Category Archives: Jacinda Ardern

ROBERT KITCHIN/Stuff

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will not release briefing notes she has about Groundswell NZ.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is refusing to release briefing notes on farmer protest group Groundswell NZ, and her opposition is asking why, and what is she hiding.

Last week the Office of the Ombudsman advised Stuff that Prime Minister Jacinda Arderns office overlooked briefing notes relating to Groundswell NZ, when preparing an Official Information Act response.

Stuff then approached the PMs office for the briefing notes but was told the documents referred to are not ones that get released. It then added there was a longstanding practice covering successive National Party and Labour Prime Ministers is that media advice and briefing notes from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet Policy Advisory Group are provided to the Prime Minister of the day in confidence and are not released under the OIA.

Stuff has now lodged a complaint to the Ombudsman because we believe the briefing notes should be released because they are of public interest.

READ MORE:* PM's office has found Groundswell notes; now she needs to find that phone* Prime Minister may release information about Groundswell NZ* Will Nash meet with Groundswell NZ leaders?* Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern declines to meet Groundswell NZ representatives

The Prime Minister to date has declined to meet with Groundswell NZ leaders despite the leaders organising two massive protests countrywide and delivering thousands of letters to Parliament from farmers who are asking for some unworkable regulations to be reviewed relating to the ute tax, and some freshwater, indigenous biodiversity and climate change regulations.

Groundswell NZ has made it clear it is not an anti-climate change group.

It might appear Arderns approach is to perhaps ignore the group in the hopes it will go away but Groundswell NZ represents thousands of New Zealanders in the rural sector who do not understand why she wont engage with them.

National Party agriculture spokesperson Barbara Kruiger said Arderns actions were appalling.

Robert Kitchin/Stuff

National Party agriculture spokesperson Barbara Kuriger is calling on Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to release briefing notes she has about Groundswell NZ. (File photo)

I wonder what theyre hiding? Sometimes in these situations you might get a heavily redacted release with lots of black pages but in this case shes not even doing that and thats even more disappointing.

I just think about the fact that she said she was going to lead the most transparent Government in the world and here we have a situation where she wont release a briefing about some farmers who have been completely open about what they stand for. To be quite frank, its not on.

She said National would release the briefing documents if it was in Government.

ACT agriculture spokesperson Mark Cameron said: Why is the Prime Minister holding herself to a standard set by National? She promised to be better than that, the most transparent government ever, in fact. This is just politics as usual. New Zealanders are tired of the spin. Lets see what the advice says, otherwise this will be yet another example of the Prime Minister showing contempt to the rural sector.

Stuff first sent the OIA request in July to the Prime Minister asking for all documents, emails, briefing notes, correspondence relating to Groundswell NZ.

Excerpt from:

National and ACT call on Ardern to release Groundswell NZ briefing notes - Stuff.co.nz

The term 'eugenics' refers to the selection of desired heritable characteristics in order to improve future generations, and is often associated with Nazi Germany.

Morton's complaint against RNZ over the comment was not upheld. The BSA in April 2021 found no breaches of its guidelines for Good Taste and Decency, Balance, Accuracy or Fairness, and said the ACT Party was "treated fairly in the context of the debate".

But Morton told Newshub on Thursday the comment was the final straw for the party, and since then, no ACT MPs have appeared in live interviews for the show.

Newshub has reached out to RNZ for comment.

The boycott first came to light on Thursday morning, after The Spinoff published an interview with Seymour in which he described Morning Report as rude, selective and dishonest about what they wanted to talk about.

"After the umpteenth time that I went on their show out of a feeling of public duty and was belittled and abused with all their snarkiness, I just thought, 'I don't need this,'" he said.

But he told The Spinoff that the "really toxic and comically Lilliputian culture of Morning Report" was different from the rest of RNZ, and ACT MPs would happily appear on the station's other shows.

Morton told Newshub ACT MPs still also appear in pre-recorded interviews that are played as part of Morning Report's news bulletins.

While Seymour was happy for his party to ditch Morning Report, he decried Jacinda Ardern's decision to do much the same thing earlier this year, when she pulled out of her weekly slot on Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking Breakfast show.

He said in March the Prime Minister was avoiding answering questions by "de-platforming" herself from the weekly slot.

