Kiwis are waking up on Sunday morning to National winning the 2023 general election and with it a new Prime Minister-in waiting in Christopher Luxon.
It comes after Labour leader and incumbent Prime Minister Chris Hipkins conceded the election to Luxon, who will become New Zealand's 42nd Prime Minister.
It was an impressive victory for the National Party – who on current numbers, would have enough votes to form a coalition government with just ACT.
On the other hand, the results aren't good reading for Labour and its leader Chris Hipkins. The result will likely see the party lose several of its MPs who rode in on Labour's red wave in the 2020 election.
What you need to know:
- Chris Hipkins called Christopher Luxon on Saturday night to concede the election.
- Luxon thanked supporters on Saturday night, saying he was "immensely proud".
- An emotional Hipkins told supporters he is disappointed but "gave it his all".
- Vote breakdown with 100 percent of preliminary results counted: National (38.95%), Labour (26.9%), Greens (10.77%), ACT (8.98%), NZ First (6.46%), Te Pāti Māori (2.61%)
- Te Pāti Māori's Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke looks likely to become one of New Zealand's youngest MPs at 21-years of age after Labour's Nanaia Mahuta conceded defeat in the Hauraki-Waikato electorate.
These live updates are now over.
6:00pm - Mihingarangi Forbes says incoming Prime Minister Christopher Luxon can't avoid Māori media and the tough questions "forever".
Forbes, who co-hosts Mata on RNZ, joined the Newshub Nation special on Sunday alongside Dita De Boni from NBR, and Mark Jennings from Newsroom.
"At some stage he's going to have to front up and be transparent about his policies to people like me," she said.
Luxon didn't speak to Māori media much during the campaign, Forbes argued, "because of the policies of ACT" and "because they [National] hadn't ruled them [ACT] out".
For months ACT has been pledging to hold a referendum on Te Tiriti o Waitangi / The Treaty if elected, which is "the founding document of this country", Forbes said.
After weeks of questions, Luxon only dashed those plans last week on The Hui for the first time.
"I guess those are difficult questions to answer, and it's probably safer to stay away from them," Forbes concluded.
"But you can't do it forever."
4:25pm - How will National's election win affect the economy and housing market?
Joining Newshub Nation on Sunday to unpack National's election win, economist Shamubeel Eaqub told co-host Rebecca Wright the new Government doesn't necessarily mean the financial pain will ease for everyone.
"People are sort of hoping somehow they're going to get this relief because of a change of Government, but that's not what happens," he told co-host Rebecca Wright.
"The cost of living is really affected by what's happening globally, because of the synchronised global inflation shock, and what the Reserve Bank does."
Eaqub said the longer interest rates stay at high levels, "that means we're going to be hurting for a lot longer".
In terms of the housing market, Eaqub said demand is likely to increase "at the margin" due to easing pressure on investors and the return of foreign buyers.
"Also, the National Party moving away from some of the housing supply rules means we're going to be building less houses," he said.
That means we'll likely see "house prices going up".
Eaqub said there hasn't been much talk of "unsexy" issues like competition, our ageing population, or productivity.
"How are you going to drive the engine of the New Zealand economy?"
3:00pm - The leaders of some of New Zealand's fringe parties came out firing on Sunday after they barely registered on the results board on election night.
Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki poured his scorn on "gutless Christians", while Liz Gunn of New Zealand Loyal said "We are being ruled by a criminal cabal and at the very least, utter bullies."
Gunn had said her party would get 2 million votes and they secured just over 26,000 on the night. Far short of her prediction. They will be back she assured her supporters.
2:30pm - As the Labour Party licks its wounds and begins the painful process of looking at what went wrong with its election campaign the big question is will leader Chris Hipkins stay on?
Hipkins said he had no plan B for not winning the election and hadn't considered his future.
