Two hats in ring to take over New Zealand’s top job

New Zealand Prime Minister ­Jacinda Ardern’s decision to step down leaves just two strong contenders for the top job.

New Zealand Prime Minister ­Jacinda Ardern’s decision to step down leaves just two strong contenders for the top job.

With her popular Deputy PM and Treasurer Grant Robertson deciding not to throw his hat into the ring for the Labour Party leadership, only Chris Hipkins, the hardworking Minister of Education, Police and Public Service, and Michael Wood, the efficient Minister of Transport, remain in the running.

Ms Ardern held back tears during the shock announcement on Thursday that she would resign by February 7 at the latest. She said she no longer felt she “had enough in the tank” to do the role justice.

If the new leadership is decided on Sunday as planned, it will give them and the party just eight months to prove themselves against Christopher Luxon’s resurgent National Party – a party the former Unilever brand manager is touted as “rebranding”.

Mr Hipkins, 43, is the more experienced and well-known of the two, having entered parliament in 2008 – eight years earlier than Mr Wood.

As health minister during the pandemic, he won acclaim for his deft handling of the crisis. Since taking up the police portfolio earlier this year, he has been praised for a tougher stance on crime than his predecessor Poto Williams.

Good-humoured and affable, he is popular with the public and with the media.

“In terms of getting things done and cracking the whip, he’s very good,” a source close to the government told The Australian.

Former minister for COVID-19 Response Chris Hipkins. Picture: Getty Images

Mr Wood, 42, is a former union organiser on the left of his party. He is also respected, having come up through the parliamentary ranks and is popular among his colleagues, who recognise him as being efficient and competent, and no slouch in terms of work ethic.

Mr Robertson’s decision not to stand might give the eventual leader a clearer run to the election in October; as Treasurer, he would inevitably have been linked to the higher inflation and falling economy NZ is experiencing.

Both Mr Hipkins and Mr Wood were tight-lipped on Thursday about whether they would contest the party leadership, instead focusing on Ms Ardern’s “extraordinary” legacy.

Another name floated is the Minister of Justice, Kiri Allan, 39, who would be the first Maori prime minister and the first openly gay leader. She did not say if she would run for the job on Thursday.

The successful MP will need to secure more than 60 per cent of the Labour caucus vote on Sunday.

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces her resignation. Picture: AFP

One thing is clear, no one in the Labour Party has Ms Ardern’s charisma, which allowed her to paper over the many cracks in policy that she oversaw. She also had incredible international reach that will be near impossible to replicate.

Former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard said Ms Ardern “showed the world a new style of leadership by deciding to foreground kindness and empathy”.

“I am not leaving because I ­believe we can’t win the election but because I believe we can and will,” Ms Ardern insisted at the press conference.

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong assured Australians on Thursday the relationship with New Zealand would be “as strong as always” regardless of “who is in government, regardless of who the prime minister of the day is”.