation she had believed in the prize’s “power to encourage and spread not only the innovation we desperately need, but also optimism”.

Since resigning as PM, she’s also temporarily joined Harvard University after being appointed to dual fellowships at the Harvard Kennedy School. And she’s taken an unpaid role in combating online extremism. 

In June 2023, Ardern was made a Dame Grand Companion for her leadership through a mass shooting and pandemic. This title is one of NZ’s highest honours. 

That same month, Ardern also announced she’d be writing a book on being ‘your own kind of leader’. There’s much anticipation for the book as she’s promised to expand on her unique style of leadership. 

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Since departing parliament, Ardern has kept a low profile on political matters but has shared a bit of her life on social media, noting her precious time spent with family. 

In an adorable birthday post on Instagram last July, she wrote: “Can’t remember the last time I had a birthday that was quite as normal as this one. Tea and toast in bed, work, and dinner with my loves. Feeling very lucky today…and just a little older. ”

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In an Instagram post on Friday, Ardern shared that one of the questions she’s been most asked since leaving office is “will you write a book?”. And while her answer was at first “no”, it looks like she’s reconsidered and will be working with publishers Penguin in NZ and Australia, Macmillan in the UK and Crown in the US. 

“When I left parliament there were a few questions I got asked quite often – are your family happy to have you back (mostly ) and will you write about your time in office?”, Ardern wrote in her post. 

“At first, my answer was no.  I didn’t want to write a book that hauled over the internal politics of the last five years, and then someone convinced me that I didn’t have to. That maybe it might be worth expanding on some of the things I talked about in my valedictory instead—like the idea you can be your own kind of leader and still make a difference. And so that’s what I’m planning to do.”

While the release date is still to be determined, the book is likely to garner a significant amount of attention and anticipation. 

“There’s no set date for when it will be done- the Christchurch call-work on violent extremism and terrorism online is keeping me pretty busy- but I hope when it’s done, it’s the kind of book that would have made a difference to my 14 year old self,” wrote Ardern.

Her “Christchurch call-work” is part of an entity she founded after the Christchurch massacre that saw a lone white supremacist gunman attacking two mosques. Ardern told the media that she still felt a “sense of duty” to the victims.

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In January, Ardern resigned as New Zealand’s prime minister after five years of leadership. She delivered her valedictory in April, saying she hopes she demonstrated that “you can be anxious, sensitive, kind and wear your heart on your sleeve. You can be a mother or not. You can be an ex Mormon or not. You can be a nerd, a hugger a crier. You can be all these things and not only can you be here. You can lead just like me.”

Since then, Ardern has been reporting to Prime Minister Chris Hipkins on the progress being made to counter violent extremism on social media. She also works for Harvard University and is a trustee on Prince William’s climate change charity, the Earthshot Prize.

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But it was her comment that, “I didn’t always get it right” that was so humbling, and so different from the typical valedictory speeches heard in parliaments across the world.

And it was her comments about the support she had as a mother, highlighting her daughter’s “village” as well as the work her team put in to ensuring Ardern made it home for book time, that also reminded us that this was a different kind of leader.

It was her plea to remove politics from the crises we face, such as on climate change.

And it was her admission that the role of prime minister was “never a role she thought she’d have”. So much so, that she recalled waking up on a plane shortly after she became PM and asking the person in the seat beside her, “Am I still leader of the Labour party?”

Most of all, the differences in leadership Ardern demonstrated was in the fact she was actually leaving the position at all. As she declared back in January on making the surprise announcement that she would be stepping down as leader of the Labour party, “a good leader knows when it’s time to go.”

Ardern, at the time, said she didn’t have enough “left in the tank” to do the role justice. “It’s about knowing when you’ve got what it takes and what is needed to lead, but also have the courage to know when you don’t,” she said.

Wearing a Maori cloak while giving her final speech on Wednesday, her final day of parliament, Ardern was emotional and compassionate. She was funny and warm. And she clearly went in with a purpose: to highlight the opportunities for everyone in politics and the difference that can be made with time in office.

“I’ve always believed this to be a place where you can make a difference. I leave knowing that to be true,” she said.

She noted that her time as prime minister was and will likely be defined by three key things she never imagined she’d be addressing: a terrorist attack, a volcanic eruption and a pandemic.

But that’s leadership. That’s what’s required in any top job, including as a prime minister.

