Category Archives: Jacinda Ardern

Jacinda Ardern

Former prime minister will likely be overseas during the period of New Zealands election in October

Former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has taken up three new roles at Harvard University, where she will study and speak on leadership, governance and online extremism.

Ardern announced in an Instagram post on Wednesday morning that she was incredibly humbled to be joining the university on joint fellowships at the Kennedy Schools Center for Public Leadership and the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, based at Harvard Law School. She will focus on the study of online extremism at the law school, and on building leadership and governance skills at the Kennedy School.

The fellowships will begin in the autumn, and will take Ardern overseas for the period of the New Zealand election in October. Ardern said that While Ill be gone for a semester (helpfully the one that falls during the NZ general election!) Ill be coming back at the end of the fellowships. After all, New Zealand is home!

Ardern has visited Harvard before: last year, she given an honorary doctorate of law and earned a standing ovation when speaking at Harvards commencement on gun control and democracy.

The former prime minister will continue her work on the Christchurch Call an inter-governmental and tech company pledge she developed after the Christchurch terror attacks to prevent extremist and terrorist content being spread online.

Her time at Harvard will include time spent studying ways to improve content standards and platform accountability for extremist content online, and examine artificial intelligence governance and algorithmic harms, the University said in a statement. She will also continue her work on the board of Prince Williams Earthshot Prize, which awards five 1m prizes each year for work providing solutions to major environmental problems.

Prof Jonathan Zittrain, co-founder of the Berkman Klein Centre, said it was rare and precious for a head of state to be able to immerse deeply in a complex and fast-moving digital policy issue both during and after their service, and that Arderns hard-won expertise including her ability to bring diverse people and institutions together will be invaluable as we all search for workable solutions to some of the deepest online problems.

Kennedy School Dean Douglas Elmendorf said in a statement that Ardern showed the world strong and empathetic political leadership. She earned respect far beyond the shores of her country, and she will bring important insights for our students and will generate vital conversations about the public policy choices facing leaders at all levels.

Arderns formal titles will be 2023 Angelopoulos Global Public Leaders Fellow, Hauser Leader in the Kennedy Schools Center for Public Leadership, and Knight Tech Governance Leadership Fellow, at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, based at Harvard Law School.

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Jacinda Ardern takes up leadership and online extremism roles at Harvard - The Guardian

Jacinda Ardern, pictured last summer, resigned as New Zealand's prime minister and left Parliament earlier this year. "I am incredibly humbled to be joining Harvard University as a fellow," she says. Rick Rycroft/AP hide caption

Jacinda Ardern, pictured last summer, resigned as New Zealand's prime minister and left Parliament earlier this year. "I am incredibly humbled to be joining Harvard University as a fellow," she says.

Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been chosen for multiple fellowships at Harvard University, the school announced Tuesday.

Ardern resigned as prime minister and left Parliament earlier this year and said she "no longer had enough in the tank" to continue in politics.

She has been selected as a 2023 Angelopoulos Global Public Leaders Fellow and a Hauser Leader at Harvard Kennedy School's Center for Public Leadership. Additionally, she has been named as a Knight Tech Governance Leadership Fellow at Harvard Law School.

"I am incredibly humbled to be joining Harvard University as a fellow not only will it give me the opportunity to share my experience with others, it will give me a chance to learn," Ardern said. "As leaders, there's often very little time for reflection, but reflection is critical if we are to properly support the next generation of leaders."

The Angelopoulos fellowship "provides opportunities for high-profile leaders who are transitioning from public service roles," while the Hauser fellowship appoints high-profile leaders to work with students and faculty on improving leadership skills, the school said.

During the Knight Tech fellowship, Ardern will "study ways to improve content standards and platform accountability for extremist content online, and examine artificial intelligence governance and algorithmic harms," Harvard said.

Ardern became the world's youngest leader in 2017 at the age of 37. Her last day in office was Feb. 7.

In six years, Ardern garnered a positive reputation globally, taking on challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, terrorist attacks on two mosques in Christchurch and a volcanic eruption.

Ardern previously received the Kennedy School's Gleitsman International Activist Award in 2020 and delivered Harvard's 2022 commencement speech.

"Jacinda Ardern showed the world strong and empathetic political leadership," Kennedy School Dean Douglas Elmendorf said. "She earned respect far beyond the shores of her country, and she will bring important insights for our students and will generate vital conversations about the public policy choices facing leaders at all levels."

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Ex-New Zealand leader Jacinda Ardern appointed to several Harvard fellowships - NPR

Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will be temporarily joining Harvard University later this year

By

STEVE LeBLANC Associated Press

April 25, 2023, 8:01 PM ET

3 min read

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who led her country through a devastating mass shooting, will be temporarily joining Harvard University later this year, Kennedy School Dean Douglas Elmendorf said Tuesday.

