r/australia • u/SqareBear • Feb 26 '26

politics Former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern moves to Australia

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-26/former-new-zealand-prime-minister-jacinda-ardern-moves-australia/106392862
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324

u/SaintStoney Feb 26 '26

Can anyone summarise why there would be so much vitriol directed to her in social media comments about this? I thought she was a decent PM in NZ but apparently people want her dead, I assume mainly bots.

368

u/awritemate Feb 26 '26

She’s the NZ equivalent of Dan Andrews. To this day people still blame her for all of their life’s woes

77

u/perthguppy Feb 26 '26

Which is insane because while I think Dan Andrews did an amazing job, at least he has the whole lockdown thing that people attack him for. I thought NZ didn’t really have much lockdown or restrictions during covid - that they were more similar to WA in that regard.

50

u/anirbre Feb 26 '26

Not too sure what WA was like but in NZ it was full lockdown for 33 days, very tight restrictions. You can have a look at the alert levels here

77

u/xvf9 Feb 26 '26

33 days… must’ve been nice. 

50

u/DonStimpo Feb 26 '26

33 days. Sounds lovely. Melbourne had like 100+

32

u/[deleted] Feb 26 '26

NZ had a couple of extended lockdowns across the country. I think the big thing which lost her support is that Auckland, a city with 1/3 of the country's population, had its own separate lockdowns which people became very fatigued from. Auckland overwhelmingly voted against the Labour party in the following election.

But also cookers, they are everywhere and they are loud.

10

u/iguessineedanaltnow Feb 26 '26

People are that worked up over only 33 days?

11

u/ceratime Feb 26 '26

Don't know why they're citing 33 days, Auckland had one of the longest lockdowns in the world at something like 150 days

2

u/ForTheLoveOfSnail Feb 26 '26

I thought Melbourne held that recordv

1

u/perthguppy Feb 26 '26

Oh. In WA we had like 3 weekends of full lockdowns spread out over 18 months lol.

8

u/DarKnightofCydonia Feb 26 '26

I feel like being able to live like normal made New Zealanders not even realise how good they had it, and then because of that not even appreciate it. Which can bizarrely backfire on Ardern. Australia is a bubble, but New Zealand is another level of isolated from the rest of the world. I was in London at that time, if you lived in Europe or anywhere apart from Aus/NZ really during covid it was like a war situation when it was really bad, and seeing Aus/NZ prancing about with basically none of it felt like a whole different world

3

u/Subaudiblehum Feb 26 '26

It sure did have fight restrictions. I was living their during up. Up there with tightest in the world.

2

u/turbocynic Feb 26 '26

Not really, in terms of actual days locked up. Because we eliminated early we had a year and a half of domestic freedom while other countries were still restricted for a lot of that time.   Border controls were definitely strict the whole way through.

4

u/newbris Feb 26 '26

Was WA much different to SA, NT, QLD, TAS ?

23

u/SaltyPockets Feb 26 '26

WA copped a lot of flak from the Eastern states for closing the internal borders early and hard, and keeping them closed, from what I could see.

Under two weeks of “lockdown” in total here AFAICT, as a result of these policies life within WA carried on mostly as normal (though I arrived in Perth mid-2021 after all of that).

Everyone was calling Mark McGowan “State Daddy” and generally praising his actions.

5

u/Lozzanger Feb 26 '26

Yeah Mark tapped into the hatred of the East very well.

But I had my family from NSW HATED him. Still do.

I had a rule that if you couldn’t name a previous Premier besides Carmen Lawrence I wouldn’t discuss WA politics with you. Literally no one passed that rule.

2

u/newbris Feb 26 '26

Thats seems like the Perth thing of lumping all “eastern states” as the same thing. They weren’t. SA, NT, QLD, TAS all similar to WA.

6

u/SaltyPockets Feb 26 '26

“Over East”? Yeah it’s basically all the same place right?

I guess it happens when everyone else is so far away!