The empathy she showed during the role, particularly witnessed in the aftermath of the attack on two Mosques in Christchurch, came to define much of how people saw her leadership.

And that empathy continues with her today. She said that it was events like Christchurch and also the White Island Volcanic eruption that saw her coming face to face with tragedy.

“I found myself in people’s lives during their most grief-stricken or traumatic moments. Their stories and faces remain etched in my mind, and likely will forever. That is the responsibility and privilege of the role of prime minister,” she said.

Ardern said through it all, she has still personally been able to be the mother she wanted to be.

“There is no question I’ve had incredible support to be the mother I wanted to be, from the office team who tried to get me home for story time, and Neve’s village who were there when I couldn’t be present. I leave knowing that I was the best mother I could be. You can be that person and you can be here.”

“I do hope that I have demonstrated something else entirely. That you can be anxious, sensitive, kind and wear your heart on your sleeve. You can be a mother or not. You can be an ex morman or not. You can be a nerd, a hugger a crier. You can be all these things and not only can you be here. You can lead just like me.”

On the response to COVID-19, she said it gave her “sit down moments” and highlighted that it was a tough experience for the nation and for her personally. She conceded that “sometimes we didn’t get it right.

And on climate change, she pleaded for more to be done, especially for the politics to be taken out of climate change, just as it should be taken out of every crisis.

“When I came here 15 years ago, we talked about climate change as if it was almost hypothetical. Some didn’t even give it that credit.

“I know there is politics in almost everything. This chamber understands why more than anyone. But we also know when and how to remove it. When the crisis has landed in front of us, I have seen the best of this place … and climate change is a crisis. It is upon us and so one of the very few things I will ask of this house on my departure is you please take the politics out of climate change.”

Prior to making the speech, Ardern shared with media some of what she’ll be doing in her post-political career life — highlighting appointments that again speak to her clear interest in legacy.

One such role will include continuing her work addressing online extremism by working with governments and tech companies on The Christchurch Call, an entity she founded after the Christchurch massacre that saw a lone white supremacist gunman attacking two mosques.

She told media on Tuesday, she still felt a “sense of duty” to the victims of the Christchurch massacre.

Ardern served as New Zealand’s 40th Prime Minister, and third female prime minister. She joined parliament as an MP in 2008 at the age of just 28. She leaves at the age of just 42.

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Jacinda Ardern’s resignation as prime minister in January was a courageous and pragmatic decision for herself, her family and her party. Although many said she’d done a great job as leader, she rightly reminded us that a great leader is “one who knows when it’s time to go”.

Since hitting stellar heights in mid-2020, Ardern’s Labour Party had dropped significantly in the polls and was trailing the opposition National Party throughout 2022. The “Jacinda effect” had switched from being a uniting force to a polarising one. With an election coming in October, it was time for a change.

Her decision to stand down was as politically astute and timely as her elevation to leader of the Labour Party in August 2017. After all, Labour is now ahead of National in recent polls.

By the time she gives her valedictory statement to parliament later today, Ardern will have served as an MP for nearly 15 years. While the intervening period has undoubtedly changed her, she remains in many ways the same person she was as a novice backbencher.

In her maiden speech to the House of Representatives in 2008, she expressed the small-town values that got her started:

Some people have asked me whether I am a radical. My answer to that question is very simple: I am from Morrinsville. Where I come from a radical is someone who chooses to drive a Toyota rather than a Holden or a Ford.

She described herself as a social democrat who believed in human rights, social justice, equality and democracy. She spoke especially about work, education, community and the reduction of poverty – child poverty in particular.

All fine aspirations. But back then, Ardern’s Labour Party was looking at nine long years in opposition after Helen Clark’s three-term government lost power. Unable to break the run National’s John Key enjoyed as prime minister, Labour went through one leader after another while Ardern rose through the ranks.

In mid-2017, despite a mood for change, it still looked like the election wouldn’t go well for Labour, at the time polling down around 25%. Then, at the beginning of August, Andrew Little handed leadership of the party to Ardern. With just seven weeks until the election, it was either an inspired move or the ultimate hospital pass.

As history shows, however, Ardern’s elevation immediately energised Labour’s campaign. It also drew international attention to the New Zealand election, as what became known as “Jacindamania” changed the mood on the streets and in the media.

