New Zealand’s incoming prime minister Chris Hipkins yesterday vowed to “get things done” and win a looming October general election after being chosen as his party’s only candidate to replace New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
The 44-year-old red-headed politician emerged as the sole nominee to lead the ruling Labour Party in a meeting of fellow members of parliament, and now faces what is seen as the mere formality of a confirmation by his colleagues today.
As leader of the party, he is to take over as the country’s 41st prime minister following Ardern’s shock resignation on Thursday.
Photo: AFP
Ardern said she would step down by Feb. 7, but could do so earlier given that her successor was chosen in barely 48 hours.
“I like to think I am pretty decisive and I can get things done,” said Hipkins, who became a household name for leading the nation’s COVID-19 crackdown for nearly two years.
With his party lagging in the opinion polls under criticism over rising prices, poverty and crime rates, reporters gathered outside parliament in Wellington asked if he can win general elections to be held on Oct. 14. “Yes,” he replied.
Ardern, a global figurehead for progressive politics, stunned New Zealand by announcing her abrupt exit from office, less than three years after securing a second term in a landslide election win.
Hipkins praised Ardern as “the leader we needed at the time that we needed it,” but agreed that she had been on the receiving end of “absolutely intolerable vitriol.”
Ardern’s successor is widely seen as a safe pair of hands with more than 14 years in parliament.
Hipkins told reporters that he was feeling “energized and enthusiastic” about the new job.
“It’s a big day for a boy from the Hutt,” he said, referring to the Hutt Valley region near Wellington.
“My parents came from relatively humble beginnings and worked really hard to provide a good life for my brother and I,” Hipkins said, vowing to give New Zealanders the opportunities to improve their lives.
Asked about whether being a red-haired prime minister would be a historic moment, he said: “I think it was about time we had a ginger at the top.”
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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