"What I have said to the team, I have spoken to a number of members of the team tonight, they have indicated they don't want to rush any decisions and I think everybody wants a bit of time to take stock and to reflect on this result and where we go from here," Hipkins said Saturday night.
"The Labour Party has been incredibly good to me and I am absolutely committed to doing the right thing by them. I think we need to take a little bit of time, we don't have to rush anything, we've got three years clearly and so we will take some time."
There is not a long list of potential successors, given so many have been axed following the heavy defeat, including Nanaia Mahuta, Tāmati Coffey, Sarah Pallett, Michael Wood and Anna Lorck. On top of this, Kiri Allan, Stuart Nash and Meka Whaitiri are also gone after indiscretions or defecting earlier this year.
Newshub Nation discussed who might step into the role should Hipkins decide to stand down and you can read the full story here.
2:00pm - Newshub Nation's Rebecca Wright gives a rundown of how Parliament will look with the current results.
1:45pm - Newshub's Political Editor Jenna Lynch says there was a resounding message from the electorate - voters wanted change.
National and ACT will lead the next Government but by the slimmest of margins, possibly one seat and Lynch says Luxon may need to call upon Winston Peters.
NZ First is currently sitting on 6.4 percent or 8 seats and with half a million special votes to be tallied, Luxin may lose a seat or two.
Read the full analysis here.
1:30pm - ACT MP Brooke van Velden is not only celebrating winning the National stronghold of Tamaki - but it's also her birthday. She had a cake alongside members of the ACT caucus on Sunday morning.
She said she thought it would be a "fantastic" team and she felt "humbled" by her victory in Tamaki.
Leader David Seymour said it was a "fabulous trust" that voters had put in ACT.
"It is a record result for ACT, but people have high expectations," he said.
He was ready for whatever role was required of him, Seymour said. He could be taking the deputy Prime Minister role in the next Government.
1:15pm - ACT leader David Seymour has thanked his supporters in an email on Sunday. Current results have ACT on 11 seats and they will likely form a coalition Government with National. Seymour said he asked for the electorate to believe in better and they voted for it.
"New Zealanders have voted for change, and they have voted in record numbers for ACT, and that means a real change in direction for our country" Seymour said in the email.
"I want to thank every single New Zealander who put their trust in ACT. Many of you gave us your vote for the first time, and we will work tirelessly to repay the trust you placed in us, and me.
"This was an election about new ideas and a new approach. That’s what the people of Tamaki have chosen, with their new MP, and our outstanding deputy, Brooke van Velden.
"Our responsibility now is to now ensure that real change comes with political stability – so New Zealanders understand that we are working towards the affordable, safe, and united country they deserve.
"Voters have sent a clear message that they want better ideas and policies, not self-interested political squabbling.
"Our country faces significant challenges. But ACT’s commitment to solving them is larger still."
1:00pm - Labour MPs who lost their jobs overnight have spoken out about their time in Parliament and their uncertain future.
Sarah Pallett, who took the Ilam from National's Gerry Brownlee in the last election, conceded on Sunday.
"I'm incredibly proud to have had the opportunity to serve the people of Ilam as their MP for the past three years. My love and grateful thanks to you all."
Steph Lewis, who lost her Whanganui seat said being an MP was an "absolute honour and privilege."
"Naturally I am disappointed, but that's politics. I'm not sure what the future holds, but I've always been driven by the desire to fight injustice and give a voice to those who don't feel heard, or capable of speaking up for themselves. That doesn't go away based on an election result."
Read the full story here.
12:45pm - Christopher Luxon has spoken to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese following his election victory.
"I’ve just spoken with Australian Prime Minister @AlboMP and we reiterated the strong relationship between our two countries - one of friendship and a dose of healthy competition," Luxon wrote on X.
It comes after Albanese congratulated Luxon on his election victory earlier this morning.
"Congratulations to @chrisluxonmp on your victory and the great honour of serving as Prime Minister of New Zealand. I look forward to building our Trans-Tasman partnership into the future," Albanese wrote on X.
