Reflections on leadership Looking back at RT Hon. Jacinda Ardern’s time in office

By Michaela Pointon, Timmi Aplin-Barrett and Natasha Parrant

RT Hon. Jacinda Ardern, previous Prime Minister of Aotearoa New Zealand, was a leader, mentor and influencer. We reflect on her time in office as the nation’s 40th serving Prime Minister.

Whether you’re a Labour party supporter or not, there is no denying Jacinda Ardern is one of the most influential women in New Zealand’s history. She is passionate, fiery, kind, confident and, led Aotearoa with determination.

Her unique personal approach to politics carved waves of change by challenging norms of women in positions of power. She stood up to her opposers, loved the grieving and showed compassion in a style we rarely experience in leaders globally.

Like any leader, she has received harsh criticism. As well as brutal critiques of her choices and personal self. Some choices arguably cost the country and there was negative pushback on some decisions. However, she gave New Zealand - and the world - five years of examples on how to lead. When announcing her resignation, her closing statement reflected her journey throughout the role of Prime Minister.

“[I hope] I leave behind a belief that you can be kind, but strong. Empathetic, but decisive. Optimistic, but focused.”

THE GOOD Covid-19 Response

During 2020 when the world changed forever, Ardern delivered a world-leading response to the Covid-19 outbreak in Aotearoa.

Her response to the Coronavirus pandemic would set her apart from leaders across the globe. Her carefully curated and clear response could be argued as the defining factor for her recognition across the world.

The initial strategy of elimination including border closures and lockdown ensured the healthcare system could survive.

Following this was the use of a mitigation strategy, which kept infections and deaths low. The phrase ‘Team of five million’ created a sense of social cohesiveness during this time.

Christchurch Mosque Attacks

Ardern was praised for her authentic leadership response during the Christchurch Mosque terror attacks on March 15, 2019, taking the lives of 51 people.

She promoted unity and compassion during this time, moving quickly to tighten New Zealand gun laws. Just six days post-attacks military-style semi-automatic firearms were banned.

More than 62,000 prohibited firearms in circulation were removed from the gun buyback system.

In May 2019 Ardern joined forces with France’s President, Emmanuel Macron, establishing the Christchurch Call to Action Summit.

United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, praised Ardern for her solidarity with victims and families.

It was clear Ardern’s compassion to the Muslim community was felt across the world.

Whakaari/White Island Eruption

Another tragedy hit New Zealand when the Whakaari/White Island erupted on December 9, 2019.

Her response to the disaster was praised when she met with the first responders following the disaster, recognising them for going above and beyond the line of duty.

In an address to parliament later on, Ardern spoke to the families of victims saying, ”I say to those who have lost and grieve - you are forever linked to our nation and we will hold you close”.

Once again, Ardern’s personal approach to families and her ability to show kindness in times of tragedy continued to make her an influential and memorable world leader.

First New Zealand Prime Minister to march in a Pride parade

Ardern was the first Prime Minister to march in a Pride parade in 2018 in support of the LGBTQIIA+ community.

She attended the parade with Finance Minister Grant Robertson.

Ardern stated at the time, “Let’s all recommit to keep doing the work that’s required and make sure that we show international solidarity, so that everyone can celebrate who they are, no matter where they live in the world”. This act of support could be considered the start of the influential and recognisable ‘Jacindamaina’ which was referenced throughout her time in office.

Matariki Public Holiday

Under Ardern’s leadership the introduction of the Matariki public holiday was established. Recognising this day by establishing the Māori New Year as a national holiday represented another step forward for Aotearoa.

Ardern’s style of leadership was modern and progressive, bringing out-dated ideologies ‘up to scratch’ in the government house.

The Matariki public holiday will be an annual celebration for New Zealand, continuing to weave our diverse national identity together.

Cost of Living Support Payment

Living in a post-Covid world meant New Zealanders have been faced with extreme living costs in recent times. During 2022, Ardern introduced the ‘Cost of Living Support Payment’ to help people and families during this time.

