My family is off limits, says incoming New Zealand PM Chris Hipkins

Wellington: Chris Hipkins accepts he is “public property” as the new prime minister, but has insisted his wife and two children won’t be in the limelight.

Hipkins, confirmed as the successor to New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Sunday afternoon, held his first news conference as incoming prime minister. It could be the last time he speaks substantively about his wife – who he separated from last year – and his young son and daughter.

Chris Hipkins: “This is the biggest privilege and biggest responsibility of my life.”Credit:Bloomberg

“I am aware of the Wellington rumour mill … and I know how things go round in Wellington, so I will put something on the record that will be my final comment on the matter,” Hipkins said.

“A year ago, my wife and I made the decision that we would live separately, that we would do everything we can to raise our children together.

“We remain incredibly close. She’s still my best friend. But we have made that decision in the best interest of our family.”

Hipkins, who was emotional as he spoke of his wife, Jade, said being a partner of a minister in the public spotlight, as he was throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, was “bloody hard”.

“Families come under an enormous amount of pressure.

“I’ve also seen the enormous scrutiny and pressure placed on Jacinda and her family, and so my response to that will be to keep my family completely out of the limelight.”

This extended to his children, a six-year-old son and four-year-old daughter who attend school and kindergarten.

“I want them to grow up with a