Former prime minister Dame Jacinda Ardern says she and her family have moved to Sydney with no set plans to return to New Zealand soon, saying they are "just taking life as it comes".
Dame Jacinda, partner Clarke Gayford and daughter Neve have settled on Sydney's northern beaches after spending time in the US and UK since she left office in early 2023.
"One of the main attractions for us was the proximity to home," she told the Sydney Morning Herald in an interview published today.
Asked how long they planned to stay, Ardern said the family had no fixed timeline.
"To be honest, we don’t know," she said.
"We’d been far away for a while, and we wanted to be closer to friends and family, but also wanted to get back to a life that was, you know, a bit like what we might have in New Zealand. But we don’t have a set time frame.
"We’ve never been much for five-year plans.
"We’re just taking life as it comes and really enjoying ourselves."
While conceding Sydney was "a beautiful city", Dame Jacinda was quick to add a caveat.
"New Zealand will always be the best place on Earth in my eyes," she told the newspaper.
"But, yes, every time I am coming in for a landing at Sydney Airport, I do say, 'That's a beautiful city.'"
She said living by the ocean had been a major drawcard, as it was "where my husband Clarke's happiest", and that their daughter enjoyed being closer to wildlife.
"We particularly love your birds. We have lots of birds in New Zealand, but our birds are just much quieter than yours," she said.
Asked what she wrote as her occupation on arrival cards, Dame Jacinda said she often paused at the question.
'Washed-up politician'
"You know, 'former PM', is not really an occupation, and yet, so much of what I do is guided by having had that role. But sometimes I write 'speaker', sometimes I write 'writer'.
"If there was more space I would put, 'Washed-up politician'!"
In the wide-ranging interview, Dame Jacinda also took direct aim at US president Donald Trump, saying she had "no qualms" expressing her opposition.
"I strongly disagree with his politics, and I disagree with his style of leadership, and I have no qualms saying that," she told interviewer Peter FitzSimons.
But Dame Jacinda said the challenges facing democracy went well beyond any single leader, pointing to a global trend of declining trust in political institutions.
She also reiterated her support for a capital gains tax back home and was asked about her government's response to Covid-19.
Earlier this year, she opted to provide evidence to the second phase of the Government's Covid-19 inquiry in private, alongside Chris Hipkins.
After leaving office, the former Labour leader's memoir, A Different Kind of Power, and an accompanying Netflix documentary, Prime Minister, have both recently been released.
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