A beautifully understated moment

OPINION: What a blessing of a month, this January is proving to be in little ol’ Aotearoa.

This past week we had one of those rare days in which something happens and, forever after, people will remember where they were when they heard the news.

I was on Instagram when I found out that the Prime Minister was hapu. I was wondering why she’d post a picture of fish hooks, and it took me a minute to figure it out.

And then the love-fest began. It has felt like everyone in New Zealand are getting high off that lovely smell emitted by the tops of babies’ heads.

Well… maybe there may be a few detractors who don’t realise that women are people too, but, generally, this is being seen as a very cool moment in New Zealand history.

For the Right Honourable Jacinda Ardern, and her partner Clarke Gayford this is very exciting and unexpected.

The Prime Minister plans to take six weeks off, which feels like the bare minimum. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how the body would feel after carrying and developing a baby human before enduring an extremely painful process so it can safely enter the world.

Just driving past a gym makes my body feels sore these days and I’m sure that if I ever had to give birth, I would need at least five years rest to recover.

I am looking forward to the six weeks when Ardern’s off and Winston Peters will be in charge – hopefully it will be like the time when I was at intermediate school and we had this really cool relief teacher who’d just let the class go outside and play softball all day.

Ardern and Gayford told the nation of their happy news in their understated and classy way, from outside their front yard in Point Chev.

Ardern tried to downplay it a bit, correctly pointing out: ‘‘I am not the first woman to multitask. I’m not the first woman to work and have a baby. I know these are special circumstances, but there are many women who will have done this well before I have.’’ But commentators have called it a significant and historical moment that marks the shifting paradigms of gender roles in society, and, therefore, is amazing news for women everywhere.

‘‘What's particularly struck me is the lack of hubbub over the fact that Arden and Gayford are not married’’

What’s particularly struck me is the lack of hubbub over the fact that Arden and Gayford are not married; that they’re a couple having a child without having first made matrimonial vows.

I know that in New Zealand that’s as common as bingedrinking, but in such a naturally conservative country, once upon a time there would not have been many people who would have dared to run for politics unless they were married and presenting a traditional face to voters.

The Pacific community can be socially conservative and aren’t afraid to speak out or react when they think important family values and morals are being eroded. But even we aren’t condemning it.

Along with giving our best wishes to Ardern and Gayford, we can sit back and look around at a country where – for the better – societal norms are being shifted in front of our eyes.

JASON DORDAY/STUFF These are exciting times for Jacinda Ardern and Clarke Gayford, but, says Oscar Kightley, no less exciting for the rest of us.