Throughout it all,Jacinda has been a fierce advocate for New Zealand and a great friend to Australia. She has been an inspiration to so many and,on a personal level,a friend to me.
It was only fitting that Jacinda was the first foreign leader to visit Australia following our election,and I was pleased to host her again for the 2022 Australia-New Zealand Leaders’ Meeting.
As a fellow Commonwealth leader,I met with Jacinda and co-operated on issues,particularly security in our Pacific region and climate change.
I witnessed her diplomatic skill at forums including the Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting,APEC and the East Asia Summit. To see her in action,elevating New Zealand on the world stage,was an inspiration.
It was not Jacinda’s destiny to be prime minister in easy times. It fell to her to steer her nation through the many challenges of the first global pandemic in a century. Through her early and decisive action,lives were saved and the economy was kept on track.
She also had to act as both comfort and strength in times of tragedy,which is when the world came to know her grace and her grit.