12:28pm - National MP Catherine Wedd is celebrating her Tukituki electorate victory in Havelock North on Sunday.
Wedd edged out incumbent Anna Lorck of Labour by nearly 9000 votes to claim the East Coast seat.
Wedd was at a Havelock North vineyard to celebrate the victory with a special National good luck bracelet made by her niece.
12pm - One moment on Saturday night that caught the attention of Kiwis was when Chris Hipkins paid tribute to his partner.
During his concession speech, Hipkins gave a special dedication to his partner Toni, which led to many New Zealanders firing up Google to find out more about them.
However, more searched 'Tony' than 'Toni' amid apparent confusion over the gender of the Labour leader's spouse.
Read the full story here.
11:45am - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has congratulated Christopher Luxon on his election victory.
He also took a moment to thank Chris Hipkins for serving New Zealand with "distinction".
"Congratulations to @chrisluxonmp on your victory and the great honour of serving as Prime Minister of New Zealand. I look forward to building our Trans-Tasman partnership into the future," Albanese wrote on X.
"To my friend @chrishipkins, you have served your nation with distinction."
Earlier this morning, Australian opposition leader Peter Dutton also congratulated Luxon on his victory.
11:38am - Economist Shamubeel Eaqub told Newshub Nation the polls have shown people have been focused on "short-term" issues like how they will pay their bills and the cost of living crisis.
He says people are feeling really grumpy, but the economy is chugging along, which means the new Government will inherit dark clouds, but a good position to start at.
He expects Nicola Willis to be constructive in working with the Reserve Bank and for interest rates to be maintained at their current position for quite some time.
Eaqub told Newshub Nation there will be an increase in demand for housing under National if they bring back in foreign buyers.
11:30am - Greens co-leader Marama Davidson says it's not a complete shock the Greens are not in Government.
Fellow co-leader James Shaw will lose the role as Climate Change Minister following the defeat, but Davidson believes he's put down enough roots as minister.
She acknowledged on Newshub Nation that people wanted change, and that has included change to the Greens.
Two big results for the Greens were Tamatha Paul winning Wellington Central and Julie Anne Genter claiming Rongotai.
Davidson says the Greens knew Genter was capable of winning Rongotai but she is "pretty stoked" her party is now winning electorates.
11:22am - Newshub Nation has crossed back to its expert panel, with Mark Jennings saying Chris Hipkins should step down this afternoon.
"What is the point of him staying?" he said.
The panel was speechless when co-host Simon Shepherd asked who could take over from Hipkins, with Mihingarangi Forbes saying all parties should be looking at succession planning.
Forbes says Hipkins could hang around with Labour to help rebuild it, but it's "pretty tough" in Opposition after being Prime Minister.
Forbes says Labour was targeting universal outcomes, rather than Māori outcomes and this could have contributed to its defeat in the Māori electorates.
Jennings says it is strange for turnout to be down by about 4 percent. The Greens were able to turn out their vote, as well as National but the Labour campaign "may have failed".
"There is a lot to look at for Labour," he says.
11:13am - Labour campaign chair Megan Woods says the election loss "falls on all of us as a team".
She says Labour was up against a "very strong" mood for change.
"We've done this before, we need to regroup and pick ourselves up," Woods told Newshub Nation.
Hipkins got emotional in his concession speech on Saturday night when talking about his family and Woods says he is "entitled" to a bit of emotion after a tough campaign.
11:04am - Labour MP Grant Robertson says he's "proud" of what his party has achieved over the past six years but accepts "the people have spoken".
"As Chippy said, we put people first, and fought to not leave anyone behind," he wrote on Instagram.
Robertson said the election result is "tough to take" but he wanted to thank everyone who contributed to the campaign.
"The people have spoken and it is clear that they wanted change and we must respect that," Robertson wrote.
