Jacinda Ardern: A Leader To Learn From

  America can and must learn from Jacinda Ardern. The youngest female prime minister in history, she has led New Zealand in the right direction.

Much of her work has focused on cutting poverty. She has expanded free doctor visits and launched free school lunch, began offering free menstrual hygeine products at schools, raised the minimum wage gradually, increased pay for school teachers, made a year of college free, extended parental leave to 6 months, and launched the Provincial Growth Fund to invest in infrastructure in rural areas. Unemployment is now the lowest 15 years. Her response to the Christchurch mosque shooting was praised as a symbol of hope around the world, and in response she banned assault rifles in the nation. Her swift and calculated response to the COVID-19 pandemic limited the effects of the pandemic and earned her the highest approval rating of any New Zealand prime minister. She increased pay for nurses and doctors and repaired hospitals while opening a suicide prevention office. She has also worked to protect the environment: new offshore oil drilling has been banned, harmful single-use plastic bags and microbeads have been banned, a project to plant a billion trees was launched, and a 100% renewable energy goal was approved with widespread bipartisan support. Her work with regards to immigration is impressive for its clear vision and logic: limit immigration while increasing the number of refugees until suitable infrastructure is put into place. She has also improved Māori-Crown relations, and the progress is set to continue with the legalization of euthanasia for the terminally-ill and recereational cannabis is set to take place within the next year.

The impressiveness of her achievements is surpassed only by that of her resolve and her strength. She rode on a bike to the hospital when she was in labor and returned to work within six weeks. She calmly proceeded talking when an earthquake occurred on live TV, and she has truly restored integrity, justice, and purpose to politics.