New Zealand Prime Minister takes pay cut in fight against coronavirus

Leader of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern wants to show solidarity with those affected by the coronavirus outbreak

New Zealand

Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern has voluntarily taken a 20 per cent pay cut to ‘close the gap’ between groups of people affected by coronavirus across the country.

Lasting six months, Jacinda said it was important the government’s most highly paid politicians show ‘leadership and solidarity’ with workers on the frontline and those who had lost their livelihoods.

This means with immediate effect Jacinda, government ministers and public service chief executives will take the cut for half a year.

The pay cut will reduce the leader’s salary by $47,104 (£22,639), while cabinet ministers take a cut of NZ$26,900 (£12,923) each and deputy prime minister Winston Peters’ salary will be cut by $33,473 (£16,080).

Ardern, who became the second woman ever to give birth while leading a country, said of the decision, ‘If there was ever a time to close the gap between groups of people across New Zealand in different positions, it is now. I am responsible for the executive branch and this is where we can take action … it is about showing solidarity in New Zealand’s time of need.’

View this post on Instagram

I’ve been asked a few times about whether world leaders are sharing ideas with one another right now – we are! There’s not a lot of time, but this week I caught up with Mette Frederikisen the Prime Minister of Denmark who I met at the end of last year. We may be far away, but we’re all in the same fight against COVID.

A post shared by Jacinda Ardern (@jacindaardern) on Apr 14, 2020 at 1:42pm PDT

 

On April 8 Jacinda, 39, took to Instagram to assure the population support was there for them during such an unprecedented time. ‘I know many people will be starting to feel the pressures of self-isolation, and I know plenty will be feeling lonely or struggling with the uncertainty of the situation,’ she started.

‘That’s why this week we launched a new mental health initiative called ‘Getting through together’. If you do need support, you can reach out and find resources available on the allright.org.nz website…

Aroha from afar.’

View this post on Instagram

I know many people will be starting to feel the pressures of self-isolation, and I know plenty will be feeling lonely or struggling with the uncertainty of the situation. That’s why this week we launched a new mental health initiative called ‘Getting through together’. If you do need support, you can reach out and find resources available on the allright.org.nz website. To also support childrens’ well being, a new tool for parents called ‘Sparklers at Home’ has been launched, so if you have little ones in your bubble, check out the activities at https://sparklers.org.nz/parenting/. Otherwise, keep up the incredible work, New Zealand. Aroha from afar.

A post shared by Jacinda Ardern (@jacindaardern) on Apr 8, 2020 at 1:54am PDT

New Zealand has been in full lockdown for three weeks, meaning no one is allowed to leave their homes except for necessities or exercise. More than 1,300 people have been infected with the virus, 728 people have recovered and there have been nine deaths – all older people with pre-existing health conditions.

Of course, New Zealand’s population is far smaller than the UK’s, with just five million people living on the island compared to 66 million, but still, those five million need to be led in times of crisis, and Ms Ardern’s government have been praised for swiftly stemming the coronavirus outbreak with relatively few cases and deaths.

The post New Zealand Prime Minister takes pay cut in fight against coronavirus appeared first on Marie Claire.

from Marie Claire https://ift.tt/2VdWA0F