"To all our team- candidates, volunteers, supporters, friends and family, thank you so much for everything.
"Labour's values and what we stand for matters now more than ever. We will come back, re-group, reset and go again."
10:56am - Before Newshub Nation, ACT's Karen Chhour told The Hui the party is waiting for the final results to see if New Zealand First will be needed.
"We've got to wait for the special votes and see what happens."
ACT's Brooke van Velden won the Tāmaki electorate from National's Simon O'Connor, to which Chhour said the party was "really proud".
10:42am - Peters says he's waiting for the final election result before calling National Party leader Christopher Luxon.
10:40am - Winston Peters tells media it's clear the exact result of the election won't be known until early November, after special votes have been counted.
He lashes out at the mainstream media, saying it's "failed" and accuses journalists of "demonising" New Zealand First.
10:38am - Shane Jones describes New Zealand First leader Winston Peters as the "ultimate Phoenix" when appearing on Newshub Nation.
He said time for "smack talk" is over and political parties are now into the "hard graft".
10:35am - ACT leader David Seymour hopes to change New Zealand's policy settings in the next Government to take the country forward.
He told Newshub Nation he doesn't want to get into a "horse race political commentary" about bottom lines, saying he doesn't like the "bottom lines" term.
10:30am - Waititi says the "proof will be in the pudding" as to whether Luxon can unite New Zealand and admits he's "sceptical".
10:28am - Newshub Nation has crossed live to Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi in Rotorua.
He told Newshub Nation it was an "awesome night" and "elated" his party's supporters turned out and voted.
10:25am - Luxon reiterates he and Seymour know each other "very well" and will be able to work constructively together in government.
"We'll build good relationships and, from there, we'll work through the transactional issues," Luxon said.
10:22am - Luxon says National is going to "govern for all New Zealanders".
"We are going to bring New Zealanders together," he said.
10:20am - National Party Christopher Luxon is speaking to media and he says he's woken to a National government and the All Blacks being "back on track".
He says he wants to bring the country together and deliver outcomes for Kiwis.
Luxon said he hasn't had a chance to speak with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters yet, but "appreciates" his offer of help.
He says they'll be in contact in "due course".
10:16am - Luxon has just arrived with his family ahead of his media stand-up, where he will address New Zealand for the first time since winning the election.
10:14am - Jennings believes ACT will still be disappointed by Saturday's election result, given how high they were polling earlier in the campaign. ACT finished with 8.98 percent of the vote.
10:11am - The Newshub National election special has started with a political panel.
Newsroom senior journalist Dita De Boni believes the result was "expected", despite what the polls were showing in the lead-up to voting day.
Newsroom co-editor Mark Jennings said Christopher Luxon won't be able to behave like a chief executive as Prime Minister.
Jennings said he is sure Christopher Luxon will call Winston Peters with ACT and National having a very slim majority.
10:04am - Prime Minister-in waiting Christopher Luxon is about to speak to New Zealand for the first time since winning the election on Saturday night.
10am - The Newshub Nation election has just been begun.
You can watch it in the video above or by clicking the link here.
9:50am - Newshub Nation will have an election special starting at 10am.
New Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will address the country, followed by expert opinion from a panel of experts.
You can watch Newshub Nation in the video above.
9:45am - As Kiwis are waking to Christopher Luxon winning Saturday night's election, the world has been quick to react to the result.
The Guardian's rolling coverage's headline read "Right-leaning coalition poised to form government after Labour swept from power".
Associated Press reported "conservative former businessman Christopher Luxon" will be Aotearoa's next Prime Minister.
Read the full article here.
9:37am - If you want an update on the each electorate result click here.
Newshub has tracked the results of each electorate in the 2023 New Zealand election.
9:31am - The day after winning the election, National leader Chistopher has turned his attention to watching the All Blacks.
"The hard work begins later today, but for now… Go the All Blacks!" Luxon said on X.
If you want to see how the All Blacks are doing, click here for Newshub's live updates.
