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Home / Travel

Australian couple's discounted Cairns holiday offer for Jacinda Ardern and Clarke Gayford gets their attention

Megan Harvey
By Megan Harvey
Social Media and Trending Reporter·NZ Herald·
10 Jun, 2020 12:21 AM3 mins to read

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City Terraces Cairns Holiday Apartments owners William, a Kiwi, and Lynn, an Australian, said they would "love" for Jacinda Ardern and her family to come holiday with them. Photo / Facebook

City Terraces Cairns Holiday Apartments owners William, a Kiwi, and Lynn, an Australian, said they would "love" for Jacinda Ardern and her family to come holiday with them. Photo / Facebook

Jacinda Ardern's private secretary and Clarke Gayford have responded to a holiday offer made by an "adorable" couple who own an apartment complex in Australia.

In an open video letter, City Terraces Cairns Holiday Apartments owners William, a Kiwi, and Lynn, an Australian, said they would "love" for the New Zealand Prime Minister and her family to come holiday with them in winter.

 City Terraces Cairns Holiday Apartments owners William, a Kiwi, and Lynn, an Australian, said they would "love" for Jacinda Ardern and her family to come holiday with them. Photo / Facebook
City Terraces Cairns Holiday Apartments owners William, a Kiwi, and Lynn, an Australian, said they would "love" for Jacinda Ardern and her family to come holiday with them. Photo / Facebook

"We are a quiet, lovely little apartment complex. Very private. No one needs to know you're here," William says in the video.

READ MORE:
• Go NZ: 22 great New Zealand holiday hotspots for families
• Covid 19 coronavirus: Holiday deals hoping to encourage domestic tourism
• Covid 19: Should we be allowed to go on holiday during level 2?
• Employees not working during lockdown could miss out on public holiday payments

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"It's the perfect place to visit in the cold wintry months."

Lynn says it would be "such a pleasure" to have Ardern, Gayford and Neve stay before claiming that Cairns has the best playgrounds in the world.

"I could babysit, you and Clarke could go out for dinner ... lots of great food," she says.

The pair then offer the family a 50 per cent discount as they mention Ardern taking a 20 per cent pay cut due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

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The video signs off with the words: "We hope to see you soon".

Along with the video they captioned the post with additional information.

"We bet Neve will love Muddy's Playground and Cairns Aquarium [both at an easy walking distance], and when you're tired of signing autographs for wannabe Kiwis you can relax and cook up a storm in our large living rooms and kitchens," they wrote.

Neve Ardern Gayford with her parents Clarke Gayford and Jacinda Ardern. Photo /  NZ Defence
Neve Ardern Gayford with her parents Clarke Gayford and Jacinda Ardern. Photo / NZ Defence

"Enjoy David Attenborough's favourite place in the world, where the reef meets the rainforest!

Discover more

New Zealand

Resort owner calls for Cook Islands bubble with NZ

10 Jun 10:39 PM

"Now that you've got Covid under control in NZ, it's time to swap out your winter boots for some jandals and begin your transtasman bubble travels in warm, tropical Far North Queensland."

Later on, the owners' daughter Hannah Melville-Rea revealed that her parents got a response from Ardern's private secretary.

The letter read: "Many thanks for your kind offer. It sounds wonderful! I have noted this for the Prime Minister's information".

Just when we thought the government couldn't get any cooler, we received a response from @jacindaardern 's Private Secretary. pic.twitter.com/jRpC5OAMyj

— Hannah Melville-Rea (@HannahMelRea) June 9, 2020

After Hannah tweeted the video and response, Gayford chimed in with a cheeky response.

"Yes but is the fishing any good? What adorable parents, I'll put Cairns on a family holiday shortlist for some time in the future.....whenever that may be."

Yes but is the fishing any good? What adorable parents, I'll put Cairns on a family holiday shortlist for sometime in the future.....whenever that may be.

— Clarke Gayford (@NZClarke) June 9, 2020

Ardern hasn't put a timeline on when the transtasman bubble could be in force but called September "realistic".

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"September is realistic, but I haven't given specifics around what date precisely. Needless to say, Prime Minister Morrison and I are very, very keen to see us moving towards an opening up of our borders as soon as it's safe to do so.

"We are just giving ourselves the space to make sure that we are ready to go, that we are safe and that we're not going to export risks to one another."

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