Jacinda Ardern juggling hardest days with life as a new mum

While Jacinda Ardern is tackling the darkest week in New Zealand history, her partner shared a moment that puts it all in perspective.

Jacinda Ardern has a lot on her plate.

She’s comforting the Muslim community and hugging students as they struggle through their darkest days.

She’s making bold, swift changes to her country’s gun laws.

She’s denouncing white supremacists and making it her government’s responsibility to weed them out so hate and prejudice and extremism can never again rear its ugly head in New Zealand.

She’s dealing with her own grief over what’s happened, telling a schoolgirl “I’m sad”.

Through it all, it’s easy to forget the 38-year-old is also a new mum.

On Twitter yesterday, her partner posted a moment that put her extraordinary week in perspective.

Alongside a photograph of their daughter Neve’s tiny hand gripping a finger, Ms Ardern’s partner Clarke Gayford wrote the following message:

“For her 9 month birthday today we received the gift of crawling. While her mum got her the gift of having a safer country to grow up in.”

For her 9 month birthday today we received the gift of crawling.
While her mum got her the gift of having a safer country to grow up in. pic.twitter.com/FiCSTn0PM8

— Clarke Gayford (@NZClarke) March 21, 2019

“I can’t imagine how hard it’s been in your household this week, but you must be incredibly proud,” one person wrote.

“Her mum is just amazing. Showing the world how to lead a country and earning so much respect in the process,” another said.

Ms Ardern announced a New Zealand-wide ban on all military-style weapons, all semi-automatic weapons and all devices that allow a firearm to generate semi-automatic, automatic or close to automatic gunfire.

Ms Ardern said a buyback scheme would be introduced that could cost the New Zealand government $200 million but it was necessary because changes to gun laws in New Zealand in 1983 and again in 1999, 2005 and 2012 “did not go far enough”.

“What we are banning today are the things that were used in last Friday’s attack,” Ms Ardern said.

“We must make (changes) to prevent an act of terror happening in our country ever again.”

“The attacker on March 15 took a significant number of lives using primarily two weapons,” she said.

Jacinda Ardern greets a first responder after Friday’s massacre. Picture: Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images

“They were assault rifles and they were purchased legally on an A category gun licence — the standard licence held by gun owners in New Zealand.

“The capacity of these assault rifles was then enhanced using 30-plus round magazines, essentially turning them into military-style semi-automatic weapons.

“While the modification of these guns was illegal, it was done easily through a simple online purchase.”

The Prime Minister is being celebrated around the world for how she has handled this week’s tragedy.

At 1.30pm local time today (11.30am AEST), she will speak following the reopening of the Al Noor and Linwood mosques in Christchurch where last week’s massacre took place.

The Muslim Call to Prayer will be broadcast and thousands of supporters are expected to form a human chain around the mosques in a show of solidarity.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern hugs a student at Cashmere High School. Picture: David Alexander/AAP

What impressed you most about Jacinda Ardern over this last week? Share your thoughts in the comments below