"Jacinda Ardern will ultimately regret this escalating arrogance, the latest example being cancelling her weekly discussion with Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking," Seymour said.

"It joins a long list of increasingly hubristic moves from the Prime Minister and her Government."

Ardern said the decision was made so she could branch out more to other media outlets, but broadcaster Hosking said in March that Ardern was "running for the hills" and was "over being held to account".

He said he didn't want Ardern back on his show after she cancelled the slot, which had been observed by New Zealand Prime Ministers for more than 30 years.

Often critical of the Government, Hosking said late last year people "misunderstand" his relationship with Ardern and despite often fiery interviews, he actually "likes her a lot".

"It's our work," Hosking said in December. "It's what we do. There's nothing personal in it."

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ACT Party's boycott of RNZ's Morning Report caused by host comparing one of its policies to eugenics - Newshub

Thursday, 9 December 2021, 8:52 amArticle: Peter Dunne

The focus placed on the first couple of Question Timeexchanges between the new leader of the National Party andthe Prime Minister will have seemed excessive to many butthe most seasoned Parliamentary observers.

Mostpeople, especially those outside the Wellington beltway,imagine Question Time is exactly what it sounds asession where the Opposition gets to ask Ministers questionsabout their portfolios to gain information, and whereMinisters respond, leaving Parliament better informed as aresult.

In fact, Question Time is anything but thegenteel exchange of information some imagine it to be, andothers wish it were. Rarely is anyone seeking genuineinformation at Question Time. If that were the true intentthey would be better off accessing the resources of theGeneral Assembly Library, or even the cumbersome processesof the Official Information Act to get what they wereafter.

For Ministers, the art of being successful atQuestion Time is to give away as little information aspossible, unless it presents the Government in a favourablelight, while for the Opposition parties the aim is to tripup or otherwise embarrass a Minister. Little of it hasanything to do with the accuracy or depth of the informationbeing sought or provided.

In that regard, QuestionTime is a ritualistic game, albeit an important one, playedout generally at the start of days Parliamentaryproceedings. Its purpose is about establishing dominance,and which side is on top that day, a little like the openingskirmishes in a rugby test match. And it is not a phenomenonexclusive to the New Zealand Parliament. Although the formof their Question Times differs somewhat from ours, the samedynamics are at play in the House of Commons in London, andthe House of Representatives in Canberra, and many otherWestminster-style Parliaments around the world.

Themistake is often made of assessing Ministerial andOpposition performance on what goes on at Question Time.Some Ministers are quick-witted natural performers whothrive on the rough and tumble of Question Time. Likewise,some Opposition MPs are extremely good at asking awkwardquestions that make even the most experienced Ministerssquirm. But none of this is necessarily an indicator oftheir overall effectiveness. Others may, for example, be farmore effective as policy developers, or in selectcommittees, more interested in solid achievement than thetheatre of Question Time.

While the natural tendencyfor an Opposition is to want to take on and hopefully topplethe Governments best performers, good Oppositions learnover time the futility of that. Far better to ignore theGovernments strong performers by not asking them anyquestions at all, thereby depriving them of the oxygen touse Question Time to score at the Oppositions expense. Itis often more profitable for an Opposition to use QuestionTime to expose and put pressure on the Governmentsweakest Ministerial links, forcing other Ministers to spendmore of their time in Question Time defending theirembattled colleagues, rather than promoting their ownleadership and policy achievements.

When last inOpposition National took some years to realise the futilityof attacking Helen Clark and Sir Michael Cullen when theywere at their most dominant. It was a similar story with thelast Labour Opposition which was fixated on attacking SirJohn Key for far too long. Both eventually dropped thetactic and simply ignored them thereafter, once theyrealised they were losing more from the ongoing attacks thanthey were gaining. Weaker Ministers offered far richerpickings!

All of which brings us back to the currentcontest between Christopher Luxon and Jacinda Ardern. Whileit is clearly too soon to form a definitive view after justa couple of days performance so far, it does seem thatArdern will be more vulnerable on questions that are notCovid19-related where she cannot take the same high groundapproach she has since the outbreak of the pandemic. Luxontherefore should shift his attack away from the Covid19sphere and onto policy areas where Ardern is far morevulnerable like overall Government performance, housingprovision, child poverty and climate change, for example. Ifhe cannot score against her on those areas, he may, overtime, like those before him, need to think about ignoringher altogether to starve her of the Parliamentaryopportunity to score points at his expense.

