Recap 1News' live updates as Chris Hipkins is the sole nominee to become Labour leader and the next PM.
What you need to know:
- Labour needed a new leader after Jacinda Ardern resigned on Thursday
- The cutoff for nominees was 9am this morning
- Chris Hipkins was the only candidate to put his name forward for the top job
- Hipkins will be confirmed by a caucus vote tomorrow around 1pm
3.30pm: That wraps up our live political coverage for today. Stay with us online and make sure to tune in to TVNZ1 and OnDemand for 1News at 6pm for all the latest.
3.10pm: Click here to read about the moment Hipkins learned he would likely be the next PM.
2.35pm: Luxon also took the opportunity to issue his first attack against Hipkins during a media conference in Hamilton a few minutes ago.
"I think from my perspective though, just changing the leadership of the Labour Party doesn't do enough for the New Zealand people.
"Chris Hipkins has been apart of a Government that has spectacularly failed to get anything done."
2.20pm: National leader Christopher Luxon has posted on Facebook about Hipkins nomination:
I congratulate Chris Hipkins on being the sole nominee to be the next Leader of the Labour Party.
It’s a great privilege and responsibility to lead a political party and our nation.
This year National will be setting out our plan to strengthen the economy at a time of global uncertainty.
By strengthening the economy we can reduce the cost of living, lift incomes for all, and deliver better health and education for all New Zealanders.
Kiwis need more than a change in Labour leadership. They need a National government that gets things done.
Chris Hipkins has been a key part of a Government that has utterly failed to deliver.
For the last five and a half years Labour have demonstrated they have no plan to deal with the cost-of-living crisis, rising crime, an overwhelmed health system and falling educational achievement.
New Zealand needs an alternative to Labour’s wasteful spending and inability to deliver. National is that alternative. National will deliver practical change so that Kiwis can get ahead.
2pm: Hipkins also joked about it being time there was a ginger in charge after being asked if he would be our first ginger haired PM.
On a more serious note, he added: "I am incredibly optimistic about New Zealand's future, I'm really looking forward to the job, I'm feeling energised and enthuastic and I'm looking forward to getting into the work."
1.25pm: Hipkins said it's "a massive honour to have this opportunity".
Hipkins was the sole candidate for the job. (Source: 1News)
"I am absolutely humbled and honoured, that in those conversations I have had incredibly strong support from my caucus colleagues, my Labour team and that that consensus has emerged and they have indicated that they will support me to be the Party's next leader and therefore the next Prime Minister."
When asked if he could win the next election, he replied simply: "Yes."
1.15pm: "It's a big day for a boy from the Hutt," Hipkins said this afternoon, calling the nomination an "enormous privilege".
"It's also an enormous responsibility and the weight of that responsibility is still sinking in."
Hipkins stressed that the process was not yet finished, and would not comment on a potential deputy leader.
Meanwhile, Australian PM Anthony Albanese has said he spoke with Hipkins this morning.
"I congratulate him and look forward to working with him as Prime Minister," Albanese wrote on Twitter.
12.55pm: Chris Hipkins is due to speak to media at 1pm.
Watch live here: Chris Hipkins speaks after becoming Labour leader nominee
12.40pm: Labour president Jill Day has congratulated Hipkins, saying he's going to do "an amazing job".
"I'm so proud of our whole Caucus today," she wrote on Twitter. "A seamless transition in under 48 hours is an incredible effort."
Kiri Allan has added her congratulations as well: "I am so proud to support Chris Hipkins as our leader for the New Zealand Labour Party.
"Chris is decisive and will be an incredibly strong Prime Minister."
12.35pm: Wellingtonians have had their say on incoming Labour leader Chris Hipkins.
"At the end of the day it's about strong leadership," Matt said. "Chris Hipkins I think would be amazing."
"I think we've had many uncharismatic Labour party leaders and now we've got another one," Ella told 1News.
"I feel he represents the political engine whereas Jacinda brought a balanced approach," another person said.
12.05pm: Potential deputy leader Carmel Sepuloni has posted her congratulations on Twitter.