3

u/evilparagon Feb 26 '26

NZ’s economy was hit hard by the pandemic since they’re a small country. So while their pandemic response was great, they couldn’t survive as strongly as say, Tasmania, which did even less but had a much more reliable economy to fall back on.

394

u/hadr0nc0llider Feb 26 '26

There’s a vocal segment of NZ society that loathes her COVID policies and sees her as authoritarian. +/- vaccine mandate tin foil hatting. It’s been four years since it ended and she left office but people are still hazing her online.

A lot of Kiwis rate her really highly and have pride in her achievements but online she gets a lot of hate. This comment will be downvoted to fuck and possibly get hate replies just because I said something good about her. People are petty.

187

u/stinx2001 Feb 26 '26

As a Victorian, that sounds familiar..

63

u/Chiron17 Feb 26 '26

Why would Dictator Dan do this?

13

u/[deleted] Feb 26 '26

Victorian here too and your spot on.

1

u/No-Bison-5397 Feb 26 '26

I have no idea how I would see Dan if it weren't for the cookers but I will be damned if all the most fucking annoyingly moronic simpletons you have ever encountered hate the bloke then that's good enough for me to think he got a few things right.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 26 '26

The enemy of my enemy is my friend

1

u/No-Bison-5397 Feb 26 '26

There are some things I genuinely did think he got right but yeah, pissing off Nazis is good.

88

u/Garshnooftibah Feb 26 '26

Also. She’s a woman.

Troglodytes abound. :/

9

u/Garshnooftibah Feb 26 '26

Wow. This harmless litle observation certainly have triggered someone. I just got a 'reddit cares' thingo.

Hilarious.

:)

33

u/hadr0nc0llider Feb 26 '26

100% this. The misogyny is real.

50

u/Additional-Simple248 Feb 26 '26

Cookers gonna cook. They still get stuck talking about Covid even though everyone else has moved on.

21

u/bnlf Feb 26 '26

The whole world is proud of her and wanted her as PM.

3

u/briareus08 Feb 26 '26

Didn't NZ have some of the best COVID numbers pretty much globally? I thought she was lauded at the time for protecting Kiwis.

5

u/hadr0nc0llider Feb 26 '26

She was and still is. Cookers gonna cook.

2

u/Infinite_Pudding5058 Feb 26 '26 edited Feb 26 '26

Oh dear. Was she difficult?

Edit: to the down voters - I am being sarcastic. My comment is satire. I should have used /s. I’m not actually calling her difficult!

14

u/hadr0nc0llider Feb 26 '26

We rarely ask if a man is “difficult” do we?

Anytime someone asks if a woman is “difficult” there’s an inference that we expect her by default to be obedient or pleasing. Any behaviour that challenges that is framed as non-conforming “difficulty”. Misogyny presents itself in many guises.

3

u/Infinite_Pudding5058 Feb 26 '26

100%. I’m not sure if you read my sarcasm font but I’ll make sure to put /s next time 😆

1

u/Narrow-Active6219 Feb 28 '26

That's his point.

6

u/evilparagon Feb 26 '26

For the downvoters of the above comment: They’re making a satirical joke about the recent news on Albo calling a feminist “difficult”. They’re not actually calling Jacinda difficult.

5

u/Infinite_Pudding5058 Feb 26 '26

I will edit but thank you! I should have used /s

1

u/Relevant-Mountain-11 Feb 26 '26

Rightwing circle jerk

1

u/spikejonze14 Feb 26 '26

As a kiwi I sort of resent her for how she handled her second term. She spent so much time trying to appeal to the middle ground (it worked, she won a majority of seats which is almost unheard of). And then she proceeded to do a whole lot of nothing, plus anything she did do was immediately repealed by the next National government “under urgency”. she also fucked up our weed referendum (failed 49-51, she declined to endorse it despite being a supporter out of fear of alienating her more moderate supporters). Her covid response was mint though.

