Quotes from Jacinda Ardern

When I came into politics, I remember reading these scorecards of my performance, and I would routinely have these comments about not being assertive enough.

My grandma was a very traditional woman but, at the same time, would want me to have kids.

I have a collection of ukuleles. I meant to graduate to the guitar, but I never did.

All of the things that people said that I would experience - that idea that you suddenly have this new person in your life that you could love so much and that time will go incredibly quickly, but that the nights will seem incredibly long - all of that has been true, but it has been wonderful.

The wonderful police officers who spend time with me I don't think appreciate that, but I do still drive. I do still cook: not often, but just last week, I really felt like making one of my mum's old recipes - so I did. I do still go to our local department store to buy things like maternity jeans that no one else can really do for me.

Never feel like you have to tick all of the boxes on everything to be able to feel like you can do a job. I have heard it said many times before, and it is so true.

I worked as long in a fish and chip shop as I did in Parliament. I've had particular experiences in politics, but they're not my only ones, and they're not the ones that defined me.

We know we've got a problem attracting to certain areas because of the cost of living, so we're thinking about things from how do we ensure key workers have accessible and affordable housing; also, how do we attract people into teaching as well.

I thought, how do I reflect the generosity, particularly of all the iwi who gifted us names - and Te Aroha seemed to be a way.

Te Aroha was something we settled on quite early. It was our way of reflecting the amount of love this baby's been shown before she even arrived.

The teacher crisis is something we are really worried about during the byelection in Mount Albert. I counted, across a month, seven teachers I identified just in my area who were all leaving - not the profession but Auckland.

Probably being in politics is the worst place for me to be.

I am sure having a baby around a working environment changes the tone a little bit.

How great it would be for us all to have the pride of knowing that we, as a country, are one of the best countries to be a child.

I'd say it was always in me - it's just what's required of you is very different in the moment that you become leader. When you're part of a team, you defer, and you're there to support your leader.

One of the criticisms I've faced over the years is that I'm not aggressive enough or assertive enough, or maybe somehow, because I'm empathetic, it means I'm weak. I totally rebel against that. I refuse to believe that you cannot be both compassionate and strong.

Ultimately, I do want us to be a transformative government. I want, when we've left, for people to say we're not just clean-green anymore: we're carbon neutral, or we're striving to be.

I was there when Gordon Brown basically was taking over - so right in the middle of that transition. It was fantastic; I learnt a lot.

I really rebel against this idea that politics has to be a place full of ego and where you're constantly focused on scoring hits against each one another. Yes, we need a robust democracy, but you can be strong, and you can be kind.

Yes, we believe in globalization and trade, but we also believe in you being able to benefit from that more. For too long, we progressives have seemed like part of the system. We need to start thinking about whether or not it's delivering for us now.

Even going out to get milk becomes a little bit challenging, just because there is a whole entourage that then travels with me for this simple thing. So I tend to try and find ways not to inconvenience a whole raft of other people, so it changes my mindset a little bit.

At a personal level, it's just the day-to-day: I'm a mum that needs to meet all of the responsibilities that come with being a mum, making sure that Neve has the basics, that she's fed, that she's loved, that she sleeps as much as we're able to get her to sleep, and we will do that together. That's a practical reality of my new role.

I never, ever grew up as a young woman believing that my gender would stand in the way of doing anything I wanted.

If you sit and wait to feel like you are the most confident person in the room, you are probably going to be left by yourself.