Jacinda Ardern admits smoking marijuana in heated NZ debate
Auckland: The Prime
Minister of New Zealand has admitted she has used cannabis in the most robust and animated leaders’ debate of the election campaign so far.
The Labour leader and incumbent Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, met the National Party leader, Judith Collins, in the
TV3 studios in Auckland, in a one-and-half-hour debate moderated by Patrick Gower.
The energy levels of both leaders was significantly higher than in their lethargic first meeting, with both drawn into making admissions and promises they never have before.
Ms Ardern promised to declare a climate emergency if she was elected for another term, eradicate child poverty and move towards subsidising sanitary products for girls and women.
Ms Collins promised that if family members of abused children refused to participate in Police inquiries they would face three years in jail. She also pledged to scrap the gun register and make sure every school in the country has a gender-neutral toilet.
Though both leaders had overlapping recovery plans post-COVID they differed significantly in many areas, including how to deal with the housing crisis, how to stimulate the economy and how to tackle climate change.
Asked how they would respond to gang membership growing 30 per cent in the past three years, Ms Collins said she would create a specialised “gang squad” while Ms Ardern said the root causes of youth displacement and alienation needed to be healed first.
The leaders agreed it was not the right time for New Zealand to change its name to the Maori Aotearoa, but agreed they would like to learn more of the language themselves, and for it to be taught more widely in schools.
The National Party leader was accused of being “patronising” to Ms Ardern by many commentators, at one point calling the PM “dear”.
Ms Collins said she was not patronising, she was just being herself and had enjoyed the debate, declaring it “robust and a win for politics”.
The highlight of the night for many was Ms Collins admitting she would “absolutely” like to feature on the cover of Vogue magazine, as Ms Ardern did in 2018. Ms Collins has criticised Ms Ardern for being a “celebrity Prime Minister” and said she excels at communication but fails at delivering on her promises.