New Labour leader and Prime Minister Chris Hipkins says he will refocus the party on “bread and butter” issues in a wide-ranging address to the nation which covered the inflation “pandemic”, rethinking co-governance and a personal statement about his marriage.
In his opening remarks, Hipkins set out his intention to focus mainly on the cost of living and issues affecting New Zealand families.
He also pledged to prune Labour’s policy programme, saying that over the next week the Cabinet would look at what was not needed right now to trim back the government work programme.
National leader Christopher Luxon congratulated Chris Hipkins and Carmel Sepuloni but said they had been part of a Government that had not delivered for New Zealanders and nothing had changed.
Hipkins said he was aware that many people thought the Government had been doing too much and going too far in its reform programmes.
He said he was really excited about the “focus and commitment” from his colleagues to make the process stable and seamless following Ardern’s resignation.
Hipkins said it was in the interests of New Zealand for the transition to be seamless and speedy.
Hipkins acknowledged his “very good friend” Jacinda Ardern, who he called one of New Zealand’s great prime ministers.
“Jacinda’s leadership has been an inspiration to women and girls everywhere.”
He said she “purposefully did politics differently.” She had been an inspiration for women and girls everywhere “but it is also a reminder that when it comes to women in politics we have a long way to go.”
Hipkins recognised the challenging economic times and spoke of the Government’s choices it made during Covid-19.
“I know that many people in New Zealand, many families are struggling at the moment.”
Hipkins said many families were struggling. “The world is facing a new challenge: a pandemic of inflation”.
He said his government would focus on the “right now” and the “bread and butter issues” affecting people.
“You shouldn’t have to be on a six-figure salary to buy a new house.”
Hipkins said; “My Government will bring a strong clarity sense of purpose... [in] helping New Zealanders through these tough economic times.”
Public services would be strengthened under his Government, Hipkins said, citing health and education.
“Access to those basics needs to be extended to all those who are striving for better.”
He said more work was needed to engage young people and to address the causes of crime.
“I know that some New Zealanders feel we are doing too much too fast and I have heard that message.”
He said over the coming week Cabinet would make some decisions on reining in programmes that weren’t needed right now.
“We will make decisions on re-focusing.”
He said his team had been “forged through fire”.
He would be speaking to his colleagues and would announce a Cabinet reshuffle next week.
He said he would install Carmel Sepuloni as deputy PM.
Hipkins spoke of her work to implement the wage subsidy scheme to support people through Covid-19. “As a proud westie, I can’t think of a better sidekick for a boy from the Hutt.”
Ratana will be Ardern’s last engagement as Prime Minister, as Hipkins will be sworn in as PM on Wednesday before the first Cabinet meeting.
“I am incredibly proud of our Govt, we care about New Zealanders.”
A re-focus was necessary given the economic conditions, but it did not require a “change of heart.”
Sepuloni acknowledged Hipkins for taking the PM role and said all of the caucus believed in him and knew he would be a great PM
“I want to just express my absolute commitment to Chris as the next PM, I will be there backing Chris up every step of the way.”
She spoke of the significance of her appointment for the Pacific community. Sepuloni has Samoan, Tongan and NZ European heritage
“As Deputy Prime Minister, I will continue to be focused on ... serving our communities and whanau and Aotearoa and I will do that to the best of my ability.”
“I look forward to doing the mahi,” Sepuloni said.
Hipkins said his would still be a Labour Government - “but we are in a very different position now to what we were in when we were voted in in 2020.” He said that meant a refocus was needed.
Hipkins denied that Labour had not been listening to New Zealanders. He wouldn’t make specific announcements as to what policies would be peeled back.
Asked if he was concerned about Maori representation in the Labour leadership, Hipkins spoke of how integral the Maori caucus was to the party and referenced how Kelvin Davis is still the party deputy leader.
Hipkins said he knew from very early on after Ardern announced her resignation that he would want Sepuloni as his deputy if he was chosen as PM
Hipkins said the abuse directed at Ardern had never been acceptable and he implored men to speak up about the issue and call it out. “The way Jacinda as been treated ... has been utterly abhorrent.”
