‘Chippy’, as he is affectionately known, made sure his humour and light-hearted nature would persist in the role, saying it was “about time we had a ginger at the top”.
That only one person put their name forward, albeit with a huge amount of jockeying behind the scenes, represented what looks to be an extremely tidy handover in power.
All that remains is for at least two-thirds of the caucus to endorse him at their 1pm meeting today, with an announcement expected at 3pm.
All indications are that the party will be united in its support for him, with others tipped as potential candidates - including Kiri Allan and Michael Wood - today giving him strong backing.
Hipkins was tight-lipped speaking to media on Saturday, declining to reveal any potential policy changes, Cabinet shake-ups or even who his deputy party leader and Deputy Prime Minister would be.
He was also quiet on if Grant Robertson would carry on as Deputy Prime Minister, although Hipkins said Robertson would retain the finance portfolio if he desired.
Allan early on Saturday ruled herself out as deputy leader, which would have caused some disappointment among the party’s Māori caucus.
That leaves Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni the frontrunner to become the new Deputy PM.
As well as Deputy Prime Minister, the caucus will also choose who will be the Labour Party’s deputy leader.
The caucus elects the Labour Party’s deputy leader – usually the person the leader says they prefer – and the Prime Minister chooses the Deputy Prime Minister.
Robertson praised Hipkins as someone who was “going to be a great leader and PM”.
“My mate Chippy has been there through thick and thin. He is experienced and deeply grounded in Labour values.”
Allan said she supported Hipkins because he was intelligent and experienced, and had been involved in the leadership group of the party for the past six years “through some of our hardest times”.
National Party leader Christopher Luxon said he wished Hipkins well, but a change in leader didn’t change anything for New Zealanders.
Green Party co-leader James Shaw said he saw in Hipkins “someone dedicated to making Aotearoa a better, fairer place” and someone who had “delivered some important changes”.
The change in Prime Minister would not affect the co-operation agreement in place between the two parties.
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer congratulated Hipkins but said it was disappointing not to see any tangata whenua contenders for the top jobs.
“Māori have supported Labour for 100 years. They have the largest Māori caucus ever, and we still don’t have a Māori Prime Minister.”
Ngarewa-Packer said they supported Sepuloni as a “strong representative for Pasifika whānau”.
Act leader David Seymour called on Hipkins to rule out a range of what he called “divisive” policies, including Three Waters reforms and Fair Pay Agreements. He also said he needed to rule out a capital gains tax, as Ardern had done.
The 44-year-old Hipkins is currently Police Minister and Education Minister and has been an MP since 2008 - winning the Remutaka seat - through Labour’s rocky nine years in Opposition before getting into Government in 2017.
His uncontested elevation should allow him to be sworn in as new PM ahead of a busy few weeks in politics, including Labour’s pilgrimage to Rātana, and Waitangi Day commemorations. Parliament is not set to return until February 14.
Ardern will join Hipkins in attending attend Rātana on Tuesday, but the plans for Waitangi are so far unclear.
