New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern branded another party leader an “arrogant p***k” as she took her seat in Parliament this afternoon.
Ms Ardern has since apologized to ACT leader David Seymour for the text message remarks Herald of New Zealand reports
Referring to another instance in which Labor MP Willie Jackson had called him out, Mr Seymour told the media: “Some days I’m a useless Maori, other days I’m an arrogant p***k.
“The apology we’re really looking for is for New Zealanders concerned about price gouging and RAM attacks.
“Jacinda Ardern texted me and said, ‘I’m sorry, that’s not something I should have said and she said, as my mother would say, if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say”.
“I agree with the sentiment and everything is fine as far as I’m concerned. I just said, thank you and I hope you have a very Merry Christmas. At the end of the day, it’s not the end of the world.”
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Mr Seymour told New Zealand radio presenter Heather du Plessis-Allan he had been called worse, and actually saw it as “a victory”.
“I asked him the question … before he said it … can he give us an example where he’s made a mistake, admitted it, apologized and fixed it.
“She couldn’t answer the question, and that’s probably why she was a little nervous … the great irony is that now I’ve made her apologize for something. So that’s progress. I just wish she’d apologize for some other things.”
Seymour had asked Ms Ardern a series of questions related to the performance of Labor MP Nanaia Mahuta, hate speech reforms and other policies.
After answering, as Ms Ardern takes her seat, she can be heard telling Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson, who is sitting next to her: “You arrogant bitch.”
Such remarks would not normally be heard, but the microphone on Ms Ardern’s desk picked up the comment.
Mr Seymour did not hear the comment himself. It was only after the Herald collected the comments and asked Mr. Seymour to tell them that Mr. Seymour raised a point of order in the House, noting that Ms. Ardern had made a “very unparliamentary remark”.
He asked President Adrian Rurawhe that Ms. Ardern withdrew the comment and apologized.
Rurawhe did not immediately allow this, noting that the comment was not reported to Hansard.
However, the questioning of Mr. Seymour on the remarks assured that they would be recorded in Hansard for posterity, as the interjections which are dealt with in the chamber, as Mr. Seymour addressed Ms Ardern’s comment, they are recorded in the Hansard.
This article originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald and is reproduced with permission
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