Whatevercourse the future Question Time exchanges between Ardern andLuxon take, we are unlikely to gain any substantive newinformation on Government or Opposition intentions. After alittle while we will get a sense of who is the more dominantin Parliamentary terms, and the impact that is having on therespective morale of their teams. In time that might alsotranslate into a wider public perception of who is winningand who is losing.

The pressure Question Time imposeson party leaders in Government and in Opposition is muchmore about constantly performing at a high level, than it isabout asking or answering questions. If a party leader isbeing frequently bested at Question Time, it starts to sapthe partys morale, and, in turn, raise questions aboutthe future of the leadership. MPs on both sides will bewatching Arderns and Luxons coming performancesintently in that regard.

Getting on top at QuestionTime is for both Jacinda Ardern and Christopher Luxon animportant pathway to getting on top with the rest of thecountry. It should be no surprise that the questions asked,and answers provided will always run a far distant second tothat quest for dominance.

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Dunne Speaks: Question Time Is Anything But - Scoop

Most of the country will start in the orange traffic light setting when the new Covid-19 protection framework kicks in this Friday.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern revealed the initial settings for the new system on Monday at her post-Cabinet press conference.

No area will start in Green, as the Government have said the risk of the outbreak escaping Auckland is too high for that.

Auckland and a clutch of other regions in the North Island with lower vaccination rates will start at red. Those are: Northland, Taup, Rotorua lakes districts, Kawerau, ptiki, Gisborne, Wairoa, Rangitikei, Whanganui and Ruapehu Districts.

READ MORE:* Covid-19: How travel will work in the new traffic light system* Covid-19: How bars and restaurants will work under the traffic light system* Covid-19: Clock ticking for the unvaccinated with 'traffic light' date set

Northland and the Bay of Plenty have also seen outbreaks as well lower numbers of Covid-19 cases.

The rest of the country including the entire South Island, Wellington, and Waikato will all start at orange.

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Which areas are starting where.

Waikato has an ongoing community cluster but also has fairly high vaccination rates, with 91 per cent of its estimated 12+ population first dosed.

Other than Auckland, the regions starting at red all had second dose rates for their 12+ population below 79 per cent as of last Tuesday, with Kawerau as low as 64 per cent.

The Government has not provided a vaccination milestone that would see a district switch from red into orange, however.

Ardern said these settings would be reviewed by Cabinet on December 13 but then stay in place for much of the summer period.

ROBERT KITCHIN/Stuff

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said much of the country would start in orange.

On January 17 the settings would be reviewed again, then again every fortnight from there.

The certainty and stability of the traffic lights replaces the sudden lockdowns and restrictions of Alert Levels. Our schools will stay open at every colour and businesses will have protection through My Vaccine Passes to keep operating, Ardern said.

Vaccinated New Zealanders using vaccine passes will be able to do many of the things that were previously treated as high risk like safely going to bars and restaurants, getting a haircut, and going to a concert or the gym. In Auckland, it means seeing friends and family indoors again.

The Government also announced a transition payment of up to $24,000 for businesses to move into the system.

Ardern emphasised that travel was allowed between regions at whatever colour other than the restrictions around Auckland travel. People can only leave Auckland after December 15, but only with either a vaccine pass or negative Covid test. The border will fully open from Auckland on January 17.

In general the system will see an end to lockdowns, although the Government has retained the ability to put small areas with low vaccination rates into localised lockdowns if an outbreak occurs.

At all levels people can visit friends and family and move between regions, even between red and orange areas although there are some extra controls for Auckland.

At orange venues and businesses that require vaccine passes can generally operate normally, with no capacity limits or seating requirements. Venues that choose to not require vaccine passes will face more severe restrictions, with cafes and restaurants only able to allow for pickup and delivery.

At red venues can still open if they require vaccine passes, but will need to have capacity limits and seating requirements.

The new system will mean far more restrictions for businesses outside of Auckland that refuse to use vaccine passes, but far more freedoms for businesses in the city that do choose to use them.

Red is the highest level in the new system, which is why Auckland has moved in at red as the epicentre of the current outbreak, and weve taken strong account of vaccination rates and vulnerable populations in the other regions at red, Ardern said.