Ardern, a global icon of the left and an inspiration to women around the world, has been appointed to dual fellowships at the Harvard Kennedy School. She will serve as the 2023 Angelopoulos Global Public Leaders Fellow and a Hauser Leader in the schools Center for Public Leadership beginning this fall.

Jacinda Ardern showed the world strong and empathetic political leadership, Elmendorf said in statement, adding that Ardern will "bring important insights for our students and will generate vital conversations about the public policy choices facing leaders at all levels.

Ardern, who was just 37 when she became prime minister in 2017, shocked New Zealanders when she announced in January she was stepping down from the role after more than 5 years because she no longer had enough in the tank to do it justice. She was facing mounting political pressures at home, including for her handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which was initially widely lauded but later criticized by those opposed to mandates and rules.

She said she sees the Harvard opportunity as a chance not only to share her experience with others, but also to learn.

"As leaders, theres often very little time for reflection, but reflection is critical if we are to properly support the next generation of leaders, she said.

Ardern's time at the Cambridge, Massachusetts, university will also include a stint as the first tech governance leadership fellow at the school's Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society.

The center has been an important partner as New Zealand worked to confront violent extremism online after a white supremacist gunman killed 51 people at two mosques in the city of Christchurch in 2019, Ardern said. The gunman livestreamed the slaughter for 17 minutes on Facebook before the video was taken down.

Two months after the shooting, Ardern launched the Christchurch Call with French President Emmanuel Macron. The initiative's goal is to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online.

More than 50 countries joined the initiative, including the United States, Britain, Germany and South Korea, as well as technology companies like Facebook parent company Meta, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, YouTube, Zoom and Twitter.

"The Center has been an incredibly important partner as weve developed the Christchurch Call to action on addressing violent extremism online," Ardern said, adding that the fellowship will be a chance not only to work collaboratively with the centers research community, but also to work on the challenges around the growth of generative AI tools.

Jonathan Zittrain, co-founder of the Berkman Klein Center, said it's rare for a head of state to be able to immerse deeply in a complex and fast-moving digital policy issue.

Jacinda Arderns hard-won expertise including her ability to bring diverse people and institutions together will be invaluable as we all search for workable solutions to some of the deepest online problems," he said in a statement.

Ardern said she planned to return to New Zealand after the fellowships.

___

Associated Press writer Nick Perry contributed from Wellington, New Zealand.

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Ex-New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to join Harvard - ABC News

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who led her country through a devastating mass shooting, will be temporarily joining Harvard University later this year, Kennedy School Dean Douglas Elmendorf said Tuesday.

Ardern, a global icon of the left and an inspiration to women around the world, has been appointed to dual fellowships at the Harvard Kennedy School. She will serve as the 2023 Angelopoulos Global Public Leaders Fellow and a Hauser Leader in the schools Center for Public Leadership beginning this fall.

Jacinda Ardern showed the world strong and empathetic political leadership, Elmendorf said in statement, adding that Ardern will bring important insights for our students and will generate vital conversations about the public policy choices facing leaders at all levels.

Ardern, who was just 37 when she became prime minister in 2017, shocked New Zealanders when she announced in January she was stepping down from the role after more than 5 years because she no longer had enough in the tank to do it justice. She was facing mounting political pressures at home, including for her handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which was initially widely lauded but later criticized by those opposed to mandates and rules.

She said she sees the Harvard opportunity as a chance not only to share her experience with others, but also to learn.

As leaders, theres often very little time for reflection, but reflection is critical if we are to properly support the next generation of leaders, she said.

Arderns time at the Cambridge, Massachusetts, university will also include a stint as the first tech governance leadership fellow at the schools Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society.

The center has been an important partner as New Zealand worked to confront violent extremism online after a white supremacist gunman killed 51 people at two mosques in the city of Christchurch in 2019, Ardern said. The gunman livestreamed the slaughter for 17 minutes on Facebook before the video was taken down.

Two months after the shooting, Ardern launched the Christchurch Call with French President Emmanuel Macron. The initiatives goal is to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online.

More than 50 countries joined the initiative, including the United States, Britain, Germany and South Korea, as well as technology companies like Facebook parent company Meta, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, YouTube, Zoom and Twitter.

The Center has been an incredibly important partner as weve developed the Christchurch Call to action on addressing violent extremism online, Ardern said, adding that the fellowship will be a chance not only to work collaboratively with the centers research community, but also to work on the challenges around the growth of generative AI tools.

Jonathan Zittrain, co-founder of the Berkman Klein Center, said its rare for a head of state to be able to immerse deeply in a complex and fast-moving digital policy issue.

Jacinda Arderns hard-won expertise including her ability to bring diverse people and institutions together will be invaluable as we all search for workable solutions to some of the deepest online problems, he said in a statement.

Ardern said she planned to return to New Zealand after the fellowships.

___

Associated Press writer Nick Perry contributed from Wellington, New Zealand.

