‘Ah-durn’: PM picks up phone

An Australian radio journalist was stunned when a call he made to help him pronounce Jacinda Ardern’s name was answered by the woman herself.

Tiger Webb, a digital producer at ABC’s Radio National in Sydney, decided to double-check how to say “Ardern” after hearing several variations used by broadcasters on both sides of the Tasman.

After Webb called Parliament, he was transferred to Labour’s offices. To his great surprise Ardern picked up the phone.

The Prime Minister-designate helpfully explained that her surname was pronounced “Ah-durn”.

“She was lovely about it. It was quite a short conversation,” said Webb.

Ardern confirmed to the Herald on Sunday that the conversation happened and said she was “happy to help” with Webb’s query.

“It was funny. I was in a meeting and my desk phone started to ring and it doesn’t ring much so I went over and I saw it was an international number and I just picked up,” she said.

“He [Webb] said, ‘Oh, hello’ and said his name and where he was from and that he just needed to know how to pronounce my surname. I told him and then I thought, ‘Oh, the poor thing. Clearly the operator’s just put him straight through.’ I’m sure he probably didn’t intend to do that but it was no trouble at all.”

Webb tweeted about the exchange and got hundreds of positive replies, including one from former Prime Minister Helen Clark, who said “that’s New Zealand”.

Ardern said she was unsure whether other calls would be connected to her direct line so easily in future, but she would “absolutely” be a Prime Minister who was accessible to the public.