There are 160,889 Kiwis due for a second dose if everyone got it this week we would be at 89.3 per cent fully vaccinated. I encourage those people to get their second dose today to benefit from the full protection of the vaccine, and to be able to get their Vaccine Pass.

Weve come through the past two years of Covid in better shape than nearly anywhere in the world, with the lowest case and death rates in the OECD, a growing economy, and among the highest rates of vaccination in the world.Were now in the strongest position to move forward into the next phase.

The Government has issued 2.4m vaccine passes.

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Covid-19 NZ: Most of New Zealand to start at orange, Auckland and lower-vaccinated areas to start at red - Stuff.co.nz

November 25 2021PM Jacinda Ardern said Auckland will start at the red traffic light setting next week to make sure restrictions were eased in a careful way so case numbers don't balloon.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is back in Auckland to meet members of the business and social sector communities as well as to visit Western Springs College in the city's inner west.

Speaking with media, Ardern said Auckland will start at the red traffic light setting next week to make sure restrictions were eased in a careful way so case numbers don't balloon.

Once restrictions had been eased, the situation could be reassessed. "We do want to ease carefully so we will see the impact of those changes," she said.

Ardern said she understood the pandemic made the ability for businesses to plan difficult, but the Government wanted to get the domestic settings right so there wasn't an increase in cases and a further escalation of restrictions.

On the issue of rushing the traffic light system legislation through parliament, Ardern said while the Government was moving quickly there was still scrutiny.

"Had we not done what we have done, Auckland would face ongoing restrictions, and I don't think anyone would agree with that," she added.

The Government wouldn't make the change to the traffic light framework if it wasn't safe to do, Ardern said. The new system would offer better protection for the public and the country's high vaccination coverage offered the ability to manage Covid from a good position.

"Aucklanders have made all the difference. They've stayed home; they've got vaccinated; they have literally saved lives," she said.

Questioned on the turmoil ensnaring the National Party, Ardern said the country was in the middle of pandemic and she was not concentrating on issues relating to the opposition.

"The most important thing is ... to focus on the issues important to the New Zealand people, and that is the pandemic," she said. "I see this as a matter for the National Party."

24 Nov, 2021 06:02 PMQuick Read

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On rapid antigen testing, Ardern said the cost was still to be determined but it was "a lot cheaper".

She said the tests were between $30 to $60 each. The Government would still use PCR testing in its response.

Ardern's visit comes as a raft of new Covid announcements have been made in recent days and weeks.

Auckland hairdressers today opened for the first time in more than three months while the rest of the country is now about a week away from moving into the new traffic light system to manage Covid.

Kiwis have also recently found out that from next year they will be able to return to the country and complete seven days isolation at home rather than in a managed isolation facility, provided they have been fully vaccinated and recently tested negative for the virus.

Her visit also comes as Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins today revealed New Zealand would revert to the alert level system if a new vaccine-resistant variant overwhelmed the country and the traffic light framework couldn't contain it.

Speaking to The AM Show, Hipkins said while the Government was absolutely committed to the traffic light system, a back-up plan would be reinstating the alert level system which is set to be dismantled next week.

The Government would have to revert to the alert level plan if it had a variant of the virus that was resistant to the vaccine, he said.

It was a possibility, but it's not what they thought would happen, he added.

Hipkins also said tens of thousands of people would be coming across the border each week when it reopened to Australia in January.

He said it was difficult to model how many positive cases would come into New Zealand from international travellers.

"We have to accept the reality that the risk of Covid-19 around international travel is going to be progressively increasing over the next three to four months."

It was possible Australia would see surges as it reopened its borders internally. Hipkins said the fact they were double vaccinated didn't mean they couldn't be carrying Covid-19.

The Government had been looking at other highly vaccinated countries and some were still experiencing a lot of difficulty at the moment. "We want to try and do this in a way that's sustainable."

The Government's decision to finally set the dates when fully vaccinated Kiwis can fly home from overseas without entering MIQ was as much about a "groaning" administrative system as it was health risk, says one expert.

From January 17, fully vaccinated New Zealanders can travel from Australia without traversing MIQ, Hipkins announced at yesterday's 1pm Beehive briefing.

