Former prime minister Dame Jacinda Ardern has paid tribute to Grant Robertson after he gave his valedictory speech in Parliament yesterday.
She posted to Instagram saying the former deputy prime minister is "one of the finest humans".
The post read: "Grant Robertson's farewell speech to the New Zealand Parliament was not just a collection of great stories, jokes, and political history - it captured who he is as a person.
"Warm, funny, caring, values driven and with a deep commitment to work on behalf of the most vulnerable.
"He will always be one of the finest politicians I had the privilege of working alongside - but more importantly, one of the finest humans.
"I was so sad not to be there to farewell him in person, but I know my colleagues will have given Grant the send off he deserves.
"See you for that beer soon my friend!"
Robertson also paid tribute to Ardern in his speech, saying working with her as prime minister was the "greatest joy and privilege".
"I'm not sure New Zealanders appreciate just how fortunate we were to have someone of Jacinda's intellect, compassion and practicality leading us through some of our most difficult times as a nation.
"Jacinda got the balance between head and heart."
He spoke of feeling the gravity of the pandemic, including closing the borders and the impact of the wage subsidy.
He said any good financial statistics for the country that came out of the pandemic paled in comparison to the "one statistic that matters — the number of lives saved".
"Those statistics are real people. We know exactly who they were if we look around the rest of the world.
"Saving those lives trumps any statistics or any hate on social media."
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