'OK boomer': Millennial MP shoots down heckler in New Zealand parliament

Green politician swats away jeer from older MP with deftly deployed meme

A young MP deployed a millennial meme to casually swat away an older heckler during a speech in New Zealand's parliament.

Chloe Swarbrick was explaining that the burden of tackling the climate crisis would fall on her generation.

“In the year 2050, I will be 56 years old; yet, right now, the average age of this 52nd parliament is 49 years old,” the 25-year-old Green Party member said

This prompted a jeer from another MP, reported to be Todd Muller, 50, of the centre-right opposition National party.

OK boomer,” retorted Ms Swarbrick, before continuing her speech.

Her glib response made deft use of a viral phrase recently in The New York Times as “a rallying cry for millions of fed up kids” faced with condescension over from the older generation - and baby boomers in particular.

Ms Swarbrick’s deployment of the meme provoked little immediate reaction inside New Zealand’s parliament, but led to her speech being shared around the world.

Not everyone was amused, however, she noted later on Facebook.

“Today I have learnt that responding succinctly and in perfect jest to somebody heckling you about *your age* as you speak about the impact of climate change on *your generation* with the literal title of their generation makes some people very mad,” she wrote.

“So I guess millennials ruined humour. That, or we just need to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and abstain from avocados.”