Fully vaccinated Kiwis from all other countries can arrive and bypass MIQ as of February 14.

These fully vaccinated international arrivals will still need to self-isolate for seven days at home in New Zealand, register a negative Covid-19 test on arrival and another before entering the community.

And all fully vaccinated foreign nationals can start arriving from April 30. But Hipkins said that date might change, or the overseas influx could be tailored by visa category.

Hipkins said the plan balanced the demands of multiple groups with the need to prevent a Covid-19 surge.

But the complexity and challenge of managing pandemic prevention systems explained much of the decision, public health expert Professor Michael Baker said.

"It's a mixture of a genuine desire to protect New Zealand from the ravages of the pandemic, and an element of administrative capacity."

It was logistically impossible to open up New Zealand before Christmas, Baker said, with recent challenges showing multiple systems under strain.

He said the pandemic prevention systems were "groaning" with the volume of demands, including on MIQ and vaccine passes.

All overseas arrivals not required to go into MIQ will need a negative pre-departure test, proof of full vaccination, and passenger declaration about travel history.

Opposition parties blasted the three-step travel announcement.

"This timetable to open New Zealand to the world is truly pathetic," National's Covid-19 response spokesman Chris Bishop said.

He said Hipkins had already admitted no fully vaccinated travellers from Australia for months tested positive for Covid, so there was no reason the transtasman bubble should not reopen now.

Act said Labour was "the Grinch who stole Christmas for no reason", depriving Kiwis overseas of a chance to come home.

Read this article:

Covid 19 Delta outbreak: PM Jacinda Ardern on Covid, visit to Auckland, and National Party turmoil - New Zealand Herald

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the focus now is on getting New Zealand's new Covid protection settings right domestically.

Watch it here:

Ardern confirmed that Auckland will start at the red light of the new traffic light alert level system on 3 December. Future changes to that level will depend on the rest of the country's status, she said.

"It will matter for Auckland what is happening with the outbreak and the impact of eased restrictions on the outbreak's growth."

The impact on health systems will also be important in determining alert level changes under the traffic lights.

"Now that we're easing restrictions we do need to see what impact that has on the growth of the outbreak."

Ardern did not want to weigh in on the leadership changes in the National Party today.

"I see this as an issue for the National Party."

She said her focus is on the pandemic.

"The most important lesson I've had in politics is on focusing on what's best for the New Zealand people," she said.

"I don't see this as a matter for Parliament. I see this as a matter for the National Party Caucus to deal with. I'll be continuing to focus on the pandemic and they can manage any leadership issues they have."

The government has announced todaythat rapid antigen testing will be rolled out widely soon.

Ardern said rapid antigen testing is a lot cheaper than the current PCR testing that is being used for clinics.

"They are very low cost relative to what we've been using. We will still use PCR testing as a tool in our response, in addition to rapid antigen testing."

Pricing and so forth will be determined by pharmacies and the Ministry of Health.

With the gradual end of MIQ announced and the opening of New Zealand's borders in 2022, Ardern said the focus is on giving NZ citizens abroad certainty, as they will be the first to return home without quarantine.

Those in Australia can return in mid-January and in most other countries in mid-February.

"We do want to ease carefully though," she said and New Zealand will see the impact made by those changes and take into account as the border opens.

"Throughout this pandemic one of the hardest things to do has been to plan," Ardern said.

"Our focus now is on getting the settings right domestically."

Hospitality opens on 3 December, and early openings by hairdressers and others using the new vaccine pass will make it easier for them to be rolled out in more places.

With the Auckland border, she says the strict requirements for transit have kept case numbers from being worse than they could have.

Legislation that will replace the current alert levels with the traffic light system passed its final reading in the House, with opposition parties criticising it as divisive and unduly rushed.

Ardern defended that passage and said the legislation still has checks and balances.

"We are still making sure that whilst we need to move quickly, we still have scrutiny as well."

"The orders still go through Parliamentary Select Committee. They are scrutinized by the opposition and we still maintain debate in the New Zealand Parliament on all these changes."

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PM Jacinda Ardern: 'Throughout this pandemic one of the hardest things to do has been to plan' - RNZ

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern addresses supporters at a Labour Party event in Wellington, New Zealand, October 11, 2020. REUTERS/Praveen Menon/File Photo

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Nov 26 (Reuters) - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern expressed support on Friday for its Five Eyes alliance with Australia, Britain, Canada and the United States, but said her country would also consider other economic alliances in the Pacific region.