Hipkins said the changes he will make to Labour’s policy priorities would have happened even if Ardern hadn’t stepped down
On the reshuffle, Hipkins said Labour had ministers who had plenty of experience and he would look to utilise that, alongside the young talent.
“There are opportunities to bring some of that talent into new roles,” Hipkins said of the Cabinet shuffle.
Hipkins said the team decided there was to be unity with how the leadership had progressed. “No deals were done at any point during that process.”However, he recognised some colleagues could have sounded out whether they would be supported, but he reaffirmed no deals had been made.
Asked whether he would rule out extending the superannuation age, Hipkins said he wouldn’t comment on specific policies at this time
Asked how they work together, Hipkins said they both entered Parliament in 2008 and said they had been “good friends” and someone that he trusted completely.
Sepuloni said she told her father over the phone about the news, as he had just returned from Samoa.
Her eldest son was a little reluctant and “pretty shocked” after he was told but had since sent her a message to express his pride.
Hipkins said as a public figure, he had worked hard to keep his family out of the limelight. He has two kids and wants them to grow up in a normal Kiwi life. He said he intended to keep them out of the public limelight and he asked NZers to respect that.
Hipkins said being a minister’s partner was “bloody hard”, and a year ago he and his wife had decided to live separately. “She’s still my best friend but we have made that decision in the best interest of our family.”
Asked how his Govt would interact with media, Hipkins said he had a different style to Ardern and thought he had shown that he would be accessible to NZ media as much as he could.
On the economy, Hipkins said he was aiming to strike the right balance, managing the Govt’s books but also making the right investments for the future.
He said no decisions had been made to change the fundamental macroeconomic course of the Govt as yet.
“NZ is in a very sound shape economically.”
Stuart Nash will be the acting Minister of Police and Jan Tinetti will be the acting Minister of Education as Hipkins resigns his portfolios ahead of the reshuffle.
Grant Robertson would be the leader of the House, however, Hipkins confessed he hadn’t yet told Robertson about that yet.
Asked whether climate change ranked among his priorities, Hipkins said the importance placed on addressing causes of climate change would not decrease under his Government.
On co-governance, Hipkins said “no one understands what that means”, citing how treaty settlements often included co-governance but there was now an uncertainty among NZers when co-governance was mentioned, saying it had not always been clear.
On his international presence in comparison to Ardern, Hipkins said Ardern had done a lot to “put New Zealand on the map” including work on trade, and he hoped to engage with international partners alongside a strong focus domestically.
Hipkins said he hadn’t firmed up an international travel schedule, when asked about travelling to China. However, he said it would be high on the priority list.
National leader Christopher Luxon congratulated Chris Hipkins and Carmel Sepuloni.
He said Chris Hipkins has been part of a Labour government which has not delivered.
Luxon said “nothing has changed”.
Luxon said he was focused on the “economic pain in the coming year”
He said he sent Hipkins a text congratulating him on his appointment last night.
“New leader, same story,” Luxon said.
Luxon said he supported Hipkins’ remarks about his family being given privacy.
Speaking about polarisation and vitriol directed at Ardern, Luxon said he was “conscious and intentional” about having civility in New Zealand politics.
Luxon said the country was “going in the wrong direction”, and said economic factors were important for Kiwis to understand.
He said the Labour government needed to lower the cost of living and “return law and order”.
Luxon said the healthcare system was “falling apart”.
Luxon agreed with Hipkins about the need for men to stand up to sexist attacks on women in politics.
Speaking about Hipkins’ announcement that his Government would scrap some policies, Luxon said “it’s all too little, too late”.
He said Hipkins had admitted those policies would fail.
Chris Hipkins was due to speak following a vote by Labour’s caucus to confirm him as the party’s leader and the next Prime Minister, with senior MP Carmel Sepuloni as his deputy.
In his first full press conference, Hipkins will likely set out in more detail what his immediate plans are as Labour leader and Prime Minister - and some indication of what stamp he might put on Labour’s current policy programme.
Timings on Ardern’s formal resignation date and when Hipkins will be sworn in as Prime Minister could also be discussed, which could be as soon as Wednesday ahead of the first Cabinet meeting of the year.
