“For the sake of all Kiwis, incoming Prime Minister Chris Hipkins needs to show they’re prepared to deliver on substance instead of snowing New Zealand with spin,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“Jacinda Ardern had the best intentions, but people got angrier as her results went the other way. The day she resigned, welfare numbers rose again while the country was covered in help wanted signs and food prices went up amongst shortages. That sums up Ardern’s collision with reality.

“The new Prime Minister will have to stop imposing impractical policies on behalf of Labour’s radical factions who hide behind the Party’s absolute majority. Labour is now a minority government after five years of their ideological agenda. They’ll have to govern for all New Zealand: listen, reset, and implement practical policies that tackle urgent problems.

“The challenges faced are immense. The economy is in the tank with ever rising prices, lawlessness dominates the streets, the Treaty has become a source of division instead of unity in the most underhanded way. The new Prime Minister must take on Labour’s factions to dump the fantasy policies they’ve forced on New Zealand with their absolute majority.

“Chris Hipkins needs to start by dumping the fantasy policies that Labour has pushed: the media merger, divisive three waters reforms, so-called Fair Pay Agreements, income insurance that is really a jobs tax, and all of the wasteful spending that is driving inflation. The polls show Kiwis have rejected these policies. They want a government that is focussed on crime, rising inflation, removing restrictions on businesses and allowing workers, and stopping the erosion of democratic rights.

“In place of fantasy policies, the government needs to address the real issues facing New Zealand. They need to present a plan to tackle inflation, crime, and call time on the stealth constitutional transformation from liberal democracy to co-Governance.

“They also need to unequivocally rule out a Capital Gains Tax, if even Jacinda Ardern could see that it was a bad idea, the new Prime Minister should as well.

“ACT hopes that Chris Hipkins can move on from Labour’s pantomime policies that have made life harder for Kiwis. If they can’t, Kiwis can rest assured that in 266 days they can vote for real change and get the government they deserve.”

© Scoop Media