Fractious Australia has much to learn from the kindness and purpose of New Zealand politics | Eleanor de Jong

The cooperation fostered by Jacinda Ardern is in stark contrast to Australia's political disunity and dysfunctional federation

Pre-Covid, when international travel was still common, many Kiwi travellers received a similar question wherever they happened to be around the globe: Jacinda Ardern, is she the real deal?

The New Zealand prime minister's devotion to a new breed of politics, one rooted in kindness", compassion" and cooperation" often seemed too saccharine to be true, especially at a time when a series of notorious bullies were voted into positions of power around the globe.