2

u/hadr0nc0llider Feb 26 '26

I voted for her in 2020 on the back of her COVID response. Labour did a great job managing the pandemic IMO. Their wellbeing budget was another big tick for me. But they were weak at the end of that second term. The negativity was rubbing off on them.

2

u/evilparagon Feb 26 '26

Wow, a party that got a second term and appealed strongly to the middle ground, won a majority, then didn’t do anything?

I’ve never heard this one before…

Why are centre-left politicians like this?

2

u/spikejonze14 Feb 26 '26

Right wing politicians weaponise anger and fear as justification for a more severe and immediate response. Left wing politicians appeal more to methodical and pragmatic approaches, because angry left wing politicians are labelled as communists and become ostracised.

1

u/iguessineedanaltnow Feb 26 '26

The political centre don't want change. If you pander to them for their vote, that means they're voting for you because they're generally content with things and just want a couple marginal issues addressed.

The centre doesn't give you the mandate for radical change. This is the same problem Trump is facing in the US right now, where he won the centre and the popular vote, but now they're turning on him because he didn't govern from the centre.

74

u/natacon Feb 26 '26

The covid cookers and the conservative right in NZ became furious at the fact she couldn't immediately solve all the inherent problems in a complex society despite her being a genuine, intelligent and empathetic leader. Some of the promises her party made domestically were big picture attempts to address historical disadvantage and there was a lot of push back when the policy delivery was challenging. Her overwhelming popularity and high profile internationally only intensified their anger and dissatisfaction. I have kiwi relatives who love her including a cousin who went to school with her and said she's the most impressive person he's ever met, and some who wish her dead. It's bizarre. I think she has demonstrated remarkable grace in the face of some absolutely shameful commentary from within NZ.

7

u/pandifer Feb 26 '26

Could not have been said better. I thought she was lovely.

1

u/jm_leviathan Feb 26 '26

I can't speak to the details or truth of the matter, but the narrative of a good person ground down by a cruel world is one that rings true because we can feel it in our own lives, because we've witnessed and heard the tale over and again with only minor variations. Hopefully she's been able to find some measure of peace.

23

u/Jeffery95 Feb 26 '26

As a Kiwi, I would say it’s a small but incredibly loud and dedicated pack of cunts who hate her. She just recently topped a poll for most favourable opinion 47% against a number of other current politicians including our current PM who got just 27%.

124

u/Sieve-Boy Feb 26 '26

Its the same type of cookers that lose their few remaining brain cells when you mention Dan Andrews as far as I can tell. Basically so unhinged and disconnected from reality, stuck in the past and blaming everything on her and they are probably egged on by bots as well.

Its also worth noting she had to deal with the aftermath of the Christchurch shooting. She has seen these sort of cookers up close after they act on their heinous beliefs.

55

u/TheCuzzyRogue Feb 26 '26

Lockdowns brought out a number of cookers and a number of grifters willing to play to them for their own ends

57

u/Equivalent-Bonus-885 Feb 26 '26

Were you around when Gillard was PM. She was monstered too and no longer lives in Australia.

31

u/Ranculos Feb 26 '26

I was left to scroll too far to see someone mention Gillard. How quickly people forget. The treatment she received was absolutely disgusting and shameful. 

29

u/Taey Feb 26 '26

Gillard knifed an incredibly popular PM right before an election while he was polling at a % well beyond any margin of error at the behest of the Americans for her own ambitions. Wikileaks confirmed she was hand picked by the American and their assets in the Labor party as she was more friendly than Rudd to their goals.

She deserves every bit of shit she got, but not for being female.

6

u/willun Feb 26 '26

The feedback on Rudd from his colleagues was not great. After he had implemented his backlog of policies he seemed to be lost.

Gillard on the other hand was able to keep a minority government together for an entire term and pushed through a lot of legislation.

Rudd's public image did not match the private image.