New Zealand has faced increasing pressure from some elements among Western allies over its reluctance to use the Five Eyes intelligence and security alliance to criticise its top trading partner, China.

"We do have important alliances we are part of and we consider fit for purpose and we consider need to be used for the functions for which they were originally established," Ardern said in an interview for the upcoming Reuters Next conference.

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"Beyond that, we consider that there's benefit to seeing a range of other actors in our region showing greater interest, not just in the strategic environment but the economic architecture for example of our region," she added.

"We welcome other countries becoming more closely aligned through multilateral trade agreements, through bilateral trade agreements."

New Zealand's Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta raised eyebrows earlier this year when she said she was uncomfortable about expanding the role of Five Eyes beyond a security and intelligence framework.

Mahuta also said New Zealand needed to maintain and respect China's "particular customs, traditions and values."

China, which takes almost one-third of New Zealand's exports, has accused Five Eyes of ganging up on it by issuing statements on Hong Kong and the treatment of ethnic Muslim Uyhgurs in Xinjiang.

Ardern, who earlier this year said that differences with China were "becoming harder to reconcile", said on Friday there was "no question that China's posture has changed in many ways."

"Over the last decade, I do think that we've seen a different dynamic, and a different range of leaders with a strategic interest in our region and that does pose challenges," she said.

"New Zealand, though, has been utterly consistent. We've always jealously guarded our foreign policy independent positions and continue to do so."

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Reporting By Jane Wardell; Editing by William Mallard

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New Zealand PM Ardern backs Five Eyes, open to other alliances - Reuters

OPINION: Assuming you have the required skills, would you want to be Prime Minister or All Black rugby coach? Really?

Its a wonder they can find anyone to do either job, given leadership means abuse, insinuations, and accusations. Opposition leader is said to be even worse.

PM Jacinda Ardern and Ian Foster must wonder what they were thinking when they stuck their heads above the parapet; two Waikato kids now being widely compared with a by-product from the back end of cows.

Neither will be having a great time, both are likely to be cursing Covid. OK, Ardern had Whakaari/White Island and the mosque shootings to deal with as well, but for two years Covid has stalked their every move.

READ MORE:* New political puppets unveiled at Wellington's Backbencher pub* Which prime ministers oversaw the biggest house price increases?* Limited travel bubble gives All Blacks extra hope to be home by Christmas but one massive hurdle remains

Photosport

All Blacks head coach Ian Foster, dejected after losing to France.

Public doubts are rising. Ardern is maintaining her smile as she slips in the polls, and a potpourri of disaffected Kiwis protest in the streets.

Foster has never won a popularity poll, even before consecutive losses to Ireland and France. You wouldnt rule out an anti-Fozzie march, the way things are going in Aotearoa.

Why lump Ardern and Foster together, you ask? Stints as a Press Gallery and sports reporter have revealed they have more parallels, than differences.

In Australia, its said the cricket captain is the second-most important person, after prime minister. Former PM John Howard even put it the other way around.

Rachael Kelly/Stuff

Werner Marx and Phil Gerritson of Tapanui were at Groundswell's Mother Of All Protests in Gore.

And so it is in Godzone, where rugby is the national game and politics has five sides on the Parliamentary pitch at the same time.

A PM must manage the unmanageable, whether the country or her own MPs, as does the All Blacks coach, harnessing an array of talents and mindsets into a cohesive whole.

After an election, one political team is given the ball, while the others complain about how they want it, how unfair the rules are, and what they would do if they only had the ball (always much better).

And just like Super Rugby, political parties have fans who will go nowhere else, or even see any merit in their rivals. A small percent of voters might switch, but only to the next-door party on the political spectrum.

No-one is going from the Greens to ACT, or vice versa, that would be like a Crusaders fan switching to the Blues. A decade after Foster left the Chiefs, there are still accusations of bias, with every selection seen through a Chiefs filter.

When the All Blacks get rucked over, the coach is a target of frustrated fans, powerless to vote him out, and with employer New Zealand Rugby usually as supportive as an international front-row forward.

