New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern says Kiwis in no rush to host the Commonwealth Games
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has ruled out her country bidding to host the Commonwealth Games during a whistlestop visit to the Gold Coast to cheer on Kiwi athletes.
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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has ruled out her country bidding to host the Commonwealth Games.
Ms Ardern visited the Gold Coast on the weekend to attend her first-ever Commonwealth Games en route to Europe and the UK.
She said a possible bid by New Zealand to host the event had been raised with her by Games officials.
“It’s certainly been raised with me that here, the work that’s been done on transportation, housing and accommodation — that’s been triggered by hosting the Commonwealth Games,” she said.
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Of course, my hope is that we make progress in those areas without necessarily having to have that timeline at the end of it because there’s no doubt that’s infrastructure we need to fix too.
“There is no doubt that large scale events — like of course the Rugby World Cup (and) we are soon to host the America’s World Cup again — no doubt they bring economic benefit.
“Something of that scale (the Games) we don’t have a bid in but we are refreshing our major events look and strategy and that’s something obviously that will probably be raised along the way but at the moment, it’s not currently on the table.”
Ms Ardern, who was in the crowd to cheer New Zealand to victory over Australia in the gold medal women’s hockey showdown, said she was delighted to watch the Kiwis take gold.
“The atmosphere is a real standout,” she said.
“Particularly reflecting on the athletics (on Friday night) and the hockey today and the Rugby Sevens (where she caught up with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk).
“The amount of support from Kiwis here — phenomenal. And you can see the athletes are really buoyed by that.”
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Ms Ardern, who is pregnant with her first child, saw Kiwi Dame Valerie Adams, mother of a six-month old baby, claim silver in the women’s shot put at Carrara Stadium on Friday night.
“I’m a bit worried that Dame Valerie has set the bar a little bit too high in terms of just how exceptional she has been as an athlete and her recovery post having a child,” Ms Ardern said.
“She was someone who I think makes us all proud as it is to see her out on the field last night.”
Ms Ardern said she had been a regular visitor to the Coast since she was 12 years old.
“I have family here — I think most Kiwis do,” she said.
Ms Ardern flew out of Brisbane on Saturday night for Paris, where she will meet French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday.
She’ll hold talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday before she heads to London for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London.
Ms Ardern will meet Prince Charles and Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall, on Wednesday before her one-on-one “on appointment audience” with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace on Thursday.
While members of the Queensland Labour Government chose not to curtsy when they met Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall at the Games last week, Ms Ardern said she had no problem with “protocol and tradition”.
“These are not things that I get hung up on,” she said.
“My approach is to be respectful and if that involves there being some expectation around what can often be a subtle curtsy, I have no problem with that.”
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