The former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern is living in Australia with her family, a spokesperson has confirmed.
“The family has been travelling for a few years now,” her office told the Guardian.
“For the moment they’re basing themselves out of Australia – they have work there, and it brings the added bonus of more time back home in New Zealand.”
Speculation that Ardern was considering a move to Australia emerged on Thursday, after reports in Australian media that she and her husband, Clarke Gayford, and their seven-year-old daughter, Neve, attended open home viewings in Sydney’s northern beaches.
The high-profile family’s move to Australia could hit a nerve within New Zealand, as the country grapples with record numbers of citizens leaving the country because of a weak economy, high living costs and high unemployment.
Be PM, screw the place up, leave for another country?
Isn’t it more usually dictators that have to do that for fear of the population if they remain at home?
One of the many irritating things of getting older is that periodically some centre-left ninny will become flavour of the month, and will be talked up as if the sunlight shone from wherever. It will be obvious to people who aren’t know-nothing kids / lefties that most of the praise is undeserved and that it’s driven by PR.
But nothing is ever learned learned from the experience (and no one fully apologises) when the latest lefty idol screws up. Nobody who slobbered over Blair learned anything when it was Obama’s turn (etc. etc.).
It is a conundrum, Charlie. When people like this get to the top, the question arises : are they just useless or are they actually evil ?
In my uncharitable mien, which I currently inhabit, I consider Jacinda to be on a par with Servalan in her lust for power and galactic domination.
She of course learnt this at the knee of Thanos Blair.
( Merkel is much the same and because of the nature of CDU politics, there was no one really to stand up to her )
If she looked like Jacqueline Pearce she might have been worth a vote.
You know that’s why I like this blog. You can make a reference to a character in a relatively obscure 70s TV show and you don’t ned to explain it.
I must remember to ask Boganboy why Jacinda was allowed to import her teeth. Don’t they have an Ivory ban in Oz?
At the start of Blake’s 7 he’s fitted up by the state, a brutal dictatorship, for questioning the narrative. They give him a sham trial (no jury) by computer and he gets the full force of the law.
In this 70s this was outlandish science fiction. Today it’s Labour policy.
1970s Blake was fitted up by the Federation for being a paedophile.
2020s Labour is a Federation of paedophile protectors.
Says something about us RK! I’ve noticed that here at Tim’s were all getting older together.
I, for one, welcome our new Supreme Commander Servalan!
She was mad as a box of frogs.
I preferred Sally Knyvette as “Jenna”
Met her and Jan Chappell at a convention once ( Jacqueline was too ill by then ). 9 or 10 years ago.
They were SO lovely !
Sally is pretty Jolly Hockey Sticks.
A half decent journalist would compare the cost of the homes being viewed with the reported earnings of Jacinda and Gaylord (sounding like characters from a southern hemisphere Viz).
Maybe she’s been making a few speeches? That usually works.
Being on telly and flogging her book
“How I Tried to Crush the Rebel Alliance Scum.” Helped there as well.
Top work on the sci-fi references. Servalan is particularly apt.
I was listening to a programme on the wireless last night about that Hungarian countess Elisabeth Bartholy, who was accused of being a vampire, I tried to insert Jacinda into the role
But all that was in my head was Ingrid Pitt…
Ingrid Pitt or Horseface? You had a lucky escape!
Mmmm, Ingrid Pitt ….
Dunno, if I was a Kiwi I would be glad to see the back of her.
…they’re basing themselves out of Australia…and it brings the added bonus…
PR obfuscation? Basing themselves out of Australia sounds like they are avoiding Australia, not residing there.
And then the redundant added bonus. Perhaps Australia is a safe haven with free gifts…
“Out of” is an Americanism. It seems to mean that someone is based somewhere but also works elsewhere, such as a musician based in New York also playing in other places.
Yes, I’ve heard it before. It’s an unhelpful, sub-literate Americanism which can conveniently obscure, like, meaning…
Who you calling loser, Loser?
340,000,000 Americans understand it.
67,000,000 Brits don’t.
Whah!
In a country miles from everywhere, with loads of space – high housing costs is really incompetent.
There’s an old joke about IQs in there somewhere.
Does Australia not have an extradition treaty with NZ or something?
She’s finished screwing over NZ, now it’s Australia’s turn.
Rorting Matilda
World climate champion buys seaside home, part 83.
“For the moment they’re basing themselves out of Australia”
Yetwot? Just one sentence previously you saif they were based *IN* Australia.
I do somethmes wonder why any of our colonists chose New Zealand when Australia – so big and sunny was also available.
Fewer things trying to kill you?
Maoris likely to be more respectful of guns than the average croc or big bastard spider.
True dat. Saltwater crocodiles, king brown snakes, taipan snakes, redback spiders … and others.
Most of Kiwi is fantastic agricultural land – most of OZ …. er … isn’t.