My point is (yes, I know it has been a long wait) no normal person could handle either job, and both Ardern and Foster are more talented than normal people; which is not to say they are flawless, or even the best.

Yes, there is the money - the prime minister gets $471,049 and annual allowances for travel and lodging, and a lifetime annuity.

DAVID WHITE/Stuff

John Key was one prime minister who got to choose the timing of his own exit.

For that, prime ministers work endlessly, irrespective of the colour of their rosettes. I say this as someone who has been phoned by a PM after 11pm, and before 7.30am. Exhausting.

Fosters salary is a state secret. Top All Blacks earn more than a million.

So there is the money, but when did money ever make you less tired, or less stressed? Your body doesnt know how much youre being paid. It just knows it is exhausted, and youre not looking after it. The same goes for your brain.

And at the end of it all it can (and usually does) end in tears; Helen Clark, Jenny Shipley, Laurie Mains, John Hart, Grizz Wyllie, Bill English, John Mitchell, Jim Bolger, Mike Moore - did any stop being top gun on their own terms?

Or maybe they did. Maybe they (and their families) were simply relieved the war was over.

Whod blame them?

Read more:

Leadership in the time of Covid is a thankless job, in politics and in sport - Stuff.co.nz

OPINION: I know some people would be rolling their eyes at the thought of the National Party embracing the kindness brand.

These are the same people who continually and openly mock Jacinda Ardern for her advocacy for kindness, seeing it as virtue-signalling and a coy attempt at garnering domestic and international popularity.

I dont buy these criticisms because they are simply not consistent with the inner character and behaviour of the prime minister, whose propensity for empathy seems as natural as Donald Trumps propensity for self-adulation.

ROBERT KITCHIN/Stuff

Donna Miles says interim National Party leader Shane Reti is an obvious permanent choice as a leader who displays, communicates and prioritises the values of decency and kindness, rather than domination and power.

But there are other criticisms of Labours kindness brand worth mentioning. It is said that Kiwis living in poor neighbourhoods of South Auckland, with large Mori and Pasifika populations, whose problems have been exacerbated by Covid and lockdowns, have not felt much kindness.

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The housing crisis, child poverty and rising inequality have also left many New Zealanders feeling neglected and uncared for.

But these are not arguments against kindness - if anything, these are good reasons for thinking deeper about what a kind New Zealand should really look like, and how a healthy, empathetic society can ensure no-one is left behind.

People who belittle kindness as a value in politics and business often do so to justify their own selfishness and cruelty. But times are changing and even businesses are thinking and committing to kindness, wanting it to become an everyday thought and a consistent part of their mindset and communication.

It all makes sense. Kindness, its argued, is highly recognisable, especially when it happens directly to us - and all of us, bar sociopaths, are capable of exhibiting kindness.

To my Iranian mum, whose English is not good enough to follow New Zealand politics in great detail, the kindness of Jacinda Ardern has always been too obvious to miss. It is in her mannerism and countenance, Mum says of the way the PM conducts and carries herself.

ROBERT KITCHIN/Stuff

Donna Miles: Even I cannot help but like our PM for her decorum and decency.

She also openly says that she loves Jacinda Ardern. I firmly believe political leaders should not be idolised in any way, lest they be exempt from scrutiny and accountability, but even I cannot help but like our PM for her decorum and decency. I think it is a human condition to be more forgiving of people that we like, and to be overly critical of people we don't like.

This brings me to the National Partys current leadership crisis. As I write this, there is no clear indication of whom the future leader of the party will be.

But I do hope that this new change will bring with it a discontinuation of past practices and a departure from the party's current image. From dirty politics to wanting to appear tough on important issues such as crime and asylum response to these issues should be guided by evidence, not fleeting populism the National Partys anti-kindness approach has not only been detrimental to ordinary Kiwis, it clearly has also led to continual division and spite within the party.

I will never forget how the National Party behaved after high-profile Kurdish refugee author Behrouz Boochani was granted asylum in New Zealand. When Boochani arrived in Christchurch for a speaking engagement at the Word festival, he called the Christchurch welcome a reminder of kindness.

joseph johnson/Stuff

Donna Miles says she will never forget the National Partys treatment of Kurdish-Iranian refugee and journalist Behrouz Boochani after his arrival in New Zealand last year.

