Chris Hipkins Sworn in As New Zealand's Prime Minister

On Wednesday, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was sworn in as New Zealand's prime minister after the resignation of Jacinda Ardern last week.

The Labour party elected the former COVID-19 Response and Police minister to lead the country on Sunday as Ardern left the office due to exhaustion and burnout, describing that he had "no more in the tank" to continue her job.

Hipkins and his deputy Carmel Sepuloni, who is the first person of Pacific Islander descent to have this position, were sworn in, in a short ceremony. 

After that, he had a meeting with journalists and reporters. 

Hipkins said: “New Zealanders will absolutely see in the coming weeks and months that cost of living is right at the heart of our work programme."

He added: “It is the number one priority that we are facing as a government and they will see tangible evidence of that. Obviously I’m not going to make it up on the fly, as I’ve already indicated."