New Zealand: The election of Chris Hipkins as New Zealand's new prime minister and Carmel Sepuloni as his deputy on Sunday, marking the first time a person of Pacific Island descent has held the position.

Hipkins was the only candidate in the running to replace Jacinda Ardern, who shocked the nation by announcing her resignation after serving as leader for more than five years. Hipkins received the unanimous support of his Labor MPs.

On Wednesday, Hipkins will take the oath of office to assume his new position. Less than nine months would pass before he ran into a difficult general election in which opinion polls showed his party falling behind the conservative opposition.

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As there were no other candidates for party leader, it was clear that party legislators rallied behind Hipkins to prevent a protracted election and any signs of division in the wake of Ardern's resignation.

Hipkins stated his priorities, saying that the economy would be at the forefront of his government's thoughts as he knew that many families were struggling as a result of the "inflation epidemic".

Hipkins said when asked if he would take the same transformational approach to government that Ardern promised when she first took the top spot, she wanted to go back to basics.

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“We will deliver a very sound government that is focused on the everyday concerns of New Zealanders and that is appropriate for the times we are currently living in,” Hipkins commented. "A lot has changed since 2017, which was five and a half years ago.

Sepuloni, who first joined the legislature 15 years ago and most recently assumed the portfolios of employment and social development as one of the government's top ministers.

For a working-class girl from a small New Zealand town to become deputy prime minister, she claimed, was "too hard to fathom."

Sepuloni said, “I want to acknowledge its importance to our Pacific community. I represent generations of New Zealanders of mixed heritage and I am proud to be Samoan, Tongan and European.

Sepuloni explained that she had already been inundated with inspirational messages about yet another glass ceiling shattering.

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According to reports, opposition leader Christopher Luxon sent a congratulatory message to Hipkins. However, Luxon insisted that Hipkins and Sepuloni were part of a government that "failed spectacularly" to meet its goals and that despite the change in leadership, things would remain the same.