Accidents of history

Critics sometimes labelled Ardern the “accidental prime minister” – a rookie “appointed” by Winston Peters, whose New Zealand First party held the balance of power in post-election negotiations. Conventional wisdom has it that Ardern simply offered Peters a better coalition deal, despite her party having won fewer seats than National.

But Peters gave those critics some more ammunition during a recent TV interview. He appeared to reveal that New Zealand First was forced to choose coalition with Labour when then-National leader Bill English alerted him to a potential leadership coup by Judith Collins.

According to Peters, English had assured him Collins didn’t have the numbers to pull it off. (Collins would eventually become National leader, of course, losing spectacularly to Ardern at the 2020 election.)

This sliding-doors version of events may be conjecture. But Peters can’t have forgotten how Jenny Shipley had rolled previous National leader and prime minister Jim Bolger in 1997. That ultimately led to the breakup of the National-New Zealand First coalition in which Peters had been deputy prime minister and treasurer.

Perhaps, then, we have Collins to thank for Ardern’s elevation to the top job. We’ll probably never know.

Rise and fall

The “Jacinda effect” wasn’t a flash in the pan, however. Labour’s election support went from 25% in 2014 to 37% in 2017, and then to an extraordinary 50% in 2020. Coming on the back of Ardern’s exemplary leadership through the COVID pandemic, it was an unprecedented result under the country’s proportional MMP system.

Her belief in “kindness” as a political force appeared to have been vindicated, if not for long. While New Zealand eventually recorded the world’s lowest excess mortality rate during the pandemic, this success was far from cost-free. In particular, there was a human and political price to pay for the lockdowns and border closures.

Businesses struggled, many New Zealanders abroad couldn’t return, and many resisted the pressure to be vaccinated. No nation escaped unscathed, and in New Zealand resistance to vaccine mandates boiled over on the grounds of parliament in early 2022.

Some protesters were angered by Ardern’s trademark empathy and kindness, which they now perceived as a false front. Due to the extremist elements among the protests, she refused to address them directly.

Ardern’s positive leadership reputation was earned on her responses to tragedies: the Christchurch terror attack, the Whakaari-White Island eruption, and the pandemic. But no sane politician would have welcomed such crises.

Nor were they part of Ardern’s social democratic plan. In fact, they hindered it. She did a lot for child poverty and family incomes, in line with her core values. But those achievements were overshadowed by a pandemic response that upended her government’s fiscal policy.

Promise unfulfilled

So, if catastrophes were the making of Jacinda’s career as prime minister, they were also the breaking of it. From her first campaign speech in August 2017, she had created a sense of promise that her government was ultimately unable to fulfil.

She claimed climate change was her generation’s “nuclear-free moment”, and that a decent, affordable home was everyone’s right. It sounded great, but on both counts progress fell short of expectation and need. Later, she would capitulate on a full capital gains tax to help solve the housing crisis. That allowed coalition partner Peters to claim credit for the backdown.

But it would also be wrong if the lasting narrative was one of failure to deliver. Her government’s Child Poverty Reduction Act now mandates reporting on progress towards poverty targets, bringing the problem into the engine room of fiscal policy. The Healthy School Lunches program helped reduce food insecurity.

Future governments will encounter strong political resistance if they try to rescind those measures.

Even those tireless advocates for children, the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), gave Ardern qualified approval following her resignation – although the truce didn’t last long. CPAG was back on the attack when Stats NZ reported “child poverty rates for the year ended June 2022 were unchanged compared with the previous year”.

A complex legacy

In the end, Ardern did not use the single-party majority she won in 2020 to fix the things she’d wanted to fix. When her government saw a problem, its default setting was to say “let’s centralise it” – as if that would do. Good social democratic government was sidelined by bureaucratic shakeups in healthcare, education and (before the plan was cancelled) public broadcasting.

An elaborate structural reform of water services became mired in controversy over Māori co-governance and loss of local democratic control. The sixth Labour government’s only potentially historic contribution to the development of New Zealand’s social security system – a proposed unemployment insurance scheme – was quietly shelved after criticism from both left and right.

So, will Ardern be remembered as one the great Labour leaders? To do so would put her in the pantheon of Michael Joseph Savage and Peter Fraser, who achieved so much in social security, healthcare and education, and who led the country through the second world war.

It would also place her next to Norman Kirk, whose 1972-75 government universalised accident compensation, introduced the domestic purposes benefit, and stood against French nuclear testing in the Pacific.

