Jacinda Ardern has said Labour will decriminalise abortion in New Zealand if it wins this month’s general election.

In a fiery 90-minute televised leaders’ debate on Monday night in Auckland, Ardern stated unequivocally that abortion “shouldn’t be in the Crimes Act”. Her stance was met with a round of applause and cheering from the 400-strong studio audience of undecided voters.

Has the friendly rivalry between New Zealand and Australia been fatally injured? Read more

“People need to be able to make their own decisions,” said Ardern. “I accept there will be people out there who will disagree with abortion, and I want them to have that as their right, but I also want women who want access to have it as their right too. This is about everyone being able to make their own decision.”

Under New Zealand law, abortion is a crime and legal only in cases of incest, “mental subnormality” or foetal abnormality, or where the physical or mental health of the mother would be seriously impacted by having a child. Other factors that may be taken into consideration but are not grounds in themselves include “sexual violation” and “extremes of age”.

Prime minister and National leader Bill English, who is a practising Catholic, said he thought the status quo was “broadly satisfactory”.

“If the changes came before parliament I would be opposed to liberalising the law,” said English, to silence from the audience. “I support the current law and I would not set out to change it.”

Last week, polling put Labour ahead of the incumbent National party for the first time in over a decade, with a resurgent opposition under Ardern, its new and youngest ever leader, up from 26% to 43%. National was on 41%.



While the usual discussion points were covered – including the economy, the housing shortage and how to deal with US president Donald Trump – Monday’s debate also featured a number of surprising moments, including English announcing that if re-elected his government would stamp out child poverty for up to 100,000 New Zealand children. The policy came as a surprise to Ardern, who applauded what she called the government’s change of heart, saying she had been pushing for such a goal for nine years.

On Tuesday Ardern said a Labour government would pull 100,000 children out of poverty by the year 2020, with the eventual goal of eradicating all child poverty in New Zealand.

She also reiterated her commitment to standing up to Australia, saying if it were to go ahead with plans to raise the cost of tertiary education for New Zealanders in Australia, Australian students could expect the same treatment in New Zealand.

“If they lock us out of tertiary education, we will lock them out of it here,” she said.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Bill English has found himself behind in the polls for the first time. Photograph: Mark Baker/AP

There are growing criticisms that New Zealanders living in Australia are treated as second-class citizens, with dozens dispatched to the Christmas Island detention centre, access to welfare benefits limited and the cost of tertiary study set to triple.

The National-led government has enjoyed a close relationship with Australia, with former prime minister John Key sometimes accused of reluctance to unsettle his “bro-mance” with his Canberra counterpart, Malcolm Turnbull, and English following suit.

Ardern has taken a firmer stance, and directed sharp words at Australia’s foreign minister, Julie Bishop, in August when Bishop accused the New Zealand Labour party of involvement in the revelation that deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce was a dual citizen.

On Tuesday, Ardern repeated her comments on tertiary study, but indicated that she would tackle the negotiations over benefit entitlements more gently.

“On benefits I hold a different view. We’re still fighting for New Zealanders’ rights in Australia. I think we should maintain the moral high ground that it’s only right that if you pay taxes, you have access to those benefits.

“So we’re maintaining them in New Zealand, while we continue to argue for them in Australia.”

Jacindamania: rocketing rise of New Zealand Labour's fresh political hope Read more

Terry Bellamak, national president of the Abortion Law Reform Association of New Zealand, said she felt “very happy” when she heard Ardern’s commitment on abortion during the debate.

“This is the first time we have ever had someone commit to decriminalisation who is so close to the prime minister’s office,” said Bellamak.

“Previously there has been a determinaton to ignore the archaic nature and wording of the law, and that has had a real impact on women’s lives in New Zealand, making accessing an abortion more traumatic and forcing women to lie to their consultants.”

Anyone seeking an abortion in New Zealand must obtain approval from two medical consultants, who must attest that the women’s health is in “serious danger” by allowing the pregnancy to continue, either physically or mentally.

The process also takes a long time – an average of 25 days – with the risks associated with abortion rising as the pregnancy continues.

Bellamak said 98%-99% of the abortions that are granted in New Zealand are done so on mental health grounds. However, the fact that abortion remained under the Crimes Act increased stigma, and made women less likely to access it and less likely to discuss it afterwards, she said.

“The New Zealand landscape is quite rugged, and distances and travel times can be very high, and access to abortion is not good enough for women in New Zealand. There are no abortion services on the west coast for example. Decriminalising abortion would make it easier to tackle issues like access more openly.”