Revealed! The area where former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern ran her house viewing: Sydney's Northern Beaches

Reposted from the public account: My New Zealand (ID: newzealandtravel)

Author:Tony

Last week, the news that the former Prime Minister of New Zealand also wanted to protect Australia caused quite a stir in both Australia and New Zealand. The news even made it into the New York Times, with the headline “The latest New Zealander to immigrate to Australia: New Zealand’s former prime minister.”

This article mentions: More and more New Zealanders are moving to neighboring Australia, attracted by higher salaries, greater economic opportunities and more sunshine. Now they are joined by one of New Zealand’s most famous citizens, Jacinda Ardern. A spokesman for former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Thursday that she and her family were “currently” temporarily living in Australia. A spokesman said in a statement that Ardern’s family members have jobs in Australia, but gave no further details.

The news also mentioned that the area where Arden is currently inspecting houses is the Northern Beaches of Sydney. I use the name of the Chinese people I know locally, North Beach. As luck would have it, when I came to Australia in early 2024 to inspect the Runao living area, this was my last stop. (Last day of Sydney expedition: Northern Beaches), and finally our family settled here. Now our three children are studying in North Beach, and it has become our home in Australia.

Although North Beach is not well-known to Chinese New Zealanders, it is actually the fifth most populous Council in New South Wales, with more than 200,000 people living here.Driving from Manly in the south to Palm Beach in the north, the total distance across North Beach is 32 kilometers and takes more than an hour to drive.

It’s quite interesting to say that in such a large North Beach, the area where Arden’s family is looking at houses is right next to the community where our family lives. The Selective School our eldest attends is in the Curl Curl where she is looking at properties. However, the area she is looking at is a direct walk to the beach, so the average price is much more expensive. The picture below shows Curl Curl Beach, with a Rock Pool on the north and south sides.

The reason why our family chose North Beach has been mentioned in many articles in the past. Friends who are interested can read it.Summary of one year in New Zealand Tony Runaothe basic links are all there. Or go to the website I created, www.nzchinese2australia.com, where you can easily find basic and useful links.

But I’m really curious, or surprised, why the Ardern family chose North Beach. Why?

Maybe my first instinct was from a political perspective, so I came to this conclusion. After all, Ardern is already in Auckland, and she will choose to live in an area with a Labor Party background. After all, as a political star, she still hopes that people in the surrounding communities will be friendly to her.

What is the political background of this area of North Beach?

The Northern Beaches have long been considered a solid vote base for the Australian Liberal Party (centre-right). There have been many right-wing representatives here, including former Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

However, the right-wing background of the North Beach area, judging from my own living experience, is conservative in economic policies (such as emphasizing low taxes and fiscal discipline), emphasizing social security and order, and emphasizing small government; but it does not belong to the strong nationalism and extreme cultural conservatism of the Australian One Nation Party. On environmental issues, especially climate issues, homosexuality, etc., the support rate of residents in this district is also very high. Perhaps because of this, the Northern Beaches went from being traditionally centre-right to center-leaning at the last election. In addition, Australia as a whole is more right-leaning than New Zealand.

The picture below is taken by Tony near Manly Pier on North Beach.

The political background of North Beach is closely related to the composition of its residents. I discovered it during my first inspection 2 years ago. Except for the many tourists in Manly and some non-European immigrants near Dee Why, this area is almost a white world.

When I sent my two young children to school for the first time, I found that most of the students in the school were blond and blue-eyed Europeans. There were really very few Asians. I was even a little worried that my children would be discriminated against. After all, in New Zealand’s primary schools, Asians should account for more than 30%, and children naturally accept each other’s differences. My worries are not unnecessary. The children were even asked by their classmates why they looked Chinese but spoke fluent English.

In addition to the extremely high proportion of Europeans in the residents of North Beach, the proportion of locally born residents is also among the highest among all Sydney districts.Therefore, some people joke that the Northern Beaches is the last backyard of white people in Sydney, and the constant immigration has forced them all here. In addition, just like Chinese and Indians tend to live in areas where their own ethnic group has a certain proportion, many new European immigrants also naturally choose to live in areas with a closer culture, including Brazil, Argentina, Chile and other European mixed-race descendants in South America because of cultural similarities. In addition, North Beach also has a large number of French immigrants who immigrated during World War I and World War II. This can be seen from the place names, such as areas such as French Forrest.

From an occupational perspective, the Northern Beaches has a significant proportion of small businesses and managers.Australians and New Zealanders all know Bunnings, a super hardware chain store. Its largest store in Australia is on North Beach. This is all because there are many tradies and gardening enthusiasts in the local area (in low-density areas, every household has a yard), so this situation occurs.

