Jacinda Ardern

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.

It becomes tricky if you ever try to partition off what might be seen as sexist criticism. To be honest, I just don't engage. The best way I can rebel against those notions is being competent, good at my job.

I would absolutely classify as being incredibly progressive the fact that I am the third female prime minister.

I'll be prime minister and a mum, and Clarke will be 'first man of fishing' and stay-at-home dad. I think it's fair to say that this will be a wee one that a village will raise, but we couldn't be more excited.

Things like promoting healthy behaviours, including nutrition and activity, and beginning that at school is so critical. We used to have a healthy eating, healthy action plan, elements of which really were dumped by the last government, so we're trying to rebuild a bit of a program of action in that space.

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.

The challenging thing from a work perspective is just the range of things on any given day that you're dealing with and making sure you have the head space to really be giving them the thought and consideration you'd like, too.

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.

Getting stopped in the middle of the lingerie section, when you're trying to stock up on a few things, by an older man who wants a selfie is a little bit awkward... but I don't let that get in the way of me trying to do normal things, because that is when I get to interact with people as well. Preferably not amongst the underwear, though.

I definitely try not to get too caught up in putting too much of a gender or age assessment on everything - I've just got to get on with it.

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.

I have a partner who can be there alongside me, who's taking up a huge part of that joint responsibility, because he's a parent, too - he's not a babysitter.

Back in the early days of my political career, I was called Socialist Cindy. I just hate the nickname Cindy.

We spent the election campaign really canvassing where we were as a nation, deciding who had the mandate to change that up going forward. But I think the challenge for us will be, as with any government, your actions demonstrate your legacy.

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

The most difficult thing for us to do is to mitigate and offset our agricultural emissions. If we find a way to do that, then we're showing other countries how to do it, too.

I credit the women who came before me and credit New Zealanders for welcoming me having a child... positivity outweighed negativity. I'm proud of the nation.

If we want to make workplaces more open, we need to acknowledge logistical challenges... by being more open, it might create a path for other women.

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.

We've had a debate about immigration in New Zealand for some time. Now what we're trying to champion in that conversation is a recognition that New Zealand has been built off immigration. I myself am a third-generation New Zealander.

As soon as I came in as leader, we had seven weeks to an election, so we had to be entirely focused on the job we had in front of us.

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

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 thing that drives people more often than not is they genuinely feel that they can make a difference. So that means there are nice people in politics.

I think that has to do with our perception of politics. There are nice politicians. There is something about this job that does take an extra bit of motivation to get out of bed in the morning.

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.

I have already been a big believer in a model of nurse/family partnerships: the idea of having - for those mums that might benefit from a bit of extra support - having those visits scaled up a bit. I believed in it before; I absolutely believe in it now. So that is probably one of the things that affirmed something I already supported.

I'm constantly anxious about making mistakes.

A lot of women in New Zealand feel like they have to make a choice between having babies and having a career or continuing their career. So is that a decision you feel you have to make or that you feel you've already made?

I do find it slightly offensive that everyone thinks that every New Zealander starred in either 'Lord of the Rings' or 'The Hobbit.'

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.

Everyone knows that I have just accepted, with short notice, the worst job in politics.

I don't think that the next generation should fear just being who they are rather than confirming to an expectation of what they are meant to be.

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.

We aspire to be a government for all New Zealanders and one that will seize the opportunity to build a fairer, better New Zealand.

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

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.

You can't ask other people to believe you and vote for you if you don't back yourself.

I didn't think I would be prime minister, because I didn't consider it. But that's the power of saying yes, because there will be a moment when someone asks you to do something beyond your comfort zone. I am not unique.

This stardust won't settle, because none of us should settle.

Everything I've ever thought about doing has been, in some sense, about helping people.

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.

I want to be a good leader, not a good lady leader. I don't want to be known simply as the woman who gave birth.

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

The fact I'm the third female Prime Minister, I never grew up believing my gender would stand in the way of doing anything I wanted.

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.

Issues like obesity do, as you well know, have a knock-on effect to diabetes. So we all are better off if we invest early in prevention.

I am not the first woman to multi-task. I am not the first woman to work and have a baby - there are many women who have done this before.

I am a thinker, and I do muse over things a lot and am constantly assessing whether I am doing enough or what I should be doing more of to make sure I am not letting anyone down.