New Zealand’s outgoing Prime Minister Chris Hipkins reveals ’secret’ girlfriend

The Labour Party received only 26.8 per cent of the preliminary vote on Saturday, marking its worst result in 100 years.

Chris Luxon, leader of the National Party, is now set to become the new Prime Minister.

Despite the mammoth defeat, Mr. Hipkins announced his intention to remain as the leader of the Labour Party.

In his concession speech, Hipkins expressed gratitude to his partner, Toni, whom he had not previously revealed publicly.

Hipkins clarified her name as “Toni with an i” and described her as the “best thing that happened to him” this year.

“Someone that most of you won’t know, and that is my partner, Toni,” Hipkins said.

“Being prime minister is not the only special thing that has happened for me this year. And I want to thank you for being with me every step of the way over the last few months as we have gone through this campaign.

“We’ve known each other for a long time, we met some time ago and our lives sort of went in different directions – there was a period where we didn’t have any contact with each other and then we got back in touch this year.”

After taking the reins from Jacinta Ardern, Hipkins revealed he had separated from his ex-wife, whom he shares two children with.

He reflected on the achievements of his government, including improved child poverty statistics, reduced emissions, and low unemployment.

He acknowledged facing significant challenges during his tenure, such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the global cost of living crisis.

“I want you to be proud of what we achieved over the last six years,” he told the Labour faithful in Wellington.

“Despite governing through some of the biggest challenges our country has ever faced, we keep New Zealand moving forward, and we protected those who needed help the most.”

Economic concerns and the cost of living were central issues in the election, impacting Labour‘s performance in heartland seats.

Notable losses included Michael Wood in Mt Roskill, Helen White in Mt Albert, and Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta to the Maori Party candidate Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, who became the youngest MP in a century.