Of course, nothing is absolute. Although North Beach is the least multicultural area in Sydney, I often meet Maori and Tongan people like me who came from New Zealand near Dee Why. Because I have lived in New Zealand for more than ten years, every time I meet these people, the conversation is actually very cordial. When I talk about Takanini, Papatoetoe, Mangare, everyone feels like they were neighbors. I think I could write at least 30 articles about the people from New Zealand I met while driving in Sydney. In addition, North Beach has the largest Tibetan population in Australia. I was even mistaken for a Tibetan by a Tibetan girl working at McDonald’s once, and she even spoke to me directly in Tibetan.

So, for a northern beach like this, I probably wouldn’t intuitively think Ardern would come here. She is a left-wing star in the international political arena, an active promoter of indigenous peoples co-governing the country, a practitioner of democratic socialism, and a supporter of multiculturalism. How could she come to such a purely white, right-wing community?

I recently drove to North Beach and talked with three guests I picked up about former New Zealand Prime Minister Ardern’s possible move here. They all made clear their distaste for her politics, and only one woman thought she handled the Christchurch shootings well. As for Ardern’s popular pandemic response, these guests expressed strong disapproval.

The picture below is the South Curl Curl Beach Rock Pool taken by Tony.

But Ardern is such a smart person. Her observation of human nature and her ability to grasp the public psychology are definitely top-notch among politicians. I believe she will find a lot of resonance and belonging in this district, otherwise she would not take such a risk.

In addition, there are quite a lot of people in North Beach who have connections with New Zealand. Judging from my driving, there are at least 10%. What I mean by contact isThey moved directly from New Zealand, or their parents came to Australia from New Zealand. The vast majority of these people are white, a few are Maori and Tongan, and very few are Chinese and Indian. In fact, considering the demographic structure of New Zealand, this is very reasonable. These people should also emotionally welcome the former New Zealand Prime Minister to become their neighbor, right?

The picture below shows children fishing at Narrabeen Lagoon on North Beach, taken by Tony.

I personally disagree with Ardern’s political stance and have never voted for her. Friends who have read my official account know that since I returned to New Zealand in 2017 after three years of working in Shanghai, she has been the most important person in New Zealand politics. And many of her political legacies are destined to have a long-term impact on New Zealand, especially the epidemic deficit, amnesty, Maori co-governance, etc.

But if she chooses to live in North Beach, she must feel deep down that this is the community where she feels most comfortable. I also feel that North Beach is particularly comfortable, because I feel that this is the place among all the districts in Sydney that makes me feel the most like I once lived in New Zealand. It has beautiful beaches, forests, lagoons, and harmonious coexistence between people and nature.

The picture below is the Warringah Mall, the largest comprehensive shopping mall in North Beach, taken by Tony.

In addition, Ardern is said to have also inspected public primary schools where her daughter might attend. My three children are also in public schools in North Beach. From this point of view, we have something in common, haha. Therefore, everyone can actually find something in common, even if their political opinions are far apart.

Some people will ask, will she enter politics in Australia? I think it is impossible to enter the parliament. Because if she wants to participate in political elections, she must first give up her New Zealand citizenship and become an Australian citizen. Australia once had a prime minister who caused a stir because he was found to have New Zealand citizenship (The best lurker in modern times almost became the prime minister of a neighboring country!). I think it’s normal for Arden to move to Australia, but she probably won’t be able to give up her New Zealand citizenship. She has been and will always be a political figure. Therefore, she can participate in politics in many ways, not just participating in elections.

Some people say that Ardern cannot benefit Australia and that she must stay in New Zealand and be responsible for the country. It’s okay to say this as a joke, but you can’t take it seriously. After all, this is a personal choice. Although she is a former prime minister, she is now a New Zealand citizen and she can go wherever she wants. Things in the past are in the past. If we want to be responsible, then the person who chose her should be responsible, right?

Our children asked me if we might meet her if we go for a walk by the beach or a nearby supermarket in the future. I said maybe, if we meet, I would like to take a photo with him. After all, we are all New Zealanders, and she has secured more naturalization conveniences and social security for New Zealanders in Australia. For this alone, we should thank her.

The picture above shows people watching whale migration on North Beach, taken by Tony.

Beginning in May, it is the beginning of the whale migration season on North Beach. From that time on, thousands of whales make the round trip from Sydney’s east coast for nearly half a year. After moving to North Beach, we watched it many times last year. The children watched the whales jump out of the water on the shore, or their tails stirred up the water. They all marveled at this spectacular life.

These whales go to tropical waters to give birth, and in the second half of the year they return to the temperate waters of the south with their calves to grow up. The migration behavior of finding a place suitable for oneself and future generations is a natural right protected by the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights; however, people are still restricted by national borders, but these whales migrate freely in the vast ocean.