The All Blacks are up 25-24 with 15 minutes to go.
9:24am - Labour's campaign chair Megan Woods said Chris Hipkins still has the support of the party if he decides to carry on as leader.
Woods told TVNZ's Q+A the caucus "respects" Hipkins, that he led the party "so well" during the campaign even though they didn't get the "result we wanted". Labour suffered a horror night, receiving just 26.9 percent of the vote.
When asked if Hipkins will still have the support of the caucus, Wood said "yes".
"Chris has everybody's respect for how he led us through [the campaign]," she said.
Even though the results have been counted, there are still special votes to come in and National's campaign chair Chris Bishop said he expects to "lose at least one" seat.
The seats of Te Atatū, Nelson, Banks Peninsula and Mt Albert are still too close to call, with the difference in all of them under 500 votes.
9:02am - ACT leader David Seymour is proud of his party's record election result
He refused to rule out New Zealand First, with ACT and National just scraping through to a majority with 61 seats.
He told TVNZ's Q+A New Zealanders have voted for change and he's looking "forward to rolling up his selves".
Seymour said he hasn't spoken to National Party leader Christopher Luxon on Sunday but did throughout Saturday.
He told Q+A that "of course" the party wanted to do better considering they were in the double digits for most of the polls throughout the election campaign but overall were happy.
He said it's "possible" ACT and National will need New Zealand First but added there are a "few balls up in the air" like the special votes and the Port Waikato electorate seat.
8:50am - Chris Bishop also appeared on TVNZ's Q+A on Sunday morning and said the three-month-long lockdown at the end of 2021 played a part in the results.
He said the public was pretty annoyed with the Labour government.
"I think that does date back to lockdown a couple of years back when Auckland bore the burnt of long extended lockdown. You could sense palpable sense of anger on streets," he said.
8:40am - It might've been a tough night for the left bloc but the Greens still had some positives to celebrate.
They won three electoral seats in Auckland Central, Wellington Central and Rongotai and improved their party vote from 2020.
In 2020, the Greens secured 5.74 of the vote and the current results show they've almost doubled their vote to 10.77 percent.
Likely Green Party list MP Efeso Collins said it was great the party had doubled its Pasifika caucus.
"As the Green Party, we felt like some of our messages were really resonating," he said.
"If you look at some of the seats we have taken, we have often been an urban liberal party, but now we're broadening our appeal. That's what the new game is like."
8:30am - Christopher Luxon might have won the election on Saturday night and become the Prime Minister-in waiting but he's got a deal-making headache, according to RNZ.
Read the full story here.
8:25am - National campaign chair Chris Bishop isn't willing to rule New Zealand First and Winston Peters out yet.
National has been clear throughout the election, they would prefer a two-party coalition with ACT and don't want to rely on New Zealand First.
But the current results show it's on a knife-edge with the right bloc of National and ACT currently only on 61 seats.
Bishop told RNZ on Sunday morning National is "very happy" with the results.
"Traditionally the National Party loses a seat on the specials. We just have to wait and see. We've run a strong overseas vote campaign but of course, the special votes are not just overseas votes - there are also people enrolling on the day, for example, as well," he told RNZ after getting off a plane from Wellington to Auckland.
"We'll just have to wait and see. But, you know, overall touching 39 percent of the vote, you know, we're very happy with that outcome."
He told RNZ voters wanted change and the results on Saturday night showed that.
"Ultimately you create a mood for change from opposition, and I think we've done a good job over the last two years in particular, of laying out a better alternative.
"And we have put forward a whole suite of really positive policies and I think it made a difference as well. So you know, we have solutions to some of the challenges in health. for example, we have solutions around the cost of living, we've got some sensible ideas around law and order economic management.
"So, you know, right across the, you know, the policy spectrum that was talked about in the campaign, we had had sensible things to say and we were able to compare and contrast the track record of the current government with our own plans.
