Australia’s most trusted politician is New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern shouldn’t have even been part of the contest — but that didn’t stop her from winning easily.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been declared the most trusted politician … in Australia.

This morning the Kiwi media has picked up on the 2019 Believability Index, whose results are based on a poll of 1400 Australians.

Those people were asked to rate 12 politicians on six measures related to their “believability”. This is how those measures were defined:

• Relevance: Is in touch with the issues and things that matter to me;

• Integrity: Has strong principles and is driven by an ethical compass;

• Shared values: Reflects my beliefs and social/political priorities and values;

• Commitment: Has my community’s best interests at heart;

• Affinity: A person I can relate to and like;

• Follow through: Delivers on their promises, does what they say they will.

Based on people’s responses, each politician then received a score out of 100. Here are the results:

1. Jacinda Ardern, 77

2. Penny Wong, 53

3. Julie Bishop, 52

4. Tanya Plibersek, 50

5. Anthony Albanese, 46

6. Richard Di Natale, 45

7. Pauline Hanson, 44

8. Scott Morrison, 43

9. Bill Shorten, 42

10. Tony Abbott, 36

11. Peter Dutton, 34

12. Clive Palmer, 30

Not great news for our own major party leaders there. Nor for the men — the top four choices are all women.

Maybe Australia should become a state of New Zealand, not the other way around.

Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten came eighth and ninth, respectively. Picture: Liam Kidston

Jacinda Ardern was first, and it wasn’t close. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

WHY SHE IS SO TRUSTED

Ms Ardern earned worldwide praise for her empathetic and decisive response to the Christchurch terror attack in March.

She moved swiftly to strengthen New Zealand’s gun laws, and her proposed changes passed the country’s parliament by an overwhelming vote of 119-1.

There was another flood of good publicity for Ms Ardern after it emerged she had become engaged to her longtime partner Clarke Gayford over Easter.

Aussies have fallen in love with Jacinda Ardern. Picture: Hannah Peters/Getty Images

A ring had been spotted on the Prime Minister’s hand — though she was wearing it on her middle finger.

Ms Ardern met Mr Gayford at an awards event in 2012, and they have a 10-month-old daughter named Neve.

RELATED: Jacinda Ardern confirms she is engaged

She was asked about her wedding plans at a press conference earlier this week.

Before the first journalist had even finished speaking, Ms Ardern interrupted and jokingly asked: “Any other questions?”

“Will we see a wedding in election year?” the reporter finished.

“I have absolutely no idea,” Ms Ardern responded, before revealing she had been “surprised” by Mr Gayford’s proposal.

“Look, as with probably many other couples, we haven’t made many plans, in fact any plans at all,” she said.

“So you may have many questions, and I’m unlikely to be able to answer just about every single one of them.”

The journalist then asked whether Ms Ardern could share more details about the proposal because “the public are hungry for answers”.

“Are they really?” she said, laughing.

“This is a very public job, and I am quite happy to put a bit of ourselves out there, but there’s some things I wouldn’t mind keeping to ourselves.”

Jacinda Ardern, Clarke Gayford and their daughter Neve. Picture: Getty

She did reveal the pair were at the top of Mokotahi Hill in Mahia — a beach settlement on the east coast of the North Island — when he popped the question.

“There was a beautiful outlook. There was Clarke, myself and a member of the DPS (PM’s security) … also a couple of locals from Mahia and a dog which tried to eat the chocolate that Clarke bought me,” Ms Ardern said.

Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten have romantic stories behind their marriages too. It just seems Australians are less interested in hearing them.