It’s a high bar, but not unreasonable to make the case. Ardern broke through barriers for women, most notably giving birth to her daughter while she held office. She united the country after the mosque shootings, soothing what could have become a divisive moment. By listening to the scientific evidence and advice about COVID, she helped save countless lives.

Ardern will undoubtedly be remembered as one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s outstanding prime ministers. This may not be for reasons of her choosing, though. Once the disaster management is accounted for, there are no major lasting achievements for which her government will be cited in the history books.

What will be remembered is Ardern’s exemplary and highly effective leadership through COVID. Yet there is no “kind” pathway through an unkind pandemic. Nevertheless, Jacinda Ardern is owed gratitude for all that she did – and acknowledgement of all she had to endure – to get her nation through it.

Grant Duncan, Associate Professor, School of People, Environment and Planning, Massey University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Jacinda Ardern resigns: can women really have it all?’ it read, reducing a highly effective and much-beloved leader who steered her country through multiple national tragedies and a pandemic into a trope, a cliche, even a warning – the woman who tried to be bigger than she had any right to be.

I can’t count the number of times I have been warned not to try and have ‘it all’, and I suspect many women have this experience, regardless of their socioeconomic status or social class, education, race, or even aspiration. Despite the years and the variety of people who have said this to me, I am still trying to work out what ‘it all’ even is.

As far as I can tell, it generally seems to reflect the clash between a woman’s societally constructed obligation to have children and primarily identify as a mother, and her seeking an identity – any identity- apart from that.

The ideology is easy to enforce when a woman already has children – any hobby, interest or career aspiration necessarily takes time away from those children and limits participation, and so women can be warned that either or both of their family and other commitment will suffer.

Where women do not have children, the sorrowful observation that a barren uterus (and thus life) is the natural consequence of not prioritising procreation above all else becomes a strident warning when directed at older women beyond what the observer considers a fertile age – do not be like her, they say to others.

Never mind that Ardern navigated that tightrope of conflicting obligations in a way that should stand as inspiration to all leaders, regardless of their gender. Never mind that women, almost universally, invest so much to planning how to navigate balances between family and external life, and if they fail, it is often due to external factors rather than lack of attention or care. Never mind that Ardern is hardly the first politician to resign from an arduous public life, whether it be for family reasons or others. Never mind that a gracious resignation towards the peak of their tenure is an admirable and desirable trait in any leader.

All this said, I think it is important to acknowledge that the days have limited hours and it can be difficult for anyone to have and achieve everything they aspire to, especially at the same time.

But today, as always, my conversations about ‘having it all’ will not be with the younger women I mentor, but rather with men. Because I know that women, even those naively aspirational teenage women in my life, have considered the balances, the trade offs, the realities of what their lives might look like, regardless of whether those plans and aspirations involve child rearing or not. So it is to the men I say: how will you balance all your obligations? Oh, you’re rarely thought about this? Come, sit down, let’s talk about it.

I only wish the BBC would do the same.

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So just how much did she give during her time as prime minister?

Ever since she became the world’s youngest female head of state at age 37, Ardern has given New Zealand and the world a “kind but strong” style of leadership- exactly what she hoped her legacy would hold. 

Promoting diversity and gender equality, shutting down sexist reporter questions, leading with empathy after the Christchurch attack and leading the country through a pandemic— below are some of Ardern’s shining moments.

Promoting diversity and gender equality

There were more women, people of colour and LGBTQI MPs in Ardern’s government than ever before in NZ history. 

In October of last year, NZ hit a gender equality milestone, with women making up the majority of its parliament for the first time. 

In 2020, Ardern made it easier for women to negotiate with their employers for equal pay, when the parliament passed the Equal Pay Amendment Bill.

That same year, she made a commitment to end “period poverty” by giving all school-aged people who have periods free sanitary products. 

Ardern was also the first PM to ever march in a Pride parade.

And she’s broken down gendered stereotypes of what a ‘real leader’ looks like by showing the world the realities of parenting and running a country. In 2018, Ardern made headlines for being the first person ever to bring her child to a United Nations General Assembly meeting. While she gave her speech, her partner Clarke Gayford held baby Neve.

Giving a world-leading response to COVID-19

Ardern’s leadership on COVID-19 in New Zealand’s has been globally applauded, especially during the first year. From the beginning of the pandemic, Ardern worked diligently to put policies into place that worked towards elimination of the virus. 

