Dear Sir Ian Taylor, we read your open letter to Dame Jacinda Ardern. Here’s what we think

Thursday, 3 July 2025

OPINION: On Thursday morning Stuff published an open letter from Sir Ian Taylor to former prime minister Dame Jacinda Ardern. He called it “the most difficult letter I have written to you.” You can read it here.

In response to Taylor’s letter, we invited Stuff readers to write to him with their takes on what he had to say.

Here are some of the best letters we have received:

Responses have been lightly edited for grammar and clarity.

Rob Murfitt

Your letter to Jacinda disappoints me. It’s a backhanded slap to the woman who steered this country through uncharted waters during the pandemic.

As a result of her and her team, and the country’s cooperation, New Zealand is the only country in the world, where the death rate actually went down (!) during the Covid crisis.

I do agree that her Captain’s call to rule out a Capital Gains tax was a mistake.

But the tide turned against her in the sentiment of public opinion and relentless attacks by journalists openly affiliated to National (Hosking, du Plessis etc) , as people wearied of the restrictions. Winston Churchill had a similar experience.

She should be allowed to tell her side without cruel inferences that she was or has become self-serving.

JD Frost

Wow what a great ‘honest’ article. Thank you for articulating what the rest of New Zealand was feeling, seeing but had no power or voice to change the damage that was happening and continues to happen to our country and people. So many lives hurt beyond comprehension, so many businesses destroyed and still struggling to stay afloat.

Why is she being honoured rather than being held accountable.

Cheryl Perkins

Dear Sir Ian, reading your letter to Dame Jacinda Ardern this morning surprised me with your comments. I wonder if it had been a male prime minister, would you have made the same comments? I think not.

I am not a business owner or a worker in fact but, a superannuant, so I was pleased with what she did during Covid. I came through it and have had all the vaccinations without catching it. I don’t live in Auckland either which helps.

So thank you Dame Jacinda Ardern.

Michael Corkin

Thank you for your open letter. I am one of the 5 million who took a ride in Jacinda's 'waka'. I felt proud of our leader in the early Covid days. The first lockdown was relief from the drudgery of working nightshift delivering bread for the local bakery. Yay. And I was paid to sit on my bum at home while all around me the world was in a spin of panic and fear. But not to worry. We had Jacinda. She is going to save us.

Felt like a criminal walking daily to a friends place using all the side streets to avoid the police patrols. The police commissioner told us with blunt words he had a special place for us to stay if we breached the lockdown rules. Meanwhile Jacinda is telling us to be kind to each other. Kinda confused - does that include when we are locked in a prison cell too? Lucky for me I did not get Covid back then and,touch wood (not the carbon credits variety) I will avoid it in the present time.

Never could believe for awhile what we were all living through. The most common everyday activities had the potential to earn us criminal convictions. Always felt someone was going to nark on me when I left the property. That was then and fast forward to now we can see things with different eyes. The kindness mantra was a crock and people on hard times are now on worse times. It's fair to say I am cynical now and I do wonder if Covid was the perfect smokescreen for some good old fashioned social engineering.

Trish Nicholls

My words are brief.

Your open letter to Jacinda Ardern should be compulsory reading for all New Zealanders.

Well done!!!

Marion Norton

Dear Sir Ian

Oh dear Sir Ian! Did you actually read Jacinda’s book before you wrote your letter?

I’m sorry Sir Ian but I detect a smidgeon of some sort of sour grapes (maybe that is not quite the right phrase) in your letter - you seem to carry a grudge.

Yes, you may have had ideas, as many others did, at the time - which may or may not have been taken on board! Too bad - perhaps had you stood for Parliament and won an electorate you might have had more sway! Why should you believe what you offered was so great - when you weren’t in the room with all the health officials etc - and didn’t have to bear the responsibility?

Yes, many suffered for all sorts of reasons as we have heard loud and clear - but, many lives were saved by having controls until our vaccination rates were higher! Maybe yours, may be the lives of those who shouted loudest, maybe those whose vitriol was spread on social media. You don’t know, we can’t know. We lived! (You do know that our death rate actually went down over Covid!)

You are completely wrong to say, as you did, that livelihoods did not matter - the various monetary supports at the time clearly kept many businesses afloat - and their workers with some income - but we all knew this could not be endless. You do know how high the ‘turnover’ of businesses is in NZ in normal times - or you should!

It was all our great luck that our island nation was governed by such an empathetic leader at the time who valued human life above all else - people matter most - and I’m sorry for folk who do not share that view.

