Tauranga schoolgirl who asked PM if Easter Bunny could work during lockdown looks back a year on

March 26, 2021

Lucinda Finnimore asked the Prime Minister if the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy could continue working during last year’s lockdown.

Aotearoa's Alert Level 4 lockdown one year ago ran through Easter celebrations, and it was clear that many tamariki were worried the Easter Bunny would not be able to get an exemption to continue working.

So Tauranga schoolgirl Lucinda Finnimore, then nine years old, wrote to the Prime Minister and asked if the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy would still be allowed to "go into other people's bubbles this Easter". 

Jacinda Ardern responded: "You'll be pleased to know that we do consider both the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny to be essential workers, but as you can imagine at this time of course they are going to be potentially quite busy at home with their family as well and their own bunnies.

"And so I say to the children of New Zealand if the Easter Bunny doesn't make it to your household, then we have to understand that it is a bit difficult at the moment for the Bunny to perhaps get everywhere.”

The Prime Minister warned, however, the Easter Bunny might not get to every home this year.

Ardern’s comments captured the world’s attention, providing a little reprieve from the toll of the pandemic. 

One year on, Lucinda and her mum Jane told Breakfast they’ve had a “really long” 2020. 

“I felt really happy and I didn’t believe it would actually go this far. So, really excited,” Lucinda said of Ardern’s response. 

Lucinda's letter to Jacinda Ardern about the Easter Bunny

Lucinda lost a few teeth last year, and pocketed $4 which she was “really happy about”.

Her advice to young people was this: “You have to be confident to ask questions.”

Jane said she was “so proud” that Lucinda had the courage to ask what many Kiwi kids had wanted to. 

She said Lucinda’s question had put back “some more colour” back into New Zealand during tough circumstances. 

“We almost forgot about the voice of children in the pandemic … there was so much hardship that we actually forgot about children. A lot of childhoods were interrupted.”

Jane, a teacher, said the effects of the pandemic were still clear. 

She said teachers were still hearing from families doing it tough, with food security and housing continuing to be struggles. 

But, students around the country were “magnificent” and were “resilient and rose to the challenge”, Jane said. 

Teachers also went above and beyond for their students. 

“It’s a very proud time to be a teacher in New Zealand. I’m a really proud teacher,” she said. 

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