Ardern’s collaboration with health experts and overall strategy proved largely successful for the safety of New Zealand communities. 
In 2020, herself and her parliamentary cabinet even took a 20 per cent pay cut in solidarity with New Zealanders who had lost their jobs and livelihoods as a result of the pandemic.

Shutting down sexist reporters

Unfortunately, Ardern has had to deal with a fair deal of sexist questions from male reporters over her time in office. Nevertheless, she’s always managed to handle these situations gracefully– unafraid to call reporters out and put them in their place. 

Hopefully, there will come a time when female leaders no longer have to put up with such archaic lines of questioning, but Ardern’s quick and tactful responses will be a lasting part of her legacy. 

Leading with empathy after the Christchurch attacks and White Island volcano eruption

After the horrific murder of 50 Muslim worshippers in Christchurch in 2019, Ardern stepped up to say “never again” by swiftly labelling the incident a terrorist attack and working to successfully ban semi-automatic rifles in New Zealand. 

She also brought much-needed emotion and empathy centre-stage as she honoured victims’ and their families after the attack. 

Wearing a hijab, Ardern called for solidarity among all New Zealanders and visited with Muslim families to tell them they are welcome and supported in NZ by saying, “You are us”. 

Later that year, another disaster occurred in NZ when White Island Volcano erupted, killing more than 20 people and injuring many others. Ardern stepped up again with powerful empathy to praise the efforts of first responders and offer support to them and the victims’ families. 

Pushing aggressive climate action policies

Back in 2019, Ardern’s government committed to net zero emission by 2050 with landmark climate legislation and historic cross-party support.

She declared a climate emergency in NZ in December 2020, calling climate change “one of the greatest challenges of our time”. 

And in March 2021, New Zealand became the first country to require that banks, investment managers and insurers disclose the effects of climate change on their businesses. 

Later that year, Ardern announced that NZ would reduce its net greenhouse emissions by 50 per cent by 2030 as the country looked to be more ambitious on climate change.

Amplifying Maori voices and culture

Ardern introduced a new public holiday in New Zealand to celebrate Matariki, the start of the Maori New Year. 

And in October of last year, she delivered a Crown apology to a Maori tribe for warmongering and breaches to the Treaty of Waitangi. The apology, which she called a “momentous occasion”, was 30 years in the making and saw the government agree to a $NZ165 million redress and the return of 36 culturally significant sites.

Bringing ‘humanity’ to politics

Ardern’s public image is synonymous with a kind and empathetic leadership style. She’s been very vocal about her goal to bring “a bit more humanity” to politics in order to encourage others to become politicians.  

During her resignation speech today, she reiterated this goal saying she hopes to be remembered as a leader who pursued kindness. 

After giving a heartfelt “thank you” to New Zealanders for allowing her to serve in what she “considers to be the greatest role of her life”, Ardern said she hopes to leave behind the belief that “you can be kind but strong, empathetic but decisive, optimistic but focused.”

“That you can be your own kind of leader. One that knows when it’s time to go.”

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Riding the wave of their recent Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan, the couple have shared the trailer for their new series, featuring interviews with leaders around the world reflecting on their legacies and, as Netflix puts it, sharing messages of “courage, compassion, humility, hope and generosity”. 

Netflix says the show “highlights the fundamental values, daily disciplines and guiding principles that leaders employ to motivate others and create meaningful change.”

The trailer opens with the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg giving viewers the motivational message to “find a way” if there’s something you really want. 

Other world leaders interviewed include New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, climate activist Greta Thunberg, feminist icon and social justice activist Gloria Steinem, social justice attorney and advocate Bryan Stevenson, South Africa’s national rugby union team captain Albie Sachs and social inequality campaigner Siya Kolisi.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle executive produced the show and appear frequently in the trailer with Harry saying the docuseries was “inspired by Nelson Mandela, who once said ‘What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived’.”

To which Meghan adds: “It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.”

The seven-part series will premiere on 31 December 2022. It’s directed by Geoff Blackwell, who featured each of the show’s interviewees in his I Know This to Be True book series, and is co-produced by the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

Blackwell says he and Ruth Hobday, his co-founder of media company Blackwell & Ruth, proposed creating the series while working on a book of Nelson Mandela’s prison letters with the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

“This [show] started in response to the relentless news cycle that we are all confronted with; the climate crisis, mass shootings, human suffering, and certain political leaders using tactics of divide and conquer and spreading misinformation to serve their own interests,” says Blackwell.

