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PoliticsNew Zealand

New Zealand PM's profanity raises thousands for charity

December 22, 2022

Jacinda Ardern, in a moment of heated parliamentary debate, called her rival David Seymour an ''arrogant prick'' last week. The two politicians are now using it to save lives.

https://p.dw.com/p/4LIl6
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (right) and lawmaker David Seymour sign a copy of the parliamentary transcript where she called him "prick."
Ardern is a member of the center-left Labour Party while David Seymour leads the right-wing ACT Party Image: ACT Party/dpa/picture alliance

A signed copy of an official transcript where the New Zealand prime minister's mic caught words of profanity she used against a rival politician, was auctioned Thursday for over 100,000 NZ dollars ($63,160; €59,424).

Last week Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's mic picked up her words when she called the ACT Party leader David Seymour an ''arrogant prick'' as an aside comment to her deputy. The incident took place during a heated debate ahead of an election year.

The profanity, which Ardern had later apologized for, became part of the Hansard, the official parliamentary record. Seymour, despite his initial shock, suggested the auction to her at a party.

Political rivals come together for a good cause

The political rivals agreed to sign the parliamentary transcript and have it auctioned to raise funds for the Prostate Cancer Foundation. The auction turned out to be website Trade Me's most popular auction of the year with 282 bids and over 435,000 views.

"The funds will go towards raising money for pricks everywhere," Seymour said.

Ardern took to Facebook to announce the news. "Can't say I expected this," she wrote. "A faux pas with the old mic in parliament has turned into $100,100 for the Prostate Cancer Foundation. My thanks to David for being a good sport and to everyone who placed a bid." 

Peter Dickens, the chief executive of the Prostate Cancer Foundation, thanked the politicians for their "classy" reaction. He said the funds came at an opportune time since the foundation was unable to raise much last year due to the pandemic.

"Just a little prick could save a life," he said.

mk/wd (AP, dpa)