The Prime Minister has chosen her words carefully when asked about Speaker Trevor Mallard's job performance on Monday.
Mallard has been heavily criticised for his handling of the Parliament protests in February with ACT calling for him to resign.
The Speaker's contentious actions included issuing trespass notices to NZ First leader Winston Peters and others before being forced to retract them, blasting Baby Shark at protesters and turning on Parliament's sprinklers.
Despite the criticism, Jacinda Ardern is standing by Mallard even if she's not exactly giving him a glowing endorsement.
On Monday, AM host Ryan Bridge suggested the Prime Minister was at odds with half of the country in thinking Mallard was doing a good job. But the Prime Minister didn't confirm she thought he was doing well, instead saying, "I think he's doing a hard job."
"I think that gets missed out. When you're a referee of a bunch of politicians, that is not an easy job and it's often a very politicised job," she told AM on Monday.
"So do I always agree with the Speaker? No, but I do and have supported him in the role that he has continued to do."
Ardern pointed to Mallard's handling of the protests when asked which areas she disagreed with him on.
"There have been a couple of examples that have been caused in recent times. You know through some elements of the protest I acknowledged that I may have been inclined to do things differently but again here my role as leader of the party is just to submit when I have different views.
"But ultimately he is the Speaker of Parliament so he has to represent all parties in the decision-making that he undertakes. So he doesn't just speak with me."
Ardern said most Speakers faced criticism because of the nature of their jobs.
"It is very hard to find a Speaker that every single politician in a House is happy about. By virtue of their role, their job is to at any given time probably take positions that annoy half of the people they work with. They're a referee in Parliament and it's a pretty tough job."
Despite the Prime Minister's lukewarm defence on Monday, she's defended him in the past saying she still had confidence in him last month.
"Yes, I do. The experience that Parliament has had has been unprecedented and obviously there are issues in the aftermath of the occupation at Parliament to work through," she said at the time.
"All parliamentary parties have a role to play in supporting that work, sharing their views, and ultimately coming to an outcome where we try to prevent it occurring in the future."
