Jacinda Ardern joins rival to raise money for ‘pricks everywhere’ after parliament jibe

The New Zealand prime minister and ACT party leader are putting aside their differences to raise money for a prostate cancer charity following an incident in parliament this week.

Composite image of Jacinda Ardern and David Seymour.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and ACT leader David Seymour are auctioning off a signed Hansard page to raise money for a prostate cancer charity. Source: AAP

Key Points
  • The New Zealand prime minister and opposition leader are raising money together for a prostate cancer charity.
  • On Tuesday, Ms Ardern referred to Mr Seymour as an "arrogant prick" in parliament.
  • The two will now sign a copy of the Hansard page featuring the comment and auction it for a prostate cancer charity.
New Zealand and ACT party leader David Seymour have made up after a bruising week in parliament.

The political adversaries are now working together to raise money for a prostate cancer charity, days after Ms Ardern

The comment was caught in an off-mic moment in parliament on Tuesday, with the prime minister later apologising.

Now, the political opponents will both sign a copy of the Hansard page featuring the comments and auction the memento for a prostate cancer charity, the New Zealand Herald reported.

“It’s a very Kiwi resolution to what might be seen as a nasty incident,” Mr Seymour said.

“In the spirit of Christmas, we are going to raise money for the Prostate Cancer Foundation - raising money for pricks everywhere.”

What happened in parliament?

The comment came following a seven-minute back-and-forth exchange in which Mr Seymour questioned the prime minister on a series of issues.

Ms Ardern then sat down next to her deputy prime minister Grant Robertson and said: “He's such an arrogant pr--k.”

Her microphone was still live while she made the quiet comment, which was drowned out by the speaker of the house.

Following the incident, Mr Seymour confirmed he had accepted the prime minister's apology.

“Jacinda Ardern texted me and said 'I apologise, it's not something I should have said,‘”, he told reporters.

“And she said, ‘as my mum would say, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it,‘ and I agree with the sentiment and it's all good as far as I'm concerned."

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Published 15 December 2022 12:41pm
Updated 15 December 2022 12:53pm
By Jessica Bahr
Source: SBS News


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