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Ex-New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to join Harvard - The Associated Press

The recent announcement that Jacinda Ardern, New Zealands former Prime Minister, will be taking on dual roles at Harvard University, as reported by The Guardian, has brought forth a new chapter in her political career. Ardern will serve as a visiting professor and assume the mantle of the institutions first-ever leader in online extremism. This move not only exemplifies Arderns dedication to fighting online hate and radicalization but also highlights the essential role of academic institutions in searching for answers to societys biggest questions.

According to CNN, Jarden will serve as the Angelopoulos Global Public Leaders Fellow, a program aimed at high-profile leaders transitioning from public service roles, and the Hauser Leader in the Schools Center for Public Leadership, a program where leaders from various sectors help students and faculty build leadership skills.

The interesting thing about this new role is that it combines Arderns governmental policy expertise with the universitys research capabilitiesindicative of a closer partnership between academic institutions and policymakers. Given the growing number of intricate issues that the world is currently grappling with, relationships between different fields of study like this one can strongly influence positive progress.

As Helen Gordon, President of Council at the University of Reading, said in a statement, Science is fundamental to every part of our lives and our future. Leaders must ensure that science teams are supported in working together creatively, across disciplines and nations, especially around the big challenges the world faces.

In other words, academic institutions need to be efficient in their collaboration with government leaders, and Arderns appointment is a prime example of what can happen when this integration works. Subsequently, this could be the start of a new era in which universities become hubs of problem-solving and social justice.

That said, while Arderns move to Harvard is a testament to the potential of academic institutions in driving positive change, its important to accept that no single entity can take on the worlds most pressing problems alone. Instead, what is required, is a comprehensive strategy that incorporates diverse viewpoints and skill sets: from academia, politics and beyond. Arderns appointment might be a step in the right direction, but it certainly isnt the only one we need.

Consider the UNs Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which rely on a collective effort from many different actors, or the forthcoming Leadership Impact Festival hosted by Henley Business Schools Centre for Leadership and the Alumni and Development Department on June 1. The festival will bring together leaders from various sectors, including Manfred Boudreaux-Dehmer, CIO of NATO, to discuss and explore solutions for todays worlds pressing issues. Speaking ahead of the festival, Bernd Vogel, the professor of leadership responsible for hosting the event, said, We invite leaders who will be able to share their experience and knowledge on topics such as globalization, digital transformation, sustainable development and climate change. We are hoping that this forum will make a meaningful contribution towards finding solutions for the common good.

And so, it is evident that academic institutions are now playing an increasingly crucial role in finding solutions for the worlds most pressing issues. We can expect more collaborations like this to emerge as universities leverage their research capabilities and policy leaders seek out new ideas to tackle global problems.

That said, the responsibility to lead these efforts lies with all of us. With that in mind, lets work together to create a better world for future generations. We can do this by promoting and encouraging collaboration between universities, governments and other stakeholders in order to drive progress on the most pressing global issues. Only through such a collective effort can we hope to achieve positive change and make the world a better place for everyone.

Disclosure:Two sources mentioned in this articleHelen GordonandBernd Vogelare employed by the same University as this articles author, though the author is not involved in the Leadership Impact Festival. The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and not of any institution or organization.

I'm a leadership professor writing expert commentary on global affairs

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Jacinda Ardern And The Power Of Academia In Tackling Societys Greatest Challenges - Forbes

Watch: Petitioners demand action now after Government delivers 'excuse after excuse'. Credit: Video - Newshub; Image - Getty Images.

The Greens say the Government is "running out of time" this term to fulfil its promise to ban new mines on conservation land.

The party is launching a new petition on Monday to put the focus back on the issue, while also criticising the "enormous uncertainty for nature" the delay is causing.

It is spotlighting Australian billionaire Clive Palmer's Mineralogy International, which has 10 active mineral permits in New Zealand allowing for prospecting and exploration.

Many of the permits cover conservation land areas and allhave been granted during the Labour Government's tenure.

A further four permits are currently under evaluation. None are mining permits.

One was just granted in March at Whirinaki, south-east of Rotorua, while another is a prospecting permit that began in July last year covering 283 square kilometres on the West Coast. It wraps around a large portion of Lake Brunner and covers part of the Hohonu Range conservation land.

In the headlines lately has been a prospecting permit for land northwest of Kerikeri in Northland that has the local Whangaroa hap concerned. Part of the permit covers a small portion of Puket Forest, which has some of the last unlogged ancient kauri trees.

While permits can be secured from New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals (NZP&M) for a number of years, holders still need to get land access, either from private landowners or, in the case of conservation land, from the Department of Conservation (DoC). Mineralogy has previously received DoC access.

Prospecting permits are described as "low-impact" by NZP&M (including geographic mapping and hand sampling) but can lead to "higher impact" exploratory work that includes drilling.

