New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and leader of the ACT party David Seymour have teamed up to raise money for prostate cancer, just days after Ardern was caught on mic calling him an “arrogant prick”.
“After having a laugh about it, Jacinda Ardern and I are going to auction a signed copy of the Hansard (official record) of her calling me an “arrogant prick” to raise money for pricks everywhere, a great cause, the Prostate Cancer Foundation,” Seymour shared on Twitter on Thursday night.
Earlier this week, Seymour had asked Ardern in parliament if she could give an example of her “making a mistake, apologising for it properly and fixing it”. Ardern responded to the question referencing her government’s managed isolation policy during COVID-19 and said she would perhaps do things differently if it happened again.
Ardern then resumed her seat next to her colleague Grant Robertson and was caught quietly saying “he’s such an arrogant prick”. Her microphone was still live at the time, so the comment was picked up and recorded in the parliamentary Hansard.
Ardern later apologised to Seymour, with him accepting the apology saying it wasn’t “the end of the world”.
“She said, as my mum would say, ‘if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it’,” he told Newshub.
“I agree with the sentiment and it is all good as far as I am 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.”
People are now able to able to bid on a print out of the parliamentary Hansard, with all proceeds going to the Prostate Cancer Foundation. At the time of publishing, the current bid sat at $45,200.
“In the spirit of a Kiwi Christmas, two political foes unite to raise money for a good cause. You will receive a framed printout of the Parliamentary Hansard co-signed by the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern and one-time arrogant prick, ACT Party Leader David Seymour. All proceeds to the Prostate Cancer Foundation,” the bidding website states.