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Sixth Labour Government of New Zealand
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Sixth Labour Government of New Zealand
The Sixth Labour Government governed New Zealand from 26 October 2017 to 27 November 2023. It was headed first by Jacinda Ardern (October 2017–January 2023) and later by Chris Hipkins (January 2023–November 2023), as Labour Party leader and prime minister.
On 1 August 2017, Ardern succeeded Andrew Little as both leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition. Following the 2017 general election held on 23 September, the New Zealand First party held the balance of power between the sitting centre-right National Party government, and the left bloc of the Labour and Green parties. Following negotiations with the two major parties, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters announced on 19 October 2017 that his party would form a coalition government with Labour. That same day, Green Party leader James Shaw announced that his party would give confidence and supply support to the 55-seat Labour–NZ First government. The Greens' support, plus the coalition, resulted in 63 seats to National's 56—enough to ensure that Ardern maintained the confidence of the House. Three years later, Labour went on to a landslide victory in the 2020 general election with 50% of the vote and 65 seats, an outright majority of the 120 seats in the House.
On 19 January 2023, Ardern announced her resignation and that she would not stand for re-election in the 2023 general election. Hipkins succeeded her as Prime Minister and leader of the Labour Party on 25 January 2023. Labour lost its majority to the opposition National Party following 2023 general election that was held on 14 October 2023. The Government remained in a caretaker capacity until the new National-led coalition government was sworn in on 27 November 2023.
The general election on 23 September 2017 saw the New Zealand First party hold the balance of power between National and the centre-left bloc of Labour and the Green Party. Following several weeks of negotiations with both National and Labour, New Zealand First announced on 19 October 2017 it would form a minority coalition government with Labour. Confidence-and-supply support from the Greens, negotiated separately with Labour, enables the Government to have a majority in the House of Representatives. During the coalition-forming negotiations, Labour agreed to drop its proposed water tax on farmers as part of its agreement with New Zealand First. In return, NZ First agreed to drop their demand for referendums on overturning New Zealand's anti-smacking ban and abolishing the Māori electorates. The Greens consented to a confidence and supply agreement with Labour and New Zealand First in return for several concessions, including: a referendum on legalising cannabis, treating alcohol and drugs as a health issue, net zero emissions by 2050 and requiring a climate impact assessment analysis for all legislation
The Government made several policy announcements in late 2017. In terms of domestic policies, the Government reaffirmed its commitment to re-entering Pike River Mine by March 2019, scrapped National Standards in schools, released a mini-budget funded by cancelling National's tax cuts and created a Tax Working Group to reform New Zealand's taxation system and alleviate the country's housing crisis. In terms of foreign policies, the Government continued New Zealand's participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, opposed US President Donald Trump's move to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and reiterated New Zealand's support for the Two State Solution. In November 2017, Prime Minister Ardern offered to resettle 150 of the asylum seekers from the former Manus Regional Processing Centre in New Zealand, but was rebuffed by Australia's Turnbull Government.
On 19 January 2018, Ardern revealed that she was expecting her first child in June, and that Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters would serve as Acting Prime Minister while she took maternity leave for a period of six weeks. In June 2018, she temporarily relinquished her duties to Winston Peters, following the birth of her child, for a period of six weeks. Peters became Acting Prime Minister on 20 June 2018, when Ardern went into labour. Her six-week maternity leave concluded on 2 August 2018.
On the domestic front, the Labour-led coalition government implemented several policies and new laws. In terms of education, the Government introduced legislation to stop the creation of new charter schools while allowing the 11 existing schools to transition to "special character" schools. The Government also launched several transportation, homelessness, family relief, emergency response and health plans and programmes with the aim of improving infrastructure, services, and social and health outcomes. On 17 May, Finance Minister Grant Robertson released the 2018 New Zealand budget, allocating NZ$2.8 billion in operational funding and NZ$3.8 billion in capital funding. In October 2018, the Government formally established a new government department called the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development to manage housing and urban development issues.
The Government also passed legislation banning future oil and gas exploration, banning most non-residents from buying New Zealand homes and allowing terminally ill patients to use marijuana for palliative care. In June 2018, the Government abandoned efforts to repeal the Sentencing and Parole Reform Act 2010 (the so-called three-strikes law) due to opposition from NZ First. In December 2018, the Government announced that it would be holding a binding referendum on legalising the personal use of cannabis during the 2020 general election.
