Just like that, the Hutt’s Chris Hipkins was announced as New Zealand’s 41st prime minister on Saturday. In the latest episode of Gone By Lunchtime, Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire assess the coronation, the reset and what it all means for election 2023.

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Jacinda Ardern has fronted what will likely be her final press conference as prime minister.

Moments before addressing those congregated at Rātana, Ardern appeared alongside deputy Grant Robertson and told media today was a “special day”. She was excited to see her friend Chris Hipkins take on the mantle of Labour leader and presumptive PM.

Ardern’s arrival at Rātana prompted large cheers and applause from those in attendance. Reports from media on the ground say the outgoing PM was greeted with hugs and hongi.

The outgoing and incoming prime ministers drove up to the Pā, near Whanganui, together from Wellington, with Ardern revealing the best advice she could give Hipkins during the trip was “you do you.” She added: “This is now for him. I’ve had my time, it’s time for the new team.

Ardern said while people would still see her “out and about” in public and fulfilling her final duties as the MP for Mount Albert, she would not be popping up as a commentator for domestic politics. “I’m ready to be a backbench MP, a sister and a mum.”

She would miss people in general. “Because that’s been the joy of the job. So my only words are words of thanks,” she said.

Ardern officially steps down tomorrow before Hipkins will be sworn in as New Zealand’s 41st prime minister.

There were 13,880 new cases of Covid-19 over the past week, a drop on the seven days prior.

On average, 1,979 new infections were recorded each day. There were 5,357 reinfections over the same time period.

As of midnight Sunday, there were 242 people in hospital with Covid-19, and seven in intensive care.

Roughly four deaths were confirmed each day, with the death toll rising by 79 over the past seven days – though just 31 of these have so far been directly attributed to Covid-19. Among the most recent deaths was a child under 10 years old and two people in their 20s.

National’s leader has reiterated his party’s views on co-governance, after being challenged not to be afraid of it.

Christopher Luxon has just wrapped up his address at Rātana – the first time he has spoken at the commemorations.

Acknowledging issues around diversity within National, Luxon said there was still work to do. However, he was “incredibly proud” of the progress made and the candidates that will stand in the 2023 election.

Luxon also took aim at Labour, criticising the party for leaving people behind with “rents sky high” and an economy that was going backwards. “We believe in really strong economic management and stewardship,” he added.

The subject of co-governance dominated much of Luxon’s speech, with the National leader reiterating his objections. Firstly, on principle because New Zealand has one government, but also practically because of concerns more bureaucracy would slow down the delivery of services. However, he said that he wanted to ensure Māori success and said that the provision of services would be community-led under a National government.

The government, said Luxon, had failed to bring the New Zealand public along on the subject of co-governance. It had been a “divisive and immature conversation”, he said.

Outgoing prime minister Jacinda Ardern is due to speak at about 2pm, followed by her successor Chris Hipkins.

Plans to build 81 apartments in the Auckland suburb of Beach Haven have upset some locals. Stuff has reported on a public meeting attended by 180 people, most seemingly opposed to the new development.

That included one woman who reportedly fought back tears at the prospect of “bedroom commuters” with little connection to the community. “I love this fucking village with all my heart and I don’t want to see it change,” she said.

Another claimed the suburb wasn’t prepared for “multi-storey bullshit” and that the wastewater pipes were too small to serve more residents.

And another woman was unhappy with the possibility of the scenery of her daily commute changing. “Can’t they build on green land that’s 10 minutes up the motorway? I don’t understand why they’re coming to Beach Haven, we’re not an apartment community,” she said.

Even National’s Dan Bidois was opposed, telling a reporter: “You can put this on the record, I oppose the development. I don’t think it should be down there.”

While Jacinda Ardern is preparing for her final official engagement as prime minister, she won’t entirely exit politics until April. As the local MP for Mount Albert, her departure from parliament now would trigger a costly byelection. However, with this year’s election now set down for mid-October, hanging around until April prevents that from happening.

However, that means the central Auckland electorate will have no political representation for about six months. So what will that mean?

Newsroom’s Bonnie Harrison has examined the political possibilities for the Mount Albert electorate, which is home to roughly 60,000 people. That includes the (unlikely) suggestion that National could choose to trigger a byelection so as to ensure political representation in the area. Have a read here.

We’re counting down the days until Laneway Festival 2023. You can read all about the festival’s upscale from Albert Park to Western Springs here, but if you’re just after the event day map, look no further. Weather predictions for Monday are looking a bit shaky at this point, though a Laneway spokesperson assured me that the latest forecast was for sun.

It’s probably time we covered ChatGPT in the Bulletin. ChatGPT is a natural language processing tool driven by artificial intelligence (AI) technology. AI is one of those things that either inspires a panic spiral of foreboding or wildly unfounded enthusiasm. The truth probably lies in the middle.

Dylan Reeve asked ChatGPT to write an explainer on itself for The Spinoff.Technology news site CNET has been using it to write financial explainers, although they are riddled with errors. ChatGPT does raise the very real spectre of cheating and plagiarism for teachers and academics, but as this New York Times piece highlights, they are getting their heads around it and thinking differently about the future of education.

The University of Otago is currently collaborating with Australian and Canadian universities to address ChatGPT’s impact. Otago Business School dean Robin Gauld asked ChatGPT to deliver a 1500-word essay. It was “fairly well-written” but struggled with citations. ChatGPT may dream of one day writing an early morning newsletter but for now, I think I’m safe.

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Today marks the final day of Jacinda Ardern’s premiership, as she prepares to formally pass the baton to incoming leader Chris Hipkins.

The pair will both head to Rātana today for what’s anticipated to be an emotional farewell for Ardern. It’s the first in-person Rātana event since the Covid-19 pandemic took hold.

“Jacinda’s had a very strong relationship with Māori,” former Labour chief of staff Matt McCarten, who is of Ngāpuhi descent, told RNZ.  “[Her departure] is a huge loss for Māoridom because she was an ally in public, but also in the backrooms.”

While the political year kicked off a little earlier than expected due to Ardern’s shock resignation, Rātana is typically the first event on the calendar. And today’s commemorations feel a bit like a crossover episode, with both Ardern and Hipkins set to address those in attendance – a very public display of the guard changing and of the party’s ongoing commitment to Māoridom. The Herald’s Michael Neilson and Adam Pearse have explained how today’s event will prove a “litmus test” for Hipkins, namely whether can be well-received by Māori leaders.

National will also attend today, the first time Christopher Luxon has attended the commemorations. While Rātana is historically a Labour-aligned Pā, Luxon is attempting to demonstrate his party’s connection with tangata whenua ahead of this year’s election.

The agenda for today: 

• National and Te Pāti Māori, as opposition parties, will arrive at the Pā at about 11am. Act is not attending.
• Labour and the Greens will arrive at about 2pm.