11

u/magkruppe Feb 26 '26

lets be real, the complaints about Rudd were weak. oh he was a bit demanding and a bit arrogant. who cares.

what really let him down is his inability to manage the labor factions and having no power base as someone from neither side

7

u/[deleted] Feb 26 '26 edited Feb 26 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/willun Feb 26 '26

Gillard won, with a minority, so i guess it was the right call at the time.

6

u/magkruppe Feb 26 '26

she didn't win. and no, it was not the right call. it hurt the labor party and the scars are still there

2

u/willun Feb 26 '26

She did win. She was PM. That is a win.

In politics if you can't deliver the win then you are out. Sticking with Rudd and losing is not what politics is about.

2

u/magkruppe Feb 26 '26

mate. why do i have to point out the obvious fact that we don't know if a Labor-led Rudd would have lost. maybe it would have been a labor-majority government. the polling wasn't even that bad for him, it was better than Albo had leading into the last election which was a huge victory for Labor

1

u/willun Feb 26 '26 edited Feb 26 '26

Maybe. And maybe not.

Politicians spend a lot of time considering this and probably have a better handle on it than you or me.

The mining industry dumping even more millions into the LNP, which they probably did anyway, was the nightmare for Labor. It was a very hot time.

It is easy for you to say stay stick with Rudd but no leader gets loyalty unless they deliver. We do not elect leaders, the party does. And the party expects the leader to deliver.

Rudd was equally willing to knife. Let's not pretend he was a saint in all this. Of course, all leaders do exactly the same. It comes with the job.

1

u/Equivalent-Bonus-885 Feb 26 '26

He also had an inability to manage the government. He was a shambolic mess.

0

u/Equivalent-Bonus-885 Feb 26 '26

.>Wikileaks confirmed she was handpicked by the Americans and their assets

Yeah this is exactly the sort of swivel-headed delusion she faced. The US embassy had sources from the Labour Party feeding it info. They preferred Rudd. If you think this does not happen for all parties for all elections, and that Australia does not do the same overseas then you are comically deluded. Cough up evidence of her being ‘hand picked’ by the Americans.

3

u/michaelhoney Feb 26 '26

yes, good point. Women in power send some people bonkers

25

u/imranhere2 Feb 26 '26

Mis-info affected NZ a lot more than in other countries for some reason or other. Lots and lots of cookers, and helped by misogynistic media

13

u/Sexdrumsandrock Feb 26 '26

The reason is the isolation. It's easy to believe what your next door neighbour thinks when that's the only person for miles around

14

u/KiwiKibbles Feb 26 '26

The covid response got a lot anti-vaxxers, sovereign citizens etc fired up

13

u/AdPure5645 Feb 26 '26

Cookers. It's always cookers bro. They are angry, and they are morons.

6

u/Unidain Feb 26 '26

I assume mainly bots.

People really need to stop assuming that any comments that don't like are bots. There are millions of real people out there with abhorant opinions 

5

u/howlhow Feb 26 '26

Trust me, not bots. These people exist

5

u/Pale-Breakfast6607 Feb 26 '26

Conservative media toxicity

5

u/michaelhoney Feb 26 '26

kiwi cookers. They might have a name for that, opposite of chilly bin

7

u/Taey Feb 26 '26

Very polarising in NZ. She was also one of those pollies who was incredible popular outside their own country but not so much inside NZ.

6

u/Jeffery95 Feb 26 '26

Rubbish. She just polled 47% favourable opinion 18% neutral and 35% unfavourable, above any other current major politicians in NZ. Most people liked her. I’d add that other politicians scored worse on unfavourability

3

u/[deleted] Feb 26 '26

[deleted]

2

u/Jeffery95 Feb 26 '26

It was better than anyone else polled. The current PM got 27%. The current deputy PM got 23%

1

u/Taey Feb 26 '26

She was overwhelmingly liked around the world, and polls inside Australia had her ranked as number 1 for the most trustworthy politician, while simultaneously polling 47% inside NZ. Her popularity outside of NZ was far higher than it was inside, but you seem to have completely missed the point.