But soon after he was granted asylum, the National Party suggested political interference because, they said, the author had connections in the Greens and the Labour Party. All of it was untrue, of course, and the allegations seemed to many, including some National supporters, entirely pointless and mean-spirited.

National, having underestimated Boochanis support, quietly changed tack. If National had kindness as its guiding principle, it would have not made those allegations without any evidence, or consideration of their impact on Boochani, who had already suffered prolonged cruelty in Australian offshore detention centres on Manus Island.

Almost all modern crises faced by humanity require a departure from a selfish approach, which prioritises the individual, to an approach which considers the collective interest as paramount.

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Donna Miles: Almost all modern crises faced by humanity require a departure from a selfish approach, which prioritises the individual ...

The hard reality is that without a great deal of altruism and self-sacrifice, serious issues such as the climate change crisis, housing crisis, refugee crisis, inequality crisis and even the pandemic will not be resolved. But there is another just as urgent reason for more politicians to embrace the kindness brand and that is the growing mental health crisis.

Constant nastiness and bickering in politics is disengaging for voters and detrimental to everyones mental wellbeing, including the politicians themselves.

National now has a chance to appoint a leader who displays, communicates and prioritises the values of decency and kindness, rather than domination and power.

There is an obvious choice in Dr Shane Reti. The question is, will the National Party take it?

See more here:

Time for the National Party to embrace kindness - Stuff.co.nz

Former Prime Minister Jim Bolger has weighed in on the National Party's leadership race, saying that the party he once led needs to have a serious think about where it wants to go.

Former Prime Minister Jim Bolger. Photo: RNZ/Rebekah Parsons-King

Leader Judith Collins lost a vote of confidence this week and deputy leader Shane Reti was named acting leader.

The party is scheduled to meet Tuesday to select a new leader, with former leader Simon Bridges and MP Christopher Luxon among the top candidates.

Reti is the fifth leader the National Party has had since Jacinda Ardern was elected Prime Minister in 2017.

The former National leader, who was Prime Minister from 1990 to 1997, spoke to TVNZ's Q + A today and did not mince words when it came to evaluating the current state of his party.

"Disappointing is a very gentle way of putting it," Bolger said. "The electors gave their verdict at the last election."

"What the National Party needs to be doing ... is actually saying what are we going to do different. What's our new vision?"

Bolger would not be drawn on whether he thought Bridges or Luxon should be the next leader.

"I'm sure the qualities are in the caucus," he said. "The caucus has to decide which of them can meet some of the challenges."

"I'm not going to nominate them. I just think they have to look at presenting the National vision much better than they did before the last election."

Simon Bridges and Chris Luxon may contest Tuesday's National Party leadership vote. Photo: Dom Thomas

The National Party suffered a landslide defeat last year and won the party vote in only one electorate.

"You can't get much lower than that," Bolger said.

Bolger said society is currently divided on many levels, noting "the divisions that are occurring in New Zealand now between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated," and National needs a leader who can bridge that gap.

"We want a leader in the opposition as well as in government. We want a leader that can bring people together."

Bolger said that a kind of "reimagining capitalism" needs to be done, not just in Aotearoa but globally.

"Clearly the model that's been pursued across the world now is dividing societies. Some are getting obscenely rich and others are going to the food kitchens. That's a dangerous position for a society."

"We've got to do a lot of hard thinking as a society, not only the National Party."

Bolger said the caucus should remember they will not just be selecting a new leader, but possibly a future prime minister.

"What vision do they have? What new ideas do they have?"

Bolger noted that transitions from a popular leader are hard in any party.

"The Labour Party were exactly the same when Helen Clark left."

National should not think that Labour is unbeatable in 2023, he said.

"There is no reason the Labour Party can't be defeated at the next election two years away."

But he said National needs to be more than just naysayers.

"They've got to do much more than just be critics.

"What people want to know is if you don't like it, what would you do instead?

Bolger led National through three elections in the 1990s, and told Q + A that the party has to keep changing.

"It really needs a person who has a vision that they can sell that's inclusive, that understands the stresses and strains of a modern society."

"I want to encourage whoever is the leader to think bigger than they've been thinking for the last little while."

Read more here:

'Disappointing' National Party needs 'new vision' - Former PM - RNZ