Former prime minister Jacinda Ardern giving her valedictory speech in Parliament. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Former prime minister Jacinda Ardern giving her valedictory speech in Parliament. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Jacinda Ardern is making one last effort to garner donations for the Labour Party following her valedictory speech in Parliament this evening.
An email from one of Ardern’s addresses, authorised by Labour’s general secretary Rob Salmond, contains some of the former prime minister’s final messages as she exits politics.
“The aroha I’ve received from this Labour community is something I’ll never forget,” the email read.
“I can’t tell you how much your support and encouragement helped me when I was in the Beehive.
“And I’ve loved reading all your kind messages of support since I stepped down, too.
“I started my Labour journey 24 years ago as a volunteer. Since then I’ve been a staffer, an MP, a PM - and now I’ll take on a different role. But I’ll always be Labour.”
There were several moments when Jacinda Ardern showed her emotions throughout her final speech. Photo / Mark Mitchell
She said that while she wouldn’t be in Parliament, she would continue to cheer on “Chippy” - the nickname of Prime Minister Chris Hipkins - and hoped email recipients would too.
“So today I’m pledging to continue to support this movement, that means so much to me, by making a contribution.
“Your donation - no matter how big or small - will help strengthen this incredible movement ahead of the upcoming election.”
The email, which was sent just minutes after Ardern concluded her speech, included two links to Labour’s donation page.
Ardern, in a powerful and entertaining valedictory speech, said she would “happily be known as Neve’s mum” going into the future after resigning as prime minister.
She started her speech by remembering writing her maiden speech when she was 28. She looked back at her aspirations then and said she was proud she believed she had achieved those.
Ardern’s partner, Clarke Gayford, and daughter Neve were in the gallery for her valedictory speech, as were her parents Ross and Laurell Ardern.
Ardern said she got used to having her Prime Ministership “distilled down” to a list of priorities including a domestic terrorist attack and a pandemic.