Details of the new show were announced just days after the last three episodes were released of “Harry & Meghan”, a docuseries detailing the couple’s decision to walk away from their senior royal roles due to bullying by William and the British press, as well as their lived experience since then. 

Tens of millions of people have viewed “Harry and Meghan”- their autobiographical Netflix series- and reactions to the show have come in droves, with many commentators such as Jeremy Clarkson making openly misogynist comments towards Meghan.

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“After having a laugh about it, Jacinda Ardern and I are going to auction a signed copy of the Hansard (official record) of her calling me an “arrogant prick” to raise money for pricks everywhere, a great cause, the Prostate Cancer Foundation,” Seymour shared on Twitter on Thursday night.

Earlier this week, Seymour had asked Ardern in parliament if she could give an example of her “making a mistake, apologising for it properly and fixing it”. Ardern responded to the question referencing her government’s managed isolation policy during COVID-19 and said she would perhaps do things differently if it happened again.

Ardern then resumed her seat next to her colleague Grant Robertson and was caught quietly saying “he’s such an arrogant prick”. Her microphone was still live at the time, so the comment was picked up and recorded in the parliamentary Hansard.

Ardern later apologised to Seymour, with him accepting the apology saying it wasn’t “the end of the world”.

“She said, as my mum would say, ‘if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it’,” he told Newshub.

“I agree with the sentiment and it is all good as far as I am concerned. I just said, thank you and I hope you have a very merry Christmas. At the end of the day, it’s not the end of the world.”

People are now able to able to bid on a print out of the parliamentary Hansard, with all proceeds going to the Prostate Cancer Foundation. At the time of publishing, the current bid sat at $45,200.

“In the spirit of a Kiwi Christmas, two political foes unite to raise money for a good cause. You will receive a framed printout of the Parliamentary Hansard co-signed by the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern and one-time arrogant prick, ACT Party Leader David Seymour. All proceeds to the Prostate Cancer Foundation,” the bidding website states.

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The apology, which Ardern described as a “momentous occasion”, was 30 years in the making and culminated in the government agreeing to a $NZ165 million redress and the return of 36 culturally significant sites.

Ardern delivered the formal address in both Maori and English, saying the Crown regrets its needless acts of war against Maniapoto and the hurt it has caused. About 3000 people were in attendance to hear the apology.

“This is a momentous occasion for both Maniapoto and the Crown and marks the beginning of a renewed relationship,” Ardern said at the apology ceremony.

“The Crown is truly sorry for its many breaches of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and profoundly regrets its horrific and needless acts of war against Maniapoto.

“The Crown commits to working with you in good faith to revitalise and rebuild Ngāti Maniapoto.

“Today’s apology represents the beginning of the renewed partnership between Maniapoto and the Crown, based on mutual trust, co-operation and respect. A partnership that doesn’t neglect the past but that acknowledges it.”

Maniapoto is based in Te Rohe Pōtae (the King Country) and has an estimated population of 45,930 members, according to the 2018 census.

The apology acknowledges the Crown breached the treaty by confiscating land, acting unjustly by sending Crown forces across the Mangatāwhiri River during the Waikato War, indisciminatey killing non-combatants and looting and destroying property. It also acknowledges the Crown failed to protect Maniapoto tribal structures from the operation and impact of the Native land laws, leading to alienation of the tribal lands Maniapoto had been connected to for centuries.

The Maniapoto Deed of settlement was signed in November 2021.

 Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Andrew Little said he hoped the apology could lay the groundwork for partnership going forward.

“When Maniapoto rangatira signed the Treaty in 1840, they expected to build a partnership with the Crown – an expectation reinforced in the 1880s through a series of agreements between the iwi and the Crown called the Ōhākī Tapu,” Little said.

“But for more than a century after this, the Crown repeatedly broke the promises it made leading to devastating loss of life and land, and social and economic deprivation.

“Te Rangiwaituhi marks a day of restoration, partnership and heralds a new beginning in realising the promises made to Maniapoto in 1840. I hope that through the apology we can lay the groundwork for a new partnership to provide for the future wellbeing and prosperity of Maniapoto.”