It concerns Greens environment spokesperson Eugenie Sage that these activities are allowed on conservation land.

"If those go onto mining, that mining we know is invasive, it involves vegetation clearance and major damage to waterways," she said.

Sage said the current situation creates "enormous uncertainty for nature" and leaves it up to community organisations to defend lands' conservation values.

"We need to change the law to provide security for nature," she said.

"We have a climate crisis and a biodiversity crisis. New Zealanders expect our conservation lands to be protected [and] these stunning landscapes and the plants and wildlife that inhabit them to be protected from mining."

She said Labour has failed to implement the promise to ban new mines on conservation land despite having a parliamentary majority. Former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern first made the promise in the 2017 Speech from the Throne.

Sage was the Conservation Minister between 2017 and 2020, but as Newshub has previously reported, the policy was bogged down then by a lack of consensus between Labour, New Zealand First and the Greens over its scope, including whether it would apply to stewardship land.

With NZ First out of Parliament, there were hopes Labour would quickly move ahead with the policy, but progress was delayed by a decision to focus on the reclassification of stewardship land first.

Conservation Minister Willow-Jean Prime told Newshub the Government remained committed to "ensuring that mining in Aotearoa only happens where and when appropriate, and according to robust regulatory standards".

"As such, significant and considered policy work is ongoing regarding the proposed policy of no new mines on conservation land final decisions on any Bill have not yet been taken."

Until any law change is made, companies can continue to seek permits and access arrangements.

DoC director of regulatory services Steve Taylor told Newshub that when assessing access arrangement applications, it considers "the impacts and effects of the activity and assess any proposed mitigation measures".

"These statutory processes are required by legislation and remain unchanged while policy work proceeds on potential amendment to regulatory or legislative settings.

"NZP&M permits does not give right of access to any land. The permit holder must seek access from the individual landowners to operate. Therefore, there can be conservation land within a permit granted by NZP&M, but the permit holder cannot access the conservation land without gaining the relevant access arrangements."

Prime also said she and her officials were "engaging with Te Rnanga o Ngi Tahu, recognising their Deed Settlement and the Ngai Tahu (Pounamu Vesting) Act 1997".

It's been reported that progress on the policy has been slowed by the need to figure out how to address Ngi Tahu's rights to pounamu, which may be impacted by a mining ban.

Sage has a Member's Bill which would prohibit new mines on conservation as well as coal mines. It's expected to come up for reading on the next Member's Day next week.However, Sage said there's been no public indication from Labour that it will support it.

"The bill and the explanatory material makes it very clear that there is no intention to impact on Ngi Tahu's right to pounamu," she said.

"Alluvial gold mining on the West Coast in river valleys can unearth boulders, and that is the practical way that access to pounamu occurs.

"If there needs to be further protections in the Bill, we'd hope that that can be done through the Select Committee process. But there's absolutely no intent to cut across Ngi Tahu's statutory right to control, own and control access to pounamu."

The Greens are launching a petition on Monday calling on Prime to honour the Government's promise and back Sage's Bill.

"We are running out of time in this term to change the law. My Bill is an opportunity to change the law to allow the public to have a say on what they think should happen on conservation land. The petition is to encourage the Government to support the Bill."

It's not the first time the party has tried to put pressure on the Government to act. In 2021, it launched an open letter calling for the Government to protect conservation land. It ended up receiving more than 16,000 signatures. But there's been no change.

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Green Party wants Government to crack on with Jacinda Ardern-era promise to ban new mines on conservation land - Newshub

The relationship between Anthony Albanese and Jacinda Ardern helped to change Australian attitudes. Photo / Pool

OPINION:

It took courage and political gall to verbally stalk the aggressively rambunctious Scott Morrison, then charm the hell out of his successor, the more cerebral Anthony Albanese. But Jacinda Ardern did just that.

Just one week after Ardern left Parliament, it is clear that Kiwis particularly those living in Australia owe her gratitude.

The upshot of the outspoken and passionate campaign Ardern waged to publicly call successive Australian prime ministers to account and shame them over the second-class treatment their governments had meted out to New Zealanders has now borne fruit.

At 1 am this morning (NZT), Prime Minister Albanese announced that New Zealanders who have lived in Australia for four years on temporary, special category visas and who meet standard Australian criteria, will be able to become citizens.

It would be trite to suggest that Arderns unique style was the only factor weighing on the Australian Governments decision. It was obviously grossly unfair for Australia to also deny social services benefits to New Zealanders who had long paid Australian tax. On achieving citizenship, they will now qualify for that assistance.

It should also be noted that in reality, it is in Australias economic interest for hard-working and skilled New Zealanders to be offered a direct pathway to citizenship. It will incentivise some Kiwis to make their future in Australia at a time when international labour shortages impinge on many countries.

Since Ardern resigned, first as Prime Minister and then as Mt Albert MP, there has been a great deal of mean-spirited comment over her political legacy on the international front, where she has been criticised as a show pony.

