Volkswacht Bodensee - New Zealand's ex-prime minister Ardern now based in Australia: media

Ardern won international acclaim for her handling of the pandemic, although her popularity in New Zealand had soured in the months before she stood down from politics in January 2023.

Since then she had been living with her family in the United States, where she had been working at Harvard University.

But a spokesperson for Ardern told national broadcaster RNZ on Thursday they were now "basing themselves out of Australia".

"They have work there, and it brings the added bonus of more time back home in New Zealand," the spokesperson said.

Ardern and her husband were seen scoping out properties for sale in Sydney's beachside northern suburbs of Freshwater and Curl Curl, property website realestate.com.au said.

An international hero of progressive politics, Ardern steered New Zealand through natural disasters, the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2019 Christchurch mosque massacre.

But plaudits abroad did not always match her support at home, which dipped towards the end of her second term in office driven by deteriorating economic conditions and a backlash to her government's strict Covid policies.

The former prime minister is now among thousands of her compatriots to make the move to Australia.

The most recent data from Stats NZ showed 48,000 people had moved from New Zealand between November 2024 and the same month in 2025.

Although New Zealand ranks highly in lists of the most desirable places in the world to live and work, in recent years the record numbers of arrivals have been matched by departures.

Commentators have blamed slow economic growth, high living costs and a housing crisis that has made it difficult for young New Zealanders to get on the property ladder.

A.Kunz--VB