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Ardern’s face quickly furrowed into a look of incredulity as the reporter ploughed further into his hole of no return, stuttering about the two leaders’ “common stuff”.

“My first question is, I wonder whether or not anyone ever asked Barack Obama and John Key if they met because they were of similar age”, Ardern said.

“We, of course, have a higher proportion of men in politics – it’s reality – because two women meet, it is not simply because of their gender,” Ardern said.

“We’re meeting because we are prime ministers,” Marin added.

Ardern went further to highlight her’s and Marin’s shared focus, as female leaders, to explore solutions around the “dire circumstances, where we are seeing the most basic of human rights being repressed and violated”, citing Iran specifically as a “good example”.

Marin agreed, saying the pair were standing together on equality “to make sure every woman and girl all across the world will have the same rights and the same opportunities as men”.

Marin is in New Zealand for her first official tour before travelling to Australia later this week. After a bilateral meeting on Wednesday morning, both Ardern and Marin shared their commitment to boosting trade relations and investing in climate change action.

“Our countries are aligned on incredibly important issues – we share a strong commitment to democratic values as the basis for open, tolerant, resilient, equal societies, and to multilateralism and a rules-based order that has underpinned global peace and prosperity since 1945″, said Ardern.

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Prime Minister Ardern called to expel Iran from the U.N.’s top women’s rights body at a press conference on Monday, saying it is “not sustainable for a country that continues to so brutally attack the rights of women to belong to a pre-eminent global body dedicated to promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment.”

UN Watch has praised Ardern for her latest announcement, encouraging her to initiate the process by introducing a draft resolution prepared by them.

In February this year, New Zealand became one of the 54 members of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). 

In a controversial move last year, the council elected the Iranian regime to the Commission on the Status of Women. As a member of ECOSOC, New Zealand is now being urged to introduce a resolution to remove Iran’s regime.

Although Prime Minister Ardern noted “the starting point will be engagement with the UN Secretary-General,” António Guterres’ office has said he has no involvement on elections of countries to UN bodies, and that this was a matter for member states.

“We have always believed in dialogue and diplomacy as key tools, but we also believe in sending clear messages on behalf of those who are less able to,” Ardern said.

“So on that basis, New Zealand will now suspend indefinitely our human rights dialogue with Iran. We don’t see the utility of holding talks that aren’t accompanied by progress, and, worse, provide legitimacy to them that their actions don’t warrant.” 

“We are also calling on United Nations member States to remove Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of Women.”

“It is our duty to add our voice to this call and to uphold the mandate and values of the commission.”

Ardern said she has requested advice on further actions her government can take to “amplify” her “condemnation of Iran’s human rights abuses” and demonstrate her country’s support to all those in Iran — especially women and girls standing up for democracy and human rights at very significant risk to their lives.

NZ’s Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said the “decision sends a strong signal that bilateral approaches on human rights are no longer tenable with Iran, when they are denying basic human rights and violently suppressing protests of those who stand up to them”.

“Recent events continue to show Iran’s position on human rights is deteriorating, not improving,” Mahuta said. “Aotearoa New Zealand continues to be appalled by the use of force by Iranian authorities in response to peaceful demonstrations following the death of Mahsa Amini last month.”

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It comes as Soraya Peke-Mason was sworn into parliament on Tuesday, replacing former Speaker, Trevor Mallard.

Peke-Mason’s swearing in means there are now 60 women in New Zealand’s parliament, compared to 59 men.

The milestone means New Zealand has joined just a handful of other countries to have at least 50 per cent women in their parliaments. Other nations to have achieved the milestone include Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, Rwanda and the United Arab Emirates.

According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, about 26 per cent of lawmakers are women globally.

New Zealand has long been a leader in gender equality, being the first country to grant women the right to vote, back in 1893. Women were given the right to stand for election in New Zealand in 1919. The first woman was elected to the country’s parliament in 1933.

Who is Soraya Peke-Mason?

Peke-Mason is now the newest member of the governing Labour party, led by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

“Whilst it’s a special day for me, I think it’s historic for Aotearoa New Zealand,” Peke-Mason told reporters on Tuesday, the day she was sworn into parliament.

Before entering parliament, Peke-Mason spent 18 years on the Rangitīkei District Council including 12 years as a councillor, and six years on the community board. She has a business background in industries including construction, tourism, and forestry.

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