Rita Panahi has accused former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of hypocrisy for splurging $5.3million on a home after condemning capitalism.
The News24 host expressed her disapproval at the news Ardern and her husband Clarke Gayford had bought a place at Dee Why on Sydney‘s Northern Beaches, one of the city’s most sought-after coastal suburbs.
The architect-designed residence has five bedrooms, three bathrooms and sweeping views stretching from North Curl Curl and Manly Beach to the Sydney skyline and Bondi.
Panahi highlighted the purchase as evidence of a contradiction between Ardern’s anti-capitalism rhetoric and her personal fortune.
Sharing reports about the property on social media, Panahi resurfaced Ardern’s past comments in 2017 calling capitalism a ‘blatant failure’.
‘Of course the queen of performative caring is also a giant hypocrite,’ Panahi wrote.
Spanning three levels, Ardern’s new Dee Why home features expansive glass walls, multiple entertaining spaces, private balconies and a swimming pool overlooking the coast.
The $5.3million sale price is believed to be the highest recorded in the suburb this year and more than double the median house price in the area.
Rita Panahi (pictured) said Jacinda Ardern was ‘a giant hypocrite’ for the home purchase
Ardern (right) and husband Clarke Gayford (left) have purchased a $5.3million Sydney home
The controversy reflects a broader debate that has followed Ardern throughout her political career, especially given her early involvement in international socialist movements.
Years before becoming New Zealand’s youngest prime minister in more than 150 years, Ardern was heavily involved with the International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY), a global network of socialist and social democratic youth organisations.
In 2009, she delivered the closing address at the IUSY Festival in Zanka, Hungary, attended by more than 3,000 delegates from 143 organisations around the world.
Speaking to the gathering, Ardern repeatedly referred to delegates as ‘comrades’ and described the movement as a force for social and political change.
‘We are a strong, bold and courageous movement,’ she told attendees.
Ardern urged young activists to challenge their political parties and agitate for ideological change.
‘It is you who must challenge your mother party. It is you who must challenge your opponents. It is you who must challenge one another, comrades,’ she said.
‘Comrades, the second thing that I’m reminded of is more sombre, and that is that as a movement, we have not won, I don’t just mean against the neo-liberal agenda that we are all fighting.’
The home is located in Sydney’s picturesque Northern Beaches suburb of Dee Why (file)
Ardern (right) said capitalism was a ‘blatant failure’ and slammed the ‘neo-liberal’ agenda
At the end of her address, delegates stood to sing The Internationale, the historic socialist anthem famously adopted by socialist and communist movements around the world and later by the Soviet Union.
The resurfacing of those remarks has renewed criticism following news of Ardern’s move to one of Sydney’s most exclusive coastal areas.
Former Liberal candidate and One Nation campaigner Katherine Deves was among those to comment.
‘Wouldn’t Melbourne be more aligned with her politics?’ she posted.
Since resigning as prime minister in January 2023, Ardern has spent time in the United States and the United Kingdom, including serving as a distinguished fellow at Oxford University.
Daily Mail understands Ardern is seeking job opportunities in Australia, as her family settles in permanently since arriving in February.
In August, Daily Mail revealed Ardern was holding meetings at the National Press Club in Canberra.
She also met Labor MPs, including Australia’s youngest senator Charlotte Walker, 22, who posted a selfie with Ardern and called her ‘the greatest of all time.’
Daily Mail contacted Ardern for comment.
