New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern denies official using state resources to help plan her wedding
- The Taxpayer’s Union said Ardern was ‘breaking the law’ in using her electorate secretary as a wedding planner
- A newspaper also revealed that Ardern and fiancé Clarke Gayford had not paid a cancellation fee after ditching their original choice of wedding venue
A spokesman for the prime minister said no parliamentary time or resources were used to plan the wedding, and the staffer was working in her capacity as a long-standing friend.
The Herald on Sunday reported that Ardern’s electorate secretary Barbara Ward had been involved in wedding plans, visiting a wedding venue in Gisborne in May and July.
The news was revealed in a story that reported Ardern had cancelled her original choice of wedding venue – the Bushmere Arms, on the outskirts of Gisborne – and had not paid a NZ$5,000 (US$3,500) cancellation fee.
The owner of the venue, Robin Pierson, said Ardern and Gayford booked the venue two years ago but talks broke down after a dispute over catering by a Kiwi celebrity chef, Peter Gordon.
The Taxpayer’s Union, a low-tax lobby group, released a statement on Sunday saying that “the prime minister is breaking the law in using her taxpayer-funded electorate secretary as a wedding planner”.