The commentariat has, however acknowledged her undoubted crisis management: think the Christchurch mosque attack, the White Island eruption and the early years of Covid-19.

While the breakthrough was finalised under Chris Hipkins prime ministership, in truth, the credit belongs to Ardern, supported by careful diplomacy by New Zealands High Commissioner to Australia, Dame Annette King.

It was not until after the two PMs joint meeting in Sydney last July that Albanese telegraphed that Australia was prepared to move on a new pathway to citizenship for New Zealanders living across the Tasman and would adopt a more commonsense approach to deporting New Zealand citizens convicted of crimes.

Arderns formal bilateral meeting with Morrison the year before had been politically charged. It took place just as the Covid-19 pandemic was gathering pace.

The Australian Prime Minister had already moved ahead of international authorities and warned his country to prepare for a coronavirus pandemic. But while the topic was on their meeting agenda, Ardern studiously ignored it while she whipped into Morrison at their news conference.

I wrote then that it was as though their meeting took place in a parallel universe where threats of global pandemics, multiple deaths and a potential international recession did not exist.

But Ardern was fixated on shaming Morrison.

All the rhetoric around we are family that both sides in this relationship have promoted for decades, in reality counted for zilch when the Kiwi cousins were treated as inferior.

By combining empathetic advocacy with logic, the former New Zealand Prime Minister broke through the walls that Australia had erected against its Kiwi cousins.

Hipkins has acknowledged the contribution of former prime ministers to the policy shift, adding this is the biggest improvement in the rights of New Zealanders living in Australia in a generation and restores most of the rights Kiwis had in Australia before they were revoked in 2001.

He leaves Wellington this morning for his own first formal bilateral meeting with the Australian Prime Minister.

Poignantly, this is Anzac Weekend.

While the official agenda does indeed allow for the place Anzac Day holds for both Australians and New Zealanders given the large numbers from both countries who were casualties of world wars there are new threats on the horizon.

Views have been sharpened and been shaped by the Ukraine crisis and the recognition that the Pacific is no longer a benign neighbourhood.

Both prime ministers will attend the Nato summit in Europe in June. New Zealand is also considering joining Pillar 2 of Aukus, the trilateral security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The White House has already sent diplomat Kurt Campbell to Wellington to talk with defence and foreign affairs officials on the proposal. The British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly would no doubt have also canvassed the expansion of the security pact to include New Zealand if he had not high-tailed it back to London yesterday to manage the developing Sudan crisis.

In a perceptive speech to the FOMA conference a week ago, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade CEO Chris Seed said many of the assumptions that have underpinned New Zealands foreign policy for decades no longer hold.

We are seeing an increasing shift from rules to power. A shift towards a world where the existing rules and norms of the international system are being increasingly challenged, often eroded, and too frequently disregarded.

Certain countries are increasingly exercising hard power to test the limits of the rules-based system, at the expense of rules that serve smaller countries like New Zealand.

Seed instanced, as the clearest example, Russias unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine a clear breach of the territorial integrity and sovereignty at the heart of the United Nations Charter.

He also singled out the shift from economics to security, adding that economic relationships are being reassessed in light of a more militarised, more securitised, less stable world.

The medium of diplomatic exchange in the Indo-Pacific has, for the last 20 years, been economic. We are now seeing a marked shift towards diplomacy centred on power and security.

This scoping of MFATs evolving position will have been read well by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs (Dfat) in advance of Hipkins visit.

It would be naive to assume that the deepening international security environment and the tough choices New Zealand may in future face does not play a part in the weekends private discussions between the two prime ministers.

Already, Australia and New Zealand have announced plans for their armies to work more closely together. Plan ANZAC, named after the joint WWI force, aims to improve army interoperability with more co-operation over training, capability, readiness and personnel.

Then there are the other defining moments in our nations histories.

Hipkins will be accompanied to Brisbane by four influential Mori leaders: Ngahiwi Tomoana, Liz Mellish, Traci Houpapa and Pania Tyson-Nathan.

At a time when Australia is debating what it calls The Voice and giving aboriginal people a greater role in federal and state governance, seeing the value and confidence these stellar Mori leaders bring to international discussions might just inspire Albanese to go further and faster in Australia with proposals to enhance indigenous leadership.

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Fran O'Sullivan: Jacinda Ardern's Australian campaign delivers for ... - New Zealand Herald

National's Taieri candidate Stephen Jack posted a sexist joke on Facebook. Photo: New Zealand National Party

Stephen Jack has resigned as the National Party candidate for Taieri after it was revealed he shared a poem online comparing Jacinda Ardern to Adolf Hitler.

A National Party spokesperson told RNZ on Wednesday night via email the party would open selection for another candidate for the seat in due course.

Earlier, Stuff revealed Jack re-posted a poem which compared former prime minister Ardern to Hitler.