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Sixth Labour Government of New Zealand
The Sixth Labour Government governed New Zealand from 26 October 2017 to 27 November 2023. It was headed first by Jacinda Ardern (October 2017–January 2023) and later by Chris Hipkins (January 2023–November 2023), as Labour Party leader and prime minister.
On 1 August 2017, Ardern succeeded Andrew Little as both leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition. Following the 2017 general election held on 23 September, the New Zealand First party held the balance of power between the sitting centre-right National Party government, and the left bloc of the Labour and Green parties. Following negotiations with the two major parties, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters announced on 19 October 2017 that his party would form a coalition government with Labour. That same day, Green Party leader James Shaw announced that his party would give confidence and supply support to the 55-seat Labour–NZ First government. The Greens' support, plus the coalition, resulted in 63 seats to National's 56—enough to ensure that Ardern maintained the confidence of the House. Three years later, Labour went on to a landslide victory in the 2020 general election with 50% of the vote and 65 seats, an outright majority of the 120 seats in the House.
On 19 January 2023, Ardern announced her resignation and that she would not stand for re-election in the 2023 general election. Hipkins succeeded her as Prime Minister and leader of the Labour Party on 25 January 2023. Labour lost its majority to the opposition National Party following 2023 general election that was held on 14 October 2023. The Government remained in a caretaker capacity until the new National-led coalition government was sworn in on 27 November 2023.
The general election on 23 September 2017 saw the New Zealand First party hold the balance of power between National and the centre-left bloc of Labour and the Green Party. Following several weeks of negotiations with both National and Labour, New Zealand First announced on 19 October 2017 it would form a minority coalition government with Labour. Confidence-and-supply support from the Greens, negotiated separately with Labour, enables the Government to have a majority in the House of Representatives. During the coalition-forming negotiations, Labour agreed to drop its proposed water tax on farmers as part of its agreement with New Zealand First. In return, NZ First agreed to drop their demand for referendums on overturning New Zealand's anti-smacking ban and abolishing the Māori electorates. The Greens consented to a confidence and supply agreement with Labour and New Zealand First in return for several concessions, including: a referendum on legalising cannabis, treating alcohol and drugs as a health issue, net zero emissions by 2050 and requiring a climate impact assessment analysis for all legislation
The Government made several policy announcements in late 2017. In terms of domestic policies, the Government reaffirmed its commitment to re-entering Pike River Mine by March 2019, scrapped National Standards in schools, released a mini-budget funded by cancelling National's tax cuts and created a Tax Working Group to reform New Zealand's taxation system and alleviate the country's housing crisis. In terms of foreign policies, the Government continued New Zealand's participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, opposed US President Donald Trump's move to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and reiterated New Zealand's support for the Two State Solution. In November 2017, Prime Minister Ardern offered to resettle 150 of the asylum seekers from the former Manus Regional Processing Centre in New Zealand, but was rebuffed by Australia's Turnbull Government.
On 19 January 2018, Ardern revealed that she was expecting her first child in June, and that Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters would serve as Acting Prime Minister while she took maternity leave for a period of six weeks. In June 2018, she temporarily relinquished her duties to Winston Peters, following the birth of her child, for a period of six weeks. Peters became Acting Prime Minister on 20 June 2018, when Ardern went into labour. Her six-week maternity leave concluded on 2 August 2018.
On the domestic front, the Labour-led coalition government implemented several policies and new laws. In terms of education, the Government introduced legislation to stop the creation of new charter schools while allowing the 11 existing schools to transition to "special character" schools. The Government also launched several transportation, homelessness, family relief, emergency response and health plans and programmes with the aim of improving infrastructure, services, and social and health outcomes. On 17 May, Finance Minister Grant Robertson released the 2018 New Zealand budget, allocating NZ$2.8 billion in operational funding and NZ$3.8 billion in capital funding. In October 2018, the Government formally established a new government department called the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development to manage housing and urban development issues.
The Government also passed legislation banning future oil and gas exploration, banning most non-residents from buying New Zealand homes and allowing terminally ill patients to use marijuana for palliative care. In June 2018, the Government abandoned efforts to repeal the Sentencing and Parole Reform Act 2010 (the so-called three-strikes law) due to opposition from NZ First. In December 2018, the Government announced that it would be holding a binding referendum on legalising the personal use of cannabis during the 2020 general election.
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