Jacinda Ardern hoped resignation would ‘take heat’ out of vitriol directed at Govt

Former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who gives her final speech in Parliament this afternoon, opened up about her life as Prime Minister in two television interviews. Photo / Newshub

Jacinda Ardern believes her resignation as Prime Minister may have reduced the vitriol aimed at the Government but maintains it was not her chief reason for leaving politics.

“If it did that would be good for NZ,” Ardern told 1News of her leaving the Beehive.

Ardern, who gives her final speech in Parliament this afternoon, opened up about her life as Prime Minister in two television interviews ahead of her departure from political life and her shift into two new global positions concerning climate change and online extremism.

Ardern recalled the opposition that rose during the Covid-19 pandemic about Government policies like vaccine mandates and closing the border and considered it one of her hardest experiences, as it culminated in the occupation at Parliament.

“We lost for a time that sense of unity, sense of community... and I will forever think back, is there a way I could have kept that cohesion? I don’t know the answer.”

She told 1News if another option was chosen then “we may have lost other things”.

“The other things we may have lost would have been people. Because ultimately what we were trying to do was make sure people were safe.

“And I kept telling myself, looking out that window, that is what they think they are doing too,” she told 1News, referring to the protests at Parliament.

“Heart of hearts, everyone thought they were doing the right thing by New Zealand but it led to a strongly held view, and in some cases built around falsehood.”

Jacinda Ardern with Canada's PM Justin Trudeau and French PM Emmanuel Macron at the Christchurch Call anti-terrorism event in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. Photo / Supplied

When she announced her resignation in January, Ardern said her main reason behind the decision was she didn’t have enough in the tank to give the job her all until the election.

Speaking to Newshub, Ardern explained that same rationale but she admitted her hope for less vitriol directed towards the Government.

“I did occur to me that my departure might just take a bit of heat out,” she said.

“Was it the basis of my decision? No, but I did believe that that might be one of the consequences of it.”

She said to 1News that in the back of her mind was a belief her leaving might bring the tempo, heat and friction down a peg.

Asked about the vitriol directed towards her, Ardern told 1News that would not be what she remembered.

“For the most part the experience has been amazing.”

She told 1News it was a “small group who hold some extreme feelings towards me”.

But she said her memories would be acts of kindness, including a woman who made her a cup of tea at the airport, and the “random strangers who keep sending me flowers”.

She said there were people who meant her harm but she felt “well-cared for”.

On Hipkins’ leadership, Ardern was adamant with Newshub that she would not become another political commentator as she understood how tough the job could be.

It explained why she chose not to assess Hipkins’ decision to ditch or delay several of her Government’s policies focused reducing carbon emissions.

She also defended her record on reducing child poverty, saying her Government started work that would be continued by future leaders.

“I believed that we did all that we could do.

“The job was never going to be done in five years but I do believe we made a stepchange.”

She said she was proud of the progress Labour had made “pushing against things that were difficult”.

“We had some hard debates but part of me did think if I did go, maybe we can just take a breath because I knew I was a flashpoint for some people.”

She said it was not the basis of her decision but she hoped it would be a consequence.

Asked about co-governance and why she had not spent time explaining it, she disagreed and said she had.

“Why be afraid of having Māori at the table?” she told 1News.

“Why be afraid of that? That for me was the starting point.

“We took on some hard debates and discussions, I am proud that we did because we will grow as a nation.”

Ardern refused to answer questions about if she knew about emails sent by disgraced former minister Stuart Nash to his donors that were run by Ardern’s office.

”I am out now, I have stepped back, it is for the new team.”

Her final message to New Zealanders was “thank you” as she blinked away tears while talking to Newshub, indicating the potential emotion she might display during her valedictory statement in Parliament tomorrow.

Details of Ardern’s new roles

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said Ardern had declined payment to act as special envoy for the Christchurch Call, however, costs associated with the job will be reimbursed.

She will start on April 17 and her position would be reviewed at the end of the year. She will report directly to the Prime Minister.

“Jacinda Ardern’s commitment to stopping violent extremist content like we saw [on March 15, 2019] is key to why she should carry on this work,” Hipkins said.

“Her relationships with leaders and technology companies and her drive for change will help increase the pace and ambition of the work we are doing through the Christchurch Call.”

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins created the position for Ardern. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Ardern will also be taking a position on the board of the Earthshot Prize, launched by Prince William.

The Prince and Princess of Wales said in a tweet Ardern’s “life-long commitment to supporting sustainable and environmental solutions, along with her experience as Prime Minister of New Zealand, will bring a rich infusion of new thinking to our mission”.

It is an honour to welcome @jacindaardern to the @EarthshotPrize team. Her life-long commitment to supporting sustainable and environmental solutions, along with her experience as Prime Minister of New Zealand, will bring a rich infusion of new thinking to our mission. W https://t.co/FYlKVqEeRl

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) April 4, 2023

The Christchurch Call is an unprecedented global initiative working across governments, the tech sector, and civil society to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online.

Hipkins said work was under way on areas such as how algorithms - which determine what online content we see - affect how someone was radicalised and the implications of newly developed technology like artificial intelligence and augmented reality.

“We owe it to those who lost their lives on 15 March 2019 to continue our work to ensure there is no place for terrorist and violent extremist content online,” he said.

Ardern’s fiance Clarke Gayford told the Herald he was happy for her and said Ardern was “really excited” about her new roles.