It has come to light as deputy leader Nicola Willis labelled an earlier, sexist joke shared by Jack as "disgusting" - and warned a repeat incident may trigger the party's disciplinary code.

On Sunday, Stuff revealed the Taieri candidate shared a video in 2020 which contained the joke: "I like my Covid like I like my women. 19. And easy to spread." It was removed after the party was contacted with questions.

The poem posted in 2021 remained on his personal Facebook page on Wednesday. It contains the lines: "Just as Hitler had the SS, our prime minister's on the job. She's given up on the police and bought the Mongrel Mob."

SS is an abbreviation for the Nazi Party's Schutzstaffel organisation, largely responsible for the genocidal murder of an estimated six million Jewish people.

The 'Enough is Enough' verse was written by Balclutha farmer Ross Agnew, and also refers to Ardern as "Cindy". It also reads: "I'd like to leave my carbon footprint on [Environment Minister] David Parker's arse."

Sheep and beef farmer Jack re-posted with the comment "a sequel to the fart tax blues" - a reference to a protest song written by Agnew in 2003, opposing a proposed levy on livestock methane gases.

Jack tagged farming lobby group Groundswell, and rural radio show The Country.

On Wednesday, Willis told Newstalk ZB that Jack had apologised for the joke. She said she would feel uncomfortable if something similar happened again.

"I think it would be incredibly unwise for him to do anything like that again and in fact that would probably trigger some of our party rules in terms of our code of conduct," she said.

Earlier in the week, leader Christopher Luxon called the joke "a pretty crass comment" and defended the party's candidate selection process.

"We're doing a good job," he said. "I am proud of the process I have put in place since becoming the leader, working with the president to make sure we've got a very good vetting process."

Earlier this month, the party's Maungakiekie candidate Greg Fleming, faced heat for comparing civil unions with polygamy and incest during the civil union debate around 20 years ago.

MP Sam Uffindell was selected for the Tauranga by-election last year, despite the party knowing he was kicked out of boarding school for severely beating a younger boy.

* This story was originally published by Stuff, additional reporting by RNZ.

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National candidate shared a poem likening Jacinda Ardern to Adolf ... - RNZ

Former Prime Minister Jacinda Arderns worry that engaging with Parliamentary protesters could set a precedent was a valid concern, experts say, with her presence having the potential to inflame the situation.

However, some say there should have been some engagement with protesters, who spent weeks on Parliaments lawn, ending with rioting and fire.

The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) released its report on Thursday scrutinising the police response to the occupation around Parliament from February 8 to March 2, 2022 after receiving more than 1900 complaints.

The IPCA report stated that protest leaders wanted to meet with Cabinet Ministers or MPs, telling police, other agencies and media it was one of their main aims.

READ MORE:* A chaotic day in Wellington, a 'distraction team' equipped with safety goggles and 'gardening gloves' * PM, IPCA say there wasn't 'undue' pressure to end Parliament occupation* Jacinda Ardern interviewed for investigation into police conduct during Parliament protest

On February 16, Police Commissioner Andrew Coster asked if then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern would meet with the protesters.

Her considerations against engaging with protesters were that a section of the protest was not new and had already raised their issues, there was no designated leadership and there were violent and threatening elements.

She said after Covid-19 lockdowns were lifted, certain people began following and protesting her. She had tried to talk to them twice but found it impossible to do so because she was shouted down, abused and had to withdraw in fear for her safety, the report stated.

Stuff

Jacinda Ardern held a media conference as police continued to clear out protesters and their camping gear from around Parliament.

Ardern also did not want to set a precedent that if people occupied Parliaments grounds the prime minister would talk to them, and all MPs had agreed to not engage directly with protesters.

Former lead crisis negotiator Lance Burdett said there was the potential of violence if the prime minister had gone out to talk to protesters.

However, someone else should have engaged with protesters, such as a senior MP, to hear what they have to say.

Its about getting in early, talking with them, finding out what they want, dont give them what they want ... Its about coming to a mutual arrangement.

Burdett said being more open in negotiating a crisis helped situations.

STUFF

Stuff visual journalists were in the thick of the action for all 23 days of the occupation of Parliament's grounds and the surrounding streets. Here's some of their best work.

He suggested the Government could have been more transparent about looking at loosening Covid restrictions at the time, which could fill the void.

Disinformation project director Kate Hannah said there was a really difficult balance that needed to be found in engaging and dealing with the protesters.

People living in Wellington, working in Wellington ... kids going to school, felt very, very unsafe. People ... were really, really scared, we cant really discount that.

Hannah said to a certain extent, the majority of people whipping up the crowds ... and posting from outside of Wellington, the narrative benefited from Ardern not engaging, and seeing the Speaker (then Trevor Mallard) as an opponent.

It would have been far less engaging if people had sat down and had a krero.

