As an MP Sir Geoffrey Palmer had a huge impact on the interlocking shapes of government and parliament. The great reformer is still brimming with ideas for improvement.
In a 2018 interview, after a year in office, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said “there’s probably a tendency to view power… to be either based on size or the size and power of your economy. I think New Zealand’s strength has always been using our voice on the issues that matter and we’ve been consistent on it. There is power in that.”
These comments came well before Ardern’s star power on the international stage brightened to its current wattage, and the combination of a capable and charismatic leader at the helm of a country whose influence exceeds its size points to an emerging new phase for New Zealand and its place in the international order.
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Related: Growing hesitancy in housing market as fear of missing out gives way to fear of overpaying. Credits: Video - Newshub; Image - Getty
For many, life in New Zealand s capital Wellington is largely back to normal. Its windswept streets are crowded with maskless shoppers and office workers, bars are packed and the economy is humming along.
In the distinctive Beehive Parliament building, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her Government have garnered lavish global praise for controlling the COVID-19 pandemic where many other leaders failed.
But across town, staff at the Wellington City Mission are struggling to cope with soaring homelessness and inequality as the pandemic - and the Government s response - inflames what was already among the world s least affordable housing markets.