"Off the back of the exceptional leadership of Jacinda & Grant, I'm confident that Chris has what it takes to take NZ forward," she wrote.
11.50am: "My mate Chippy has been there through thick and thin," Deputy PM Grant Robertson wrote on Facebook after the announcement this morning, alongside a photo of the two alongside Clare Curran and Jacinda Ardern in 2016.
"He is going to be a great Leader and PM. Still a bit of our process to go, but very proud of our Labour team!"
11.40am: The Green Party "looks forward to working with Chris Hipkins as Prime Minister, and continuing a constructive working relationship with the Labour Party", co-leader Marama Davidson said.
"I have known Chris Hipkins for many years and have worked with him as part of two multi-party governments," co-leader James Shaw added. "What I have seen in that time is someone dedicated to making Aotearoa a better, fairer place.
"Chris will make an excellent Prime Minister."
And Labour MP Marja Lubeck has tweeted that Hipkins is "going to be great".
11.25am: The New Zealand Herald is reporting that Carmel Sepuloni is set to be Hipkins' deputy.
Kiri Allan reportedly told the Herald she would not be putting her name forward for the deputy Prime Minister or deputy Labour leader jobs.
11.20am: So who exactly is Christopher John Hipkins, known to some as "Chippy"?
Find out everything you need to know here: From spreading legs to a savoury love - Who is Chris Hipkins?
11.05am: Hipkins' nomination has made headlines around the world.
The Guardian called him "an experienced MP with a ruthless streak in the debating chamber and an intimate knowledge of the machinery of government".
The Sydney Morning Herald called him "a well-liked member of parliament, known for his sense of humour and enjoyment of sausage rolls".
And the BBC noted Hipkins "faces an uphill battle if he wants to remain in the top job after the 2023 election".
10.45am: Hipkins will speak to media at Parliament at 1pm today.
Tune in to 1News' live stream of the press conference here on the website for all the action.
10.10am: Attention will now turn to potential candidates for the role of deputy party leader.
Carmel Sepuloni and Kiri Allan are tipped as front runners, with Michael Wood potentially also in the mix.
Kelvin Davis is currently Labour's deputy leader, and Grant Robertson is currently the deputy prime minister.
9.55am: The political reaction to Hipkins' nomination is beginning to roll in.
ACT leader David Seymour said "incoming Prime Minister Chris Hipkins needs to show they're prepared to deliver on substance instead of snowing New Zealand with spin".
Seymour said Ardern "had the best intentions, but people got angrier as her results went the other way".
"In place of fantasy policies, the government needs to address the real issues facing New Zealand."
9.35am: And just like that... Chris Hipkins has been announced as the sole candidate to become the new leader of the Labour Party.
Read more here: Chris Hipkins to become Labour leader, replace Ardern as PM
9.30am: Check out this story from yesterday as Ardern spoke after her big announcement this week.
Jacinda Ardern: 'I slept well for the first time in a long time'
9.20am: It has been confirmed by the Labour Party that nominations have officially closed, so fingers crossed we should know imminently who has put their hand up, or who has the job.
9.00am: The deadline has now passed in the nomination cutoff.
The next prime minister will be confirmed following a vote on Sunday afternoon. (Source: 1News)
Background
The next prime minister and Labour Party leader may be revealed as early as Saturday depending on how many are nominated.
Caucus has agreed to meet on Sunday 22 January at 1pm, at that time they may be voting on multiple nominations or, if only one person is nominated, "an endorsement by caucus is required," says chief whip Duncan Webb.
"If a vote is required the vote will be by exhaustive ballot. That means it will be by rounds and the lowest polling candidate will be removed at the end of each round.
"This will continue until either one candidate has two thirds of the vote or more, or there are two candidates and neither can secure two thirds of the vote.
The nominations themselves must be received by 9am on Saturday, these require support from at least 10% of the caucus which, with 64 MPs, is 7 MPs.
This means, if the Labour Party unites behind a single nominee ahead of the caucus meeting, the new leader could be announced Saturday.
Currently, Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson has made it clear he will not be running, and Health Minister Chris Hipkins, Transport and Immigration Minister Michael Wood have not made any indications either way.
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