"And ultimately, that's what elections are about. They're about choices and governments run on their record and oppositions run on their plans for the future, and compare and contrast that against what the current government's been up to."
8:07am - Some electoral seats are still neck and neck and could potentially swing to other parties.
Te Atatū is the closest, with National's Angee Nicholas ahead by just 30 votes over Labour's Phil Twyford with special votes still to come.
Nelson is also neck and neck with National's Cameron Blair just 54 votes in front over Labour's Rachel Boyack.
Banks Peninsula is also under 100 votes, with National's Vanessa Weenink ahead by 83 votes of Labour's Tracey McLellan.
Mt Albert is also close, with Labour's Helen White ahead by 106 votes over National's Melissa Lee.
National's Paulo Garcia leads in New Lynn by 483 votes ahead of Labour's Deborah Russell while the West Coast-Tasman seat is also close with National's Maureen Pugh ahead by 915 votes over Labour's Damien O'Connor.
In the Māori seats, Labour MP Peeni Henare is ahead in Tāmaki Makaurau by 495 votes over Te Pāti Māori's Takutai Tarsh Kemp.
The last electoral seat that is close is Te Tai Tokerau with Kelvin Davis winning by 487 votes over Te Pāti Māori's Mariameno Kapa-Kingi.
7:40am - Looking at the electorates around the country, the big winner of the night was 21-year-old Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke from Te Pāti Māori who ousted high-profile Labour MP Nanaia Mahuta.
Despite it being a bad night for Labour, Chris Hipkins retained his Remutaka seat, winning by a margin of 7631 over National's Emma Chatterton.
But Labour did lose a string of key seats including Mt Roskill, which Michael Wood lost to National's Carlos Cheung by 1429 votes and Te Atatū, which Phil Twyford lost to National's Angee Nicholas by 30 votes, so this could potentially swing back to Labour on the special votes.
National also won back Wairarapa from current Labour MP Kieran McAnulty with Mike Butterick winning by 2481 votes.
Other Labour seats National flipped include Northland, Whangārei, Upper Harbour, Northcote, New Lynn, Maungakiekie, Hamilton West, Hamilton East, East Coast, New Plymouth, Whanganui, Tukituki, Napier, Ōtaki, Wairarapa, Hutt South, West Coast-Tasman, Nelson, Ilam, Banks Peninsula and Rangitata.
It wasn't just the National Party flipping seats off Labour, with the Greens also inflicting some pain.
Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick retained her Auckland Central seat, beating National's Mahesh Muralidhar by 2074. Tamatha Paul took Wellington Central off Labour, winning by 3324 votes over Omer Ibrahim. Just next door in Rongotai, Labour lost this seat for the very first time in history. Julie Anne Genter flipped the seat Green, winning by 792 over Labour's Fleur Fitzsimons.
7:21am – According to the Electoral Commission's website at the time of writing, 100 percent of the party vote has been counted nationwide. But this doesn't include special votes, which will make up about 20 percent of the total vote.
National has recorded 38.95 percent of the vote compared to Labour's 26.90 percent. The Green Party is the leading minor party with 10.77 percent, followed by ACT with 8.98 percent and then New Zealand First with 6.46 percent.
Turning this into seats in Parliament, National would have 50, Labour 34, Greens 14, ACT 11 New Zealand First 8 and Te Pāti Māori 4.
So the left bloc of Labour-Greens-Te Pāti Māori has a combined 52 – well short of the 61 seats needed for a majority. The right bloc of National and ACT would get 61, just meeting the threshold.
7am – It hasn't taken long for congratulations from around world to come pouring in for Luxon.
The leader of the Liberal Party, the opposition party in Australia, Peter Dutton congratulated Luxon on Sunday morning (NZ time) on his win.
"Congratulations @chrisluxonmp on a resounding win in New Zealand. Looking forward to working with you and your government," Dutton posted on X.
