Departing NZ PM Jacinda Ardern in her own words

The former New Zealand prime minister gave interviews to TVNZ and Newshub this week as she leaves parliament after a 15-year career, five as prime minister.

* On her reasons for leaving

"Within a short space of time - bam, a domestic terror attack, a volcanic eruption, a pandemic and economic crisis. I know that to do this job well, you have to have a lot of stamina and energy and then some for you might not prepare for."

* Whether she left to give Labour a better chance at the 2023 election

"A part of me did think, 'If I go, maybe you can just take a breath' because I knew I was a flashpoint for some people. That wasn't the basis of my decision, but I hoped it would be a consequence of my decision."

* On advice she would give to if her four-year-old daughter wanted to get into politics

"Go for it, darling. I'm never going to trample on my girl's dreams and hopes."

* On returning to work six weeks after giving birth

"It was the only call ... I didn't feel like I could (have more time and) I don't believe I could. I was the prime minister of a coalition government."

* On combining parenting with her prime ministership

"It was about being the best mother I could be but also the best prime minister I could be. What a privilege to be able to do both because I didn't think I'd do either."

* On having more time to parent

"Now I get to make the school lunches and then see it return at the end of the day uneaten."

* On her forthcoming wedding

"It's fair to say that Clarke and I have quite long to do lists which includes a lot of home maintenance. The wedding is on that list."

* On governing through COVID-19 and various crises

"The weight of the job was so constant and so immediate ... the responsibility was always there. I never lost that. I carried that quite heavily."

* On growing dissatisfaction with NZ's COVID-19 rules

"I will forever think back Is there a way I could have kept that cohesion? I don't know the answer to that, because there may have been but we may have lost other things and the other things that we may have lost would have been people."

* On her initial reaction to the Christchurch Mosques massacre

"I just remember feeling rage, because it was so clear that this person had come to New Zealand to try and create a sense of other to members of our community."

* On growing threats to her

"Were there people who wished me harm? Yes. Did I feel like at any moment I was at risk? I felt well cared for."

* On child poverty

"We lifted tens of thousands of children out of poverty, but again, did we lift everyone out? No ... I feel proud of what we did. I'll feel even prouder if we keep going."

* On New Zealand's climate plan

"We had targets that we had to reach and no plan on how to reach them. Now I'm leaving, there's the Zero Carbon Act with increased targets, an emissions reduction plan to get us there. We have carbon budgets, we have a climate commission supporting all our work."

* On divisive co-governance reforms

"There was some politics that got into that ... Why be afraid of having Maori at the table? Why be afraid of that?"

* On how to counter growing polarisation

"Firstly, we have to the foundations of our debate have to be based on fact ... the second thing is even when we disagree, just remembering each other's humanity."

* On her political inspiration, Michael Joseph Savage

"He got criticised for not building enough houses either."

* On her successor Chris Hipkins' moving away from her agenda

"One thing I've pledged to myself is having been in that job, I know how hard it is. And it's not for me now to judge anyone who's doing it."

Australian Associated Press