The former prime minister of New Zealand has been made a Dame by the Prince of Wales despite being a republican.

I don't know enough about NZ politics to know if there's mess to clear up. But NZ have lost 10 people per 1,000 to Covid (up Apr 2024), while UK lost 35 per 1,000.
Ardern showed leadership in the aftermath of the Christchurch shootings
I think she was a fine PM

We were in NZ during the lockdown. We were really impressed by the calm and decisive leadership Jacinda Ardern showed. We were horrified when we saw the waffling indecisive actions of Boris, Cummings et al.

Isn't she another woman who doesn't know what a woman is? Backed the transgender Laurel Hubbard because it was easier than backing biological women. A surprising stance for someone who has been pregnant and gone through giving birth, but heyho if it makes you popular......

Seems a bit hypocritical to accept if she’s a republican.

maddyfour

Seems a bit hypocritical to accept if she’s a republican.

Agreed.

It was easy for NZ to lock down they didn’t have millions of residents overseas, the UK locking down in that way just wasn’t practical.

I think she has connections with several members of the RF in various ways apart from the pandemic. Maybe we should look at her overall achievements. I guess she brought up the Republican issue herself because she wanted the award!

Well I’d swap ANY of our recent PMs for Jacinda! Dame or not!

Cossy

Well I’d swap ANY of our recent PMs for Jacinda! Dame or not!

Not for long, she became very unpopular, if she hadn’t resigned she would have been voted out.

I do admire Jucinda Arden. The New Zealand lock down was tough and lasted longer than the UK lockdown. She met with fierce opposition in putting forward policies to improve life for the less fortunate in NZ society. She became a mother during her premiership and led her country with intelligence, grace and dignity. I was surprised by her accepting the honour as she is a republican. I have no answer to her decision.
However, if the world had more leaders like Jacinda, it might be a happier and less toxic place to exist,

Marilla

I do admire Jucinda Arden. The New Zealand lock down was tough and lasted longer than the UK lockdown. She met with fierce opposition in putting forward policies to improve life for the less fortunate in NZ society. She became a mother during her premiership and led her country with intelligence, grace and dignity. I was surprised by her accepting the honour as she is a republican. I have no answer to her decision.
However, if the world had more leaders like Jacinda, it might be a happier and less toxic place to exist,

I agree

Chardy

I don't know enough about NZ politics to know if there's mess to clear up. But NZ have lost 10 people per 1,000 to Covid (up Apr 2024), while UK lost 35 per 1,000.
Ardern showed leadership in the aftermath of the Christchurch shootings
I think she was a fine PM

Uhm. Could that be because the population density in NZ is much less than in the UK?

Principles eh? If you don't like them, I have others…

It was the NZ government who put her name forward for the award. She tanked the NZ economy by the hardest lockdown outside China ( eg shutting down Auckland, a city of 1.7 million) for three ( yes, three) cases of suspected Covid.

Freya5
I think you're right.
It's easier to prevent disease spreading in the first place is you have a small population spread thinly throughout the land.
The UK population density in 2022 was 279 per square km. New Zealand's is 20 per square km.

My cousin lives an hour's drive from Auckland. Both she and her husband are in their 70s and have health issues, which over here would have classed them as in the vulnerable group.
They waited months for a vaccine to be made available and in the end resorted to obtaining it through a doctor friend.

I don't know enough about NZ politics to pronounce judgement on Ardern's premiership. What I do know from my visit there in 2020, is that she was extremely unpopular. Nobody I met had anything good to say about her.

I think Adern's term of office is subject to re-evaluation but her acceptance of the honour does not imply acceptance of monarchy. The Damehood is after all a NZ honour and not a British one.

JA was an intelligent and graceful leader. She led NZ through significant difficulties, including a massacre, huge wild fires and a volcanic eruption. She was unpopular amongst conspiracy theorists and racists. She made good decisions for NZ around COVID - she was very clear and consistent. It’s entirely wrong that she “tanked the economy”. The current lot of clowns are doing that. I’m very glad that her significance has been recognised.

I admired her for the way she acted during Covid but don't know much else about the way she governed other than she is a republican. Difficult to believe she accepted the dame honour.

Rosie51

Isn't she another woman who doesn't know what a woman is? Backed the transgender Laurel Hubbard because it was easier than backing biological women. A surprising stance for someone who has been pregnant and gone through giving birth, but heyho if it makes you popular......

Why such contempt of transgender people? And of those who accept them?

Can we not just accept that people do not make the decision to change sex, either surgically or legally without serious heart-searchings?

I am not trying to be nasty, I would genuinely like to know why so many who contribute to this forum cannot just accept that we are not all alike, nor should be,

grandtanteJE65
I don’t know if you’ve ever read any threads on here, but re: changing gender (you can’t truthfully change sex either on paper or by surgery) you will find many posters objections are based on the behaviour of an increasing number of TW, whose actions impact detrimentally on females.
If your choice of gender change causes no physical or mental hurt to others, especially TW on females, go ahead.
Once you plan to use your gender change to lie and cheat - accessing places you should not, claiming awards designated for the sex you are pretending to be, then IMO that’s a different matter.
A comparable example would be if I (primary teacher) were to give I simply give myself the title Doctor. I’m not harming anybody, but how would you feel if I worked my way into a hospital and I’m about to operate on you?

During her time as PM, she was constantly subject to threats of rape and death, and constant misogynistic comments as a women in power.

theconversation.com/jacinda-arderns-resignation-gender-and-the-toll-of-strong-compassionate-leadership-198152

grandtanteJE65

Rosie51

Isn't she another woman who doesn't know what a woman is? Backed the transgender Laurel Hubbard because it was easier than backing biological women. A surprising stance for someone who has been pregnant and gone through giving birth, but heyho if it makes you popular......

Why such contempt of transgender people? And of those who accept them?

Can we not just accept that people do not make the decision to change sex, either surgically or legally without serious heart-searchings?

I am not trying to be nasty, I would genuinely like to know why so many who contribute to this forum cannot just accept that we are not all alike, nor should be,

Absolutely grandtanteJE65. Imo it's another fake media frenzy to sell their wares.
A Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) is a document that allows some trans men and trans women to have the right gender on their birth certificate.
Currently, in order to get a GRC, trans people have to get a medical diagnosis of ‘gender dysphoria’, and waiting times are long (4+yrs). They also have to show they have lived in their ‘acquired gender’ for at least 2yrs, with evidence. A diagnosis will allow them access to hormone treatment and subsequent surgery

She deserves it, she was a really good PM and I wish we had someone like her here.

grandtanteJE65 Agreed, we’re not all alike. I think concern about transgender issues isn’t contempt of transgender people or of those who support them. It’s more about concerns for the safety of women, the vulnerable, & children. There’s as a small minority of people who use transgender as a cloak to commit criminal acts. Safety is important and is what everyone wants. Unfortunately transgender has become difficult to discuss as it’s such a sensitive issue. It’s a separate subject to Jacinda Ardern accepting a Damehood when she’s a republican. I’d see that as a compliment of the work she has done and she’s chosen to accept it which is up to her.

Nicola Sturgeon was lauded for her conduct in the pandemic, her legacy is not what it once was, I think it's important to look beyond what people think was the acceptable path in the pandemic.