Jacinda Ardern called out for maskless photo
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has come under fire after she was photographed with a crowd of over 100 people, mostly unmasked, days after the government began encouraging Kiwis to return to wearing face masks.
The photo of Ms Ardern, alongside Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro, several MPs, and 120 youth parliamentarians, was shared across the PM’s social media profiles as part of the government’s Youth Parliament events, while other photos showed attendees wearing masks.
A spokesperson for the Prime Minister said she and others in the photo in question had been asked to remove their masks at the photographer’s request.
“Every few years, politicians in New Zealand are replaced by young people. It’s called Youth Parliament, and involves everything that parliament usually entails - select committees, question time, press conferences and a general debate - except with young people taking over our roles,” Ms Ardern captioned the photos.
“It’s such a fantastic programme, and always leaves me with great hope. Not because these are our ‘leaders of tomorrow’, but because these young people are already out there being leaders in their own right now. So thanks Youth Parliament 2022, for letting me be a part of your day today.”
The events and unmasked photo come a week after the government announced a push to make Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) and masks more accessible in a bid to curb COVID-19 cases across the country.
Otago University epidemiologist, Professor Michael Baker, said he couldn’t comment on whether masks were used during other parts of the day - despite there being photos showing otherwise on Ms Ardern’s social media - but that it was disappointing to see “leaders not leading by example”.
"There is an added responsibility for our leaders to wear masks when being photographed or in public settings to lead by example, this was a missed opportunity to normalise mask-use," Professor Baker said.
Image: @jacindaardern (Instagram)