She said it was a very real concern that Ardern talking to protesters could create a precedent, and had they had been successful in forcing someone to speak to them, that would become a reusable tactic.

ROBERT KITCHIN/Stuff

President of the NZ Police Association Chris Cahill said the opportunity to talk with protesters has got to be preferable to what we ended up with on that day.

Hannah said realistically, there was not a senior member of Parliament of any side who would have been able to take on that role of engaging with protesters.

As a collective, the distinguishing feature was mass distrust of Parliament.

She said there was a possibility there could have been a community leader or someone else with mana who may have been able to take up the role, but noted the stance of mana whenua.

The major iwi in Wellington, Te tiawa and Ngti Toa, said they did not support the protest and were worried it could harm Mori.

President of the NZ Police Association Chris Cahill told RNZ the opportunity to talk with protesters has got to be preferable to what we ended up with on that day, referring to the last and most violent day of the protest.

You need to at least give people a chance. There were people there that needed to be listened to, they should have been listened to.

You should try everything first, and I dont believe it was done because politics overruled common sense at times.

Former deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters while no longer working at Parliament, made a brief appearance at the protest, visiting various tents and talking to protesters.

The government and politicians refusal to talk is just going to make things much worse, he tweeted at after visiting.

On Friday, he wrote on social media, Chris Cahill is right.

The violence could have been avoided if any one of the sitting MPs had the courage and common sense to leave their parliamentary office to just go and listen to the people, who as the IPCA report said, had a legal right to be there.

Expecting the prime minister and other parliamentarians to engage with a group that were displaying threatening behaviour was a question we haven't had to grapple with in the past, Hannah said.

We need to reflect that some people did expect the prime minister and others turn up and speak to people who made violent threats and continued to make.

Hannah said there needed to be refection on how to keep those in Parliament safe, while being able to keep the accessibility of New Zealands Parliament.

Follow this link:

Potential for violence if Ardern had talked to Parliament protesters ... - Stuff

Blues player Beauden Barrett celebrates a try with Caleb Clarke during the win over the Waratahs. Photo / Photosport

Enabling more to go is dumb

Jacinda Ardern, when she was Prime Minister, announced an agreement with the United Kingdom government to extend the age range for Kiwis to work in Great Britain. Now, Chris Hipkins is proudly announcing that it will be much easier for Kiwis to get residency and citizenship in Australia. When we are so short of doctors, nurses, teachers, builders and such, why are we encouraging people to migrate overseas? Peter D Graham, Helensville

Beauden Barretts decline

It is heartbreaking to watch the demise of one of our greatest rugby players. Beauden Barrett is a mere shadow of the great player he once was. Watching him try to play against the Waratahs on Saturday was tragic. It was so bad I stopped watching. He has never had a good kicking game and Saturday night proved it. A coach once said that the difference between good and great players is 2cm and poor old Beauden has lost his. This applies to Sam Cane as well and, for his future health, he should be made to retire. How many head knocks and concussions can he sustain? Jock MacVicar, Hauraki

Live animal exports barbaric

Nearly choked on my dinner on Wednesday night when Christopher Luxon announced that if National got in they would allow live animal exports again. Immediately contacted my local MP and asked him to pass on a message that, as a National supporter all my life, I will not be voting for National if they bring back this barbaric treatment of animals. The reply the next morning was along the lines of we will treat the animals better than some other country would; and so that makes it all right, does it? Not for me, and I know many other people feel the same. Cows and sheep belong on the ground, not on the seas. Send semen over by air and impregnate their own cows. I will not vote National if this is what they are going to do. Gill Court, Howick

Go back to old Plunket days

We take care of our animals and require a vaccination certificate to go into kennels or catteries to prevent infectious diseases spreading, and yet our babies and pre-schoolers do not have this requirement when placed in daycare. Do we not value the lives of our babies enough to protect them from potential illness and death? We live, supposedly, in an era of technology and enlightenment and yet our babies were better protected, cared for by their parents at home, were loved and treasured, and had a better start in life during the advent of Plunket in the last century where every child had a record book of their milestones, feeding, health issues and vaccinations to the age of 5. Many issues were picked up and rectified before the child started school and parents had a written record to refer back to. Many children born in this time still have their Plunket books. It is typical New Zealand thinking that if a system works but it costs money then dump it! Money, greed, selfishness and materialism have become modern-life power tools to our detriment. Marie Kaire, Whangrei

NZ public transport amazing

My partner and I have just returned to the United States after two months in New Zealand. We had an extraordinary time visiting your country. We were delighted by Kiwis warmth and openness, awed by the beauty of your islands, and also amazed by your excellent urban public transportation systems. We were surprised to hear many complaints about Auckland Transport. Both in Auckland and Christchurch we experienced timely, clean buses. Bus drivers and train staff were kind, helpful, and patient with our moments of confusion. We couldnt believe we could get from Mission Bay to Auckland Airport for $2! We have been telling all of our friends at home about your wonderful public transport (and clean public toilets everywhere!) Thank you for the incredible welcome to New Zealand. We would move there instantly if we could. Rebecca Dorr, Maine

