Reactions have been mixed to the news of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s decision to step down from the role, but some local celebrations have left others “disgusted” by their crass nature.
A day-long celebration of Jacinda’s retirement party has kicked off at Nelson’s Ocean Lodge on Friday, with an image posted to Facebook depicting Jacinda being put through a wood-chipper being towed by a hearst.
A Nelson woman who asked to remain anonymous says she was disgusted by the image and has lodged a complaint with the Advertising Standard Authority.
“After years and years of these kinds of threats and behaviour from Kiwis, this is why the poor woman is stepping down,” she told the Nelson App.
“As a Nelsonian, I’m disgusted by the post.”
Ocean Lodge manager Sam Cotton says it's not an image that's directed at Jacinda personally, but is simply celebrating the fact a politician is retiring.
"We've got an older demographic who regularly complain about politicians, whether that's National or Labour," he says.
Sam says he didn't create the image himself, but used a meme he had seen circulating on Facebook.
"It wouldn't have mattered if it was Chris Luxon, it's just a celebration of a retiring politician."
Hotel Motueka is also hosting a celebration on Friday, their Facebook post simply stating that in celebration of the announcement they would be offering $10 jugs all day Friday.
Within hours of Ardern’s resignation announcement in Napier on Thursday, a small crowd gathered outside the city's conference centre.
Unlike the steady stream of shocked Labour MPs still coming to terms with the news, these folks were celebrating.
"Ding dong the witch is gone," one placard read.
Online, there are similar sentiments to be found among groups bitterly opposed to Ardern. The Freedom & Rights Coalition even takes credit for Ardern's departure in a post on Facebook: "We can now celebrate the departure of this leader of division. We did it!"
The comments on the post are unfit to repeat here.
Entering what would have been her sixth year, Ardern is the longest-serving Labour Prime Minister after Peter Fraser and Helen Clark. But in an emotional speech to her caucus in Napier she revealed she "no longer had enough in the tank" to do the job. "It's time," she said on Thursday.
"As much as I have taken great joy in this job, I would be giving a disservice to this country and to the Labour Party if I continued, knowing that I just don't have enough in the tank for another four years."
While it wasn't explicitly stated, it's hard to imagine the increasingly violent abuse directed at her was not part of the reason.
"It is no surprise to me at all … she could not, not be affected by this," says Disinformation Project director Kate Hannah.
Ardern more than likely tops the list for the amount of vitriol endured by any political leader in this country, Hannah believes.
"In the earlier parts of her first term we got sort of commentary about her looks and her lack of perceived experience."
But in the last two years the misogyny and violence directed towards Ardern has not only increased in volume, but also become more dangerous, says Kate, who studies online hate speech and disinformation.
"The language and imagery used to talk about the Prime Minister has become more violent, more vulgar, more crude and repetitive."
According to a recent study, published just before Christmas, which charts the rise of misogynistic language towards female leaders and women in the public sphere, the most prevalent word used to describe the Prime Minister in these circles is "the C word, and the most prevalent visual image is of witchcraft."
"And this is old data. This is data from the middle of last year. So, it's actually got worse."
Another grim factoid from the paper shows the word "Neve" - referring to Ardern's pre-school daughter - is also on the most prevalent list.
In June, it was revealed the number of threats towards Ardern has almost tripled in the past three years.
Kate, who herself has been subjected to similar abuse - including death threats - says she presented the paper's findings to Ardern and a range of MPs late last year.
How did Ardern react?
"As we all do … trying to laugh it off and saying the job is more important … and you just have to get on with the job," Kate says.
"It is incredibly abusive and derogatory, and what it does is attempts to reduce a person to their basic self, and in doing so signals to every other person who shares characteristics with that individual who has been targeted that they are equally worthless, equally base, equally loathed.
"So has this purpose of both targeting individually her as a woman, her role as prime minister, and then all women or all people who share some of those characteristics with her," she says.
With RNZ
