Judith Collins emerged on Tuesday night from a two-hour-long National caucus meeting as the party's new leader, promising to give the Government competition at the election.
The Papakura MP, who first entered Parliament in 2002 and has long held leadership ambitions, was given the nod of approval from her colleagues after the shock resignation of Todd Muller on Tuesday morning.
In her first speech as leader, Collins, surrounded by her caucus, said she felt privileged to become leader.
She said New Zealand was faced with difficult economic times coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic and that it was crucial for Kiwis to have a "good policy platform and a choice as to who is going to lead them through what is actually starting to look like one of the worst economic times in living memory".
Collins kept her initial comments short, instead deciding to spend most of her first moments as leader answering questions from the media.
Watch the full press conference above.