So, again, ‘oh dear’ Sir Ian - read the book and understand more what drove Jacinda. And spare a moment for how she was essentially driven out of public life - driven out of NZ, her home!

With best wishes (nevertheless)

(Aging grandmother who cares)

Allan Kirk

Ian,

It's so easy to sit back and look at the past and say 'You got it wrong'.

You simply can't ignore the fact that at the time all those political decisions were made, the nation and the politicians were in uncharted territory and the risks being faced were life and death risks.

Also, it was a time of a huge amount of stress and stress causes people to make stupid decisions, to lash out, and to accept stupid theories if they think it will make that stress go away.

And that stress seems to affect unconstrained people like the general public, more than those in a structured political atmosphere.

Before you sit back and judge the actions of people in a political situation, Ian, try getting into politics and dealing with the pressures, the lobbies, the human foibles, and the sometimes outrageous demands from political, racial, social and religious groups.

Running an animation company is easy compared to being prime minister of New Zealand.

David L

So good that you have finally seen through the Jacinda brand. Only surprise is that it took you so long - especially for someone who has been so massively successful and someone who has contributed so much to New Zealand.

I remember clearly when you came up with an innovative solution to solve the dreadful problem of families being split by the Covid issue - a solution which was ignored by Jacinda’s government.

Thank you for highlighting the failure to implement a capital gains tax, ( not on my watch!) despite being advised to do so by the late Sir Michael Cullen.

And thank you for highlighting that childhood poverty has not improved.

Popularity and performance were clearly two very different matters during the Jacinda years.

William Schwass

I have sat in numerous board meetings over the years with all those egos and personality traits that ‘highflyers’ such as yourself and Jacinda bring.

Its time to move on Ian…We get your point…but it’s only subjective – one person’s perspective… everybody else in New Zealand would view the Covid experience from their very own personal experience.

You had your torments, I had mine, and every single other person in New Zealand had theirs.

Jacinda is a person like us all and has traits and failures like us all.

Yes, she did do well initially, but it was not her own decision to carry out certain actions further along the harrowing journey… there was a government, cabinet, expert advisors and worldwide issues.

Yet, you and others wanted someone to blame – Jacinda felt this burden no doubt and resigned.

Jacinda, like you, is just another human being.. she is not God or your fairy godmother Ian, so for your sake, accept the frailties of being human – as I have, stop blaming put your ego and personal disappointments aside and show us the bigger man you are and what made you today.

Ron Law

Well said Sir Ian.

If this letter was open for the addition of signatures there would be tens if not hundreds of thousands of brutally affected individuals signing up. As one of our politicians pointed out recently, Jacinda is so despised by so many that she is now forced to live in exile overseas.

Her leadership became brutally unkind… brutal!

Denis O’Rourke

Sir Ian’s piece on Jacinda Ardern’s book is a grossly unfair exercise in hindsight.

His main objection to the Ardern approach to the severe Covid lockdowns is unrealistic and impracticable. In the circumstances at the time Sir Ian’s proposition to permit a range of exemptions would have been highly experimental and extremely risky, relying on unproved technology and processes. This was risk management, not brand management, as he claims, and was the safest realistic option.

As for his views about the failure of the Ardern government to adopt measures to reform the tax system and to achieve more about child poverty, using the Ardern government’s absolute parliamentary majority, I totally agree, but this was the failure of a gutless poll-driven Labour Party (Hipkins especially) and cannot fairly be applied to Jacinda Ardern.

Sandra-Leigh Johnson

Dear Sir Ian,

Thank you so much for this open letter to Jacinda Ardern. You have captured my feelings precisely.

I was completely in awe of her from the beginning of Covid through to the mosque attacks and daily noontime warnings from her in the media. Living in a retirement village, I, with my fellow residents, complied with the “keep safe” recommendations, only venturing out on absolutely necessary appointments, eg: health commitments, etc.

And then those restrictions in New Zealand became insurmountable with people not able attend important family functions, eg: funerals, weddings, childbirths, overseas personal connections, etc. New Zealand was being literally cut off from our families and friends, whilst other countries were not living with as stringent rules.

Eventually Jacinda abandoned her prime minister's role - ie: ran away - due to the stress!! Really?? She is now happily overseas making a great deal of money on her lectures. Ho-hum!! Poor Jacinda!

I was just going to make this email brief, but my sincere feelings took hold.

In appreciation, Sir Ian.