Hipkins and Ardern walked side-by-side into Labour’s caucus meeting room earlier today and received strong applause and cheers from their colleagues.
Sepuloni confirmed after the meeting she would be Hipkins’ deputy. Sepuloni was seen receiving hugs from several Labour colleagues.
Labour MP Shanan Halbert said on social media that Kelvin Davis had retained the deputy leadership of the Labour Party.
Michael Wood, who had been touted as someone who might contest the leadership, said he was feeling “upbeat and excited” as he left the meeting, and said a new leadership team would be announced shortly.
Sepuloni, speaking before caucus, continued her silence on the topic of Hipkins’ deputy.
“The whole way along I haven’t ruled anything in or out, there’s a process that needs to be undertaken and we need to respect the caucus members and those decisions,” she said.
Acknowledging messy leadership contests of the past, Sepuloni expressed her appreciation for how her colleagues had conducted themselves since Ardern confirmed she would be resigning.
Former Labour leader Andrew Little said he had been impressed by the maturity of the caucus.
“This is one of the largest caucuses in MMP parliaments that we’ve ever had and it’s held together through what has been a pretty challenging few days, it made a good decision, it made it quickly, I think it went very well.”
Hipkins was revealed yesterday as Labour’s sole nomination for the party’s leadership after Ardern last week stated she would resign as Prime Minister by February 7.
Congratulations, Well done & really proud of our first Pacific Deputy PM, my friend & Tongan sister Hon @CarmelSepuloni! Today is a historic day for Samoa, Tonga & our Pacific People in Aotearoa NZ. You’ve got this Carmel👏🎉👏 ‘Ofa lahi & Alofa tele atu Sis xoxox ❤️🌺❤️🌺❤️ pic.twitter.com/oFRuujMoup
— Jenny Salesa (@JennySalesa) January 22, 2023
As MPs filed into Parliament this morning, they were also staying silent on their own hopes from Hipkins, who will have to do reshuffle as one of his first jobs. All said they backed him: MP Kieran McAnulty said of Hipkins’ chances against National’s Christopher Luxon “I think Luxon is in for a ginger crunch.”
Greg O’Connor had one of the most philosophical comments, quipping “the queen is dead, long live the king” about the change from PM Ardern to Hipkins.
Trade Minister Damien O’Connor said Hipkins was “made for the job” and had had his support from day one - O’Connor was in Europe when Ardern resigned and had just arrived back.
He said he had seen several leadership changes in Labour in his time as an MP: “this has got to be the smoothest, the most sensible and hopefully the most progressive in terms of as we move towards the election.”
“We’ve had an amazingly united caucus and that unity will follow through. There will be some changes under Chris and we will embrace those and move on.”
“He’s pretty open, he’s pretty blunt. We know who he is.”
Tangi Utikere, MP for Palmerston North, told reporters he was “really excited” ahead of today’s events.
“Today the team will confirm Chris Hipkins as our next leader and therefore the next Prime Minister and that’s an exciting thing for all of us to be doing today.”
He would not be drawn on whether he hoped to be shifted up the party rankings, saying it was a matter for Hipkins.
Utikere was among the new MPs who entered Parliament following overwhelming support for Ardern in the 2020 election, which led to the party securing enough of the vote to govern alone.
Asked whether he feared for his job ahead of the upcoming election, Utikere said unity and teamwork were his focus.
“For us, it’s about being a team, we are united behind our new leader and I think Chris Hipkins will be a fantastic Prime Minister,” he said.
“We’ve got a long way to go in the campaign and I’m looking forward to playing my role as a member of his team.”
He also wouldn’t comment on who he felt should be Labour’s deputy leader, despite earlier reports Sepuloni is a frontrunner.
Luxton, MP for Canterbury’s Rangitata electorate, believed the support shown for Hipkins indicated a unified caucus.
Asked whether Labour’s Māori caucus members wanted representation in the deputy role, Luxton said the decision remained with Hipkins.
“I think there [are] so many different, talented and diverse people within our caucus as a whole and ultimately it will be up to the Prime Minister to decide.”
She described Ardern and Hipkins as “different people with different styles” when asked whether the incoming Prime Minister would alter policy introduced by his predecessor.
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