National Party leader Christopher Luxon has held a press conference after Chris Hipkins and Carmel Sepuloni were confirmed as Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister.
The pair's new positions were confirmed earlier on Sunday after the Labour caucus held a vote at Parliament.
Hipkins won't officially become Prime Minister until Jacinda Ardern tenders her resignation and he is sworn in by the Governor-General, although he did address the nation from the Beehive on Sunday afternoon after the meeting. He said New Zealand is the "greatest little country in the world" and he is "energised and excited" with what's ahead.
Speaking from Auckland on Sunday afternoon, Luxon congratulated both Hipkins and Sepuloni on their new roles, saying it was a "tremendous privilege" to lead a party and the country. But the takeaway for him with new Labour leadership is that "there is no change, it's just more of the same".
"That's because it is essentially the same team. Chris Hipkins has been part of this Government for the last almost six years that has failed almost spectacularly to get anything done," the National Party leader said.
"The New Zealand people need much more than just a Labour Party leadership change. What they need is a National Government that will actually get things done and a Government that's going to be focused on them.
"What New Zealanders care most about - and election of a Labour Party leader aside - is actually really about how we deal with the cost of living crisis, how we raise incomes for all, how we actually restore law and order in this country, and how we improve our education and healthcare."
Luxon said that Hipkins' first press conference felt like a Government that was "just carrying on, more of the same".
"[It felt like] a new leader, but the same story, and again, a Government that's just not focused on where New Zealanders are, and that's about the economy and strengthening the economy in really unstable times so New Zealanders can actually survive and get ahead."
Luxon said "nothing changes" for the National Party and they remain fixated on "what New Zealanders need most".
"Frankly, New Zealanders are facing rapidly rising levels of interest rates, stubbornly high inflation, record-high food prices you would've seen, the risk of rising unemployment, a recession coming our way, and they're about to hit a huge amount of economic pain in the coming year."
Watch the press conference above.