Co-governance catastrophic

Brodie Stone (Weekend Herald, April 22) reported on the canning of Jason Momoas film with measured clarity. If a group of local iwi and hapu cant reach consensus over the filming of a scene for the series Chief of War, what chance has co-governance on a national basis got of succeeding? The economic damage to the Whangarei Heads community is tragic. This idealistic approach on a national scale would be catastrophic! Chris Parker, Campbells Bay

Kiwis rights in Australia

I take issue with Fran OSullivans bouquets (Weekend Herald, April 22) tossed to our former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, that she played a key role in gaining more rights for New Zealand expats. Ardern may have kept the issue highlighted with the Australian powers that be, but I dont accept for one minute hers was the final push to get it over the line. My wife and I moved to Australia in 2001 and remained there until 2017. Throughout this period there were numerous groups, highly active in continually raising the inequities of citizenship with successive Australian governments. This was in addition to various, regular submissions made by NZ parliamentarians to Australia. OSullivan gives little or no credit to any of these lobby groups. For her to suggest Ardern swept in to publicly call successive Australian Prime Ministers to account and shame them is totally erroneous. Knowing Australians as intimately as my wife and I do after many years of living and working there, Australians arent shamed by any Kiwis. On the contrary. More likely the current Australian government saw a brilliant opportunity to bolster their workforce in a tight international labour market by offering an excellent carrot to Kiwis to make the move across the Tasman. Murray Brown, Hamilton East

Easy Great Walks

One option for some of the Great Walks other than the Milford is to walk halfway on the first day and then walk back to your car. Some days later, drive to the other end of the track, walk halfway and back. Youve done the whole track twice. It costs nothing, and best of all, no booking required. No pack needed other than a day pack with your parker and lunch. Pick a day with good weather. I did the Routeburn this way at the age of about 60. Or go with friends walk the whole track starting at opposite ends, swap keys along the way. Susan Grimsdell, Auckland Central

On NZ Commonwealth Games

Like all big projects these days, the benefits are grossly overestimated. Look at the Olympics and Commonwealth host cities spending years and years paying back the debt. Birmingham is still paying it back and still proclaimed the event a success. I really love my sport, but New Zealand wanting to host the Commonweath Games is just another ego trip of this country wanting to play with the big boys. Ian MacGregor, Greenhithe

Easy fix for public transport

Auckland Transports chief executive Dean Kimpton must start improving public transport by first getting more out of Aucklands existing transport system. More dedicated bus lanes and priority measures, such as a separate bus transit signal at traffic lights. Give buses the right of way on all roads. Cheaper, flexible and time-differentiated fares can reduce congestion and make public transport more attractive. Higher fuel prices will also encourage more people to use and try public transport. To stop the public loathing of AT and its services, it must continuously improve and promote public transport upgrades. Kimpton can change this perception by getting the buses moving so people can enjoy reading a library book on the bus. Only then will public transport be loved as much as libraries. Patrick McFarlane, nehunga

Police criticism unjustified

There is nothing wrong with having a review of the riot at Parliament grounds so that any loopholes could be plugged up for future protests, but it is galling that the police and their leaders should be maligned for their handling of the situation. What is not appreciated is there is a fine line between peaceful resolution and an all-out riot. When a large group gather to protest a very contentious issue, flashpoints can occur for no real reason. Had the police dispersed the protest earlier, no doubt they would have been criticised for heavy handling of the situation. Reg Dempster, Albany

Short & sweet:

On West Island

Now might be a good time to start the debate as to whether Australia should become part of New Zealand. James Gregory, Parnell

On Gore blimey

As more facts emerge of the Gore Council standoff, the inevitability of this conflict becomes more apparent. Long-serving, ageing and crusty CEO meets youthful, self-serving opinionated first term mayor. Larry Mitchell, Rothesay Bay

On foot-in-mouth

Are MPI workers doing their job properly? There appears to be a severe outbreak of foot-in-mouth disease in Wellington. Martin Adlington, Browns Bay

On Kiwaussies

Now Australia has returned most of the 501s they feel confident enough to offer well-behaved New Zealanders living in Australia citizenship. Neil Hatfull, Warkworth

On TV complaints

RNZ and TVNZ complained that Twitter called them government-controlled entities. NZ Herald reports Minister wants changes to TVNZ programming. Perhaps they complained too much. Nick Hamilton, Remuera

On Braunias

Steve Braunias The secret diary of Elizabeth Kerekere (Weekend Herald, April 22) absolutely nailed it. Lorraine Kidd, Warkworth

Link:

Letters: Live animal exports, Beauden Barrett and NZ ... - New Zealand Herald