The payments were split into three automatic payments for eligible New Zealanders. This was said to help ‘soften the impact of rising global inflationary pressures affecting New Zealanders’.

The cost of living support payment was offered as a complimentary support during this time and showed Ardern’s [and central government] ability to recognise the struggles of the ‘average’ person experiencing financial hardship during this time.

The Bad

Bullying in the ranks

Several Labour Party members have either resigned or been fired due to allegations of bullying and the mishandling of such complaints.

Labour Party President Nigel Haworth resigned in 2019 after being challenged regarding his handling of serious allegations against a Labour staffer, which included allegations of sexual assault, bullying and intimidation.

Ardern said the party handling of this issue had caused further harm and additional distress to the complainants.

During 2022, Labour MP Gaurav Sharma was suspended from the caucus over what

Ardern called “repeated breaches of trust.”

He also accused the party of bullying and criticised Ardern and her government for refusing to investigate his side of the story over staff issues.

Unfair Restrictions on Farmers

The New Zealand farming community has held several, large-scale protests during Ardern’s leadership, citing issues ranging from the emissions tax and the three waters proposal to the electric vehicle initiative.

Groundswell, one of the main organisations representing farmers, have been very vocal in their dissatisfaction with Ardern’s treatment of farmers.

It boils down to a sense of unfairness. Many farmers feel they’re facing too many rules too quickly while other industries aren’t facing any rules at all.

Farmers are facing rising costs and some are worried they won’t be able to continue their jobs.

Spike in crime

The Labour Party opposition and many members of the public have been criticising Ardern and her office regarding their “softness” on crime.

The numbers of shootings, ram raids, thefts and, general criminal activity has been rising rapidly recently.

The National Party says that, under the leadership of Ardern, there has been a 21 percent increase in violent crime, 2000 more gang members, a 45 percent increase in gang membership, and a 31 percent increase in assaults.

More and more Kiwis state they’re feeling unsafe in their communities and find the correlation between the increase in crime and Ardern in office hard to ignore.

Endless lockdowns and lack of action

Although Ardern’s initial COVID-19 pandemic response was praised both nationally and internationally, political parties and New Zealand citizens began to tire of the endless lockdowns - especially Aucklanders.

Some groups began accusing Ardern of infringing on basic human rights and many people were simply sick of any real progress.

As time went on, criticism on Ardern’s handling of the pandemic began to outweigh the praise and it seemed as if she might be “giving up”.

Some view her resignation as Prime Minister as her final act of “giving up”.

Protests and occupations

The Covid-related protests were a real blow for Ardern as for over a month, people occupied the Beehive lawn and many criticised her for not addressing the She and the leader of the opposition responded to threats from the protestors by refusing to meet with them.

Former Prime Minister Jim Bolger criticised Ardern and her government, saying they needed to “get off their high horses” and speak to the protestors.

The protests were an anti-mandate and antivaccination occupation of parliament grounds and ended in violence and multiple arrests.

In Summary

Ardern received a lot of love and hate during her time as the Prime Minister of Aotearoa. She seemed to have a bigger overseas attraction than in her own country.

Understandably, the role of Prime Minister is not easy. Ardern did her best to come up with various solutions to solve the many issues Kiwis faced over the five and a half years [2017-2023] she served as Prime Minister.

Ardern had many wonderful moments in which she accomplished a lot such as fighting for people’s rights, seeking justice, supplying support payments, representing inclusiveness and diversity, and protecting Aotearoa.

She also had ‘not so good’ moments such as failing to handle serious allegations issues within the party, deciding against viewing the Oranga Tamariki video, giving unrealistic regulations to farmers facing rising expenses, her controversial handling of Covid-19, as well as facing anti-mandate and anti-vaccinated protestors.

Ultimately Ardern is only human. She has emotions, thoughts and feelings like everyone else.

She served Aotearoa well and will remain a memorable and significant leader in New Zealand’s history.

For now, Ardern deserves to have peace, be surrounded by loved ones and to take a break from the courageous and brutal role as Prime Minister. CT

Images: All photos subject to Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. https://creativecommons. org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode