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Ardern resigns: Who are the frontrunners for Labour leadership?

Published

4 years ago

January 20, 2023

With Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announcing her February resignation this afternoon, Labour MPs face a choice over who could replace her as leader.

Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson has ruled himself out, saying his position had not changed from when he ruled himself out the last time he contested the leadership in 2014, losing to Andrew Little. He told RNZ his mind would not be changed.

Deputy Labour Leader Kelvin Davis also ruled himself out, saying he would instead be supporting whoever was selected by the caucus.

That leaves Chris Hipkins, Megan Woods, Michael Wood and Kiri Allan as likely frontrunners.

Hipkins has been a high-profile minister for the entirety of Labour’s government, taking on big portfolios including Education, Health, Covid-19 Response and Police.

He has largely avoided major scandal – with the notable exception of his handling of the Charlotte Bellis MIQ case – and his confidence in the face of media scrutiny has usually served him well.

Questioned by reporters this afternoon, he would not rule out a tilt at the top job, saying it was too early for that kind of speculation.

“I’m not going to get into a discussion of that at the moment … I think people need just a little bit of time,” he said.

“I think it’s really important that we have time to digest it and make a good, sound decision.”

He said he had not been shoulder-tapped by Ardern.

“I think we will have a good, constructive discussion, we will select a new leader that the party will then unite behind. Leadership contests don’t have to be like the Hunger Games as the National Party seem to have perfected the art of, it is actually possible to do it differently and that’s what we’ll be striving to do.”

Woods is also seen as competent under pressure with a good grasp of detail in her hefty portfolios including Energy and Housing, which she took over after the KiwiBuild programme began falling short of its ambitious targets.

She said today was about the “enormous contribution” Ardern had made.

“I’ve stood beside her on so many occasions where I think we’ve witnessed leadership that New Zealand can be immensely proud to have had her as leader.

She would not add to speculation about likely leaders, but did not appear to be on the same page as Davis.

“Apart from the announcement that’s been made about Grant’s intentions, this is a discussion for caucus and no one will be ruling in or out.”

Woods is also chairing the election campaign this year and said while Ardern was incredibly important to Labour as an incredibly effective communicator with intellectual grunt, “we have a campaign that is raring to go that is about what we have managed to achieve in the last five years, but more importantly what we want to achieve in the next three.

“That campaign is based on a team that Jacinda built and that is the critical piece, and Jacinda would be the first person to say that herself … our campaign was always going to be about what the Labour government had managed to achieve.”

Transport, Immigration and Workplace Relations Minister Michael Wood has been something of a rising star in the party, taking over

He said he was “very proud” to have served under Ardern, but would not speak about leadership prospects.

“One of the finest prime ministers we’ve ever had … today’s about recognising her extraordinary achievements over a period of momentous years for New Zealand.

“That’s all I’ll be saying today. There’ll be an internal caucus process and that’s all I’ll be saying today.”

Allan is a younger and more recent addition to Labour’s ministerial ranks, but has been spoken of alongside former Whip Kieran McAnulty as a possible future leader.

McAnulty had however ruled himself out of the running this afternoon, saying there were no candidates yet but he “most certainly will not” be one of them.

Allan said the mood from the caucus on finding out about Ardern’s decision was “absolute respect for Jacinda and the job that she’s done, support for the decision that she’s made and unity amongst all of us”.

“We love her and we respect the job that she’s done not just for the Labour Party but the country, so very genuinely just tautoko the role that she’s played as prime minister.”

She would not make any kind of ruling over possible leaders.

“We believe it’s really important to stick to process here, so I think it’s really important that people don’t rule themselves in or out… I’m not going to talk about the process, I’ll leave that for someone else.”

SOURCE RNZ

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Rugby League: Kangaroos edge Kiwis in World Cup classic 24 -22

Published

4 weeks ago

October 16, 2026

News Staff

In one of the most stunning starts to a sporting tournament, the Kiwis and Kangaroos played out an absolute classic to kick off the Rugby League World Cup.

It was match chock full of barely believable moments, dramatic twists and turns, and superstars stepping up on the biggest stage, with Australia holding on for an enthralling 24-22 win.

Though unlikely to affect the Kiwis semi-final hopes, the loss may come at a different cost, with Kalyn Ponga forced from the field with a suspected broken arm.

It will take something special to top the tournament’s opening try as the Kiwis struck first in sensational style.

With absolutely no room to move in the left hand corner, Casey McLean managed a miracle, finding the grass with his entire body forced over the touchline

The Kangaroos replied with a runaway, Jack Bostock snatching a Jahrome Hughes pass out of the air and streaking away to score.

With the Kiwis forcing a line drop out, Reece Walsh sent it out on the full, Jaymayne Isaako slotting an easy two points.

After the Kiwis forced the defending champs again, Australia nabbed another intercept, this time to take the lead as Tom Trbojevic latched onto a McLean ball and fended off a scrambling Kodi Nikorima to go 90.

As the siren approached, the Kiwis bagged another two points as Nikorima was taken off the ball by Katoni Staggs, the centre sent to the bin as a result as Isaako squared the scores 10-apiece at half-time.

On his first international outing, fullback Ponga put the Kiwis back in front courtesy of a deft offload from Isaiah Papali’i.

After an extended period under the pump, it looked as if Ronaldo Mulitalo had stretched the Kiwis advantage after Trbojevic spilled a kick, but the chasers were ruled to be offside.

The Kangaroos relief turned to rapture as Bostock got his second, leaping above the pack to take a towering Cameron Munster bomb and reinstate the stalemate.

It wouldn’t last long though after Ponga chimed into the line and sliced right through, standing up Walsh to reclaim the lead for the Kiwis.

But Walsh would respond with a stunner of his own, exploding onto a Bostock offload 80 out, showcasing his blistering speed as he beat both Ponga and Hughes who collided with each other, the Australian full back far too fast for the desperate chase of Joseph Tapine.

That chase proved crucial however, as Latrell Mitchell sprayed the conversion to keep the Kiwis in front by two.

Cue more Kangaroos magic, Munster sending it to the skies, Bostock and Isaako with a clean aerial contest, won by Bostock to complete his hat-trick and put the home side up 24-22 with four minutes remaining.

A final Kiwis assault proved futile as the Kangaroos held on to break New Zealand hearts, but ignite a tournament.

See how the game unfolded in our blog:

rnz

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Election 2026: Luxon faces Hipkins in first leaders’ debate

Published

1 month ago

October 7, 2026

News Staff

Analysis – Three years ago, Christopher Luxon headed into his first head-to-head debate with Chris Hipkins on the back of a poll that had National on 37 points and able to form a government with ACT alone.

Labour under then-Prime Minister Chris Hipkins was on a downward spiral on 27 percent in that same 1News-Verian poll and had no path to power.

Fast-forward three years and both parties headed into Tuesday night’s debate with two fresh new polls.

RNZ-Reid Research’s results had National on 26 percent and Labour on 31, while 1News-Verian had a much tighter race with just one point in it and both parties just under 30.

Those results spell early retirement and unemployment for a decent number of National Party MPs currently enjoying the government benches.

MMP has evolved so much in the past two elections that the combined Labour-National vote has gone from 81 percent at the 2017 election to just 57 in Tuesday’s RNZ-Reid Research poll.

So-called minor parties have grown in both size and influence, capturing the imagination of voters that traditionally voted blue or red.

Increasingly polling is suggesting another new party – Opportunity – has a good chance of making it into Parliament and being a potential kingmaker.

There’s now a very real possibility that the next government could be made up of four political parties.

That has happened before under Sir John Key’s National government in 2008, but because he chose to welcome the Māori Party into the fold, not because he had to.

The minor parties of 2026 have leverage and power going into any coalition talks well beyond any previous election years.

It makes a head-to-head between Christopher Luxon and Chris Hipkins far more redundant in this political age.

Christopher Luxon and Chris Hipkins at the TVNZ debate, hosted by Jake Tame, Oct 6 2026 — The two Chrises greet each other.

TVNZ/Harley Peters

They can’t fully commit to any of the promises they make because the slate is almost entirely wiped clean after 7 November when political parties sit down to discuss what a future government might look like.

Luxon has ruled out working with Opportunity after the election because of its land tax policy and National campaigning on no new taxes.

On Tuesday night he repeatedly refused to answer whether he would pick the phone up if he needed the party to be prime minister.

Instead, he repeated his previous comments about an untenable land tax, and then told reporters after the debate the question was a “hypothetical” that didn’t need an answer.

To be clear, that’s not a no.

At times in the debate the leaders could have been put in a time machine and transported back to three years ago, so similar were some of the issues and answers to them.

The cost of living crisis continued to be the overwhelming theme, a healthcare system under pressure and patients waiting too long in emergency departments hadn’t improved, and neither Chris had fully grasped the meaning of a yes or no question.

There was no big revelation or pledge – on the latter neither party has the headroom in their fiscal plans to do so.

It’s unlikely undecided voters watching were swayed one way or the other by the end of it.

That’s not to say the two Chrises performed badly.

They were both across their briefs, and while they had some nervous energy at the outset both settled into a comfortable rhythm and got their key messages across.

While Hipkins managed to land a few blows on Luxon over his failure to discipline New Zealand First’s Winston Peters and Shane Jones over racist remarks, Luxon in return made a strong argument on education and had Hipkins concede he had done what Labour couldn’t and got India across the line on a free trade agreement.

The biggest controversy of the night was the pair being asked to pick between the All Blacks and the Warriors with Luxon going Team ABs while Hipkins chose to “Up the Wahs”.

Both would have gone to bed happy with their performance and grateful they didn’t say or do anything they deeply regretted.

There is a week until they face-off again – another week of smiling at the cameras and hoping voters return them to the major party league.

rnz

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Sydney Roosters win NRL Grand Final with one point victory over Newcastle Knights

Published

1 month ago

October 5, 2026

News Staff

A Daly Cherry-Evans field goal proves the difference as the Sydney Roosters beat the Newcastle Knights 19-18 in the NRL grand final.

The Roosters dictated for most of the night, but Newcastle led 12-0 on the back of two first-half tries against the run of play, including a spectacular 95-metre effort by Kalyn Ponga.

Mark Nawaqanitawase, whose bat-back led directly to Ponga’s try, got the Roosters on the board just before half-time and Billy Smith muscled his way over shortly after the break.

Desperate scrambling defence kept the Knights level until Nawaqanitawase scored his second after a lucky ricochet off the upright, and Cherry-Evans slotted a one-pointer with 10 minutes left.

Knights winger Greg Marzhew scored in the 77th minute to set up a grandstand finish, but they could not get into range to try to level the game.

Earlier, the Roosters won their third NRLW premiership, scoring seven tries to thrash the Brisbane Broncos 30-6 in a blowout and exact revenge in a rematch of the 2025 decider.

– ABC News