Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was "outplayed" by his New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Ardern in their speeches at the Australia New Zealand Leadership forum in Sydney on Friday, according to a seasoned finance journalist and commentator across the Tasman.
Tony Boyd wrote in an opinion piece in the Australian Financial Review that it was "a case of deja vu for Australians used to being flogged by the Kiwis in the pinnacle of trans-Tasman rugby union competitions, the Bledisloe Cup".
He said the 1000-strong luncheon audience liked Turnbull's strong support for private enterprise and his pledge to continue trying to push corporate tax cuts through the Senate.
"But when asked to give their brutally honest assessment of Turnbull's performance against Ardern's there was consensus that the New Zealand Prime Minister put him in the shade," he wrote.
"After 100 days in office, it was Ardern's first opportunity to present her vision for New Zealand. It was a chance to dispel some of the myths that have built up about her 'socialist' agenda.
Both prime ministers turned to wave at the cheering group on Sydney Harbour.
"She took the opportunity to stress that the coalition government she leads wants to achieve 'budget sustainability' which she defined as 'running sustainable surpluses and reducing net debt as a proportion of GDP'."
Boyd wrote that during his speech, Turnbull laboured over a joke about Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters once working as a second-class tunneller in the Snowy Mountains Scheme.
"His delivery was vigorous and upbeat but the meaty part of his speech seemed tired and well-worn."
He wrote: "Ardern's speech was well structured, with considerable time spent on the strength of the relationship between the two countries.
"She showed her willingness to be inclusive and bipartisan by laying out the contribution made by all sides of politics in building stronger trade relations, including former New Zealand finance minister Bill English and former Australian treasurer Peter Costello."
Her jokes were much funnier than Turnbull's and she delivered them with practised ease, the columnist wrote.
"She said the only way New Zealand could get a higher rating than its existing 85 per cent on the Lowy Institute's annual 'thermometer' poll of Australian attitudes towards other countries would be to 'concede on the pavlova, and allow you to claim Crowded House'."
SHARE ME