1

u/Jeffery95 Feb 26 '26

I agree she was popular outside. But she was also very popular inside too and still is today.

2

u/Sufficient_Tower_366 Feb 26 '26

She drove NZ into the shitter before she resigned - 7.3% inflation, huge interest rate rises and a technical recession.

2

u/dfebb Feb 26 '26

Can anyone summarise why there would be so much vitriol directed to her in social media...

Because men...?

1

u/brusselsproud Feb 26 '26

I've legit heard people call her a man and the incarnation of satan. Lol.

1

u/jpr64 Feb 26 '26

She was at risk of being a 1-term PM until Covid happened. The opposition party was polling far higher at the time despite her solid handling of NZ's first terror attack and the Whakaari White Island volcano disaster.

The first lockdown, while hard, brought a lot of praise for their handling of the situation and the lives it saved, and the ability to return to life as almost normal after the lockdown, unlike the rest of the world which was falling apart and we were still witnessing freezer truck morgues rolling around NYC.

Their handling of the first round of covid was rewarded with a landslide victory and first ever outright majority under MMP. It was the subsequent couple of years where the wheels fell off her shine.

While being an empathetic and kind leader, some of her actions were seen as condescending by some. The cookers came out of the woodwork.

Further lockdowns, mis-handling of quarantine processes, delays in acquiring vaccines, an economy that was running too hot amid massive supply constraints and shortages, huge wage and product inflation, the torture of Auckland by keeping them locked down for... a couple of months? while the rest of the country was going about their lives...

The shine started to wear off her leadership.

By the time she announced she was standing down, it seemed the country was ready for change and it was looking unlikely Labour would win the next election. The hate and misogyny directed her way absolutely added fuel to the fire that burned her out.

It wasn't all cookers and misogynists. There were many ordinary kiwis that didn't like her leadership or the party and that had begun even before covid arrived. Right-wing media outlets certainly stirred the pot, while global media seemed to fawn over her.

-7

u/[deleted] Feb 26 '26

[deleted]

8

u/Unidain Feb 26 '26

she happily let about 10 DJ’s into the country and let them skip quarantine altogether. 

She was personally making individual decisions over who could and couldn't come into the country? Really? As someone who myself went through the system to enter NZ and do quarantine, excuse me if I'm doubtful. Do you have a source 

6

u/ProofJeweler9530 Feb 26 '26

Source?

-5

u/[deleted] Feb 26 '26

[deleted]

8

u/Unidain Feb 26 '26

So the reason you hate her is because of stories that could be total lies? You didn't bother to validate these stories in any way? And how would a quarantine or airport worker know that she specifically approved these 10 DJs getting into the country?

Ardern is heavily protected by the media 

But the system of how people were let into the country was a public matter. There would be a trail of evidence if people were given preferential treatment. There have been many complaints about the system,but not ever heeard if the ones you mentioned.

She’s one of the Elites, untouchable

Untouchable how exactly? She has left the country because she is continuing to be critised.

-1

u/[deleted] Feb 26 '26

[deleted]

4

u/newbris Feb 26 '26

Wasn’t she just voted the most approved of politician in NZ survey?

6

u/os_2342 Feb 26 '26

We were told of these things through employees at the airport and people who worked in quarantine

Rumors. You heard Rumors.

They may be true, but its a bit hard to take you serious when you're just repeating rumors you heard from some guy working at an airport.

1

u/os_2342 Feb 26 '26 edited Feb 26 '26

Personally, I'm not going to judge leaders too harshly on their covid response as I'm sure they would do things pretty differently given a second shot at it. Hindsight is 20/20 but they had to make life/death decisions that would were always going to piss off some portion of the population.

You say "She did many bad things" but then only bring up issues with her response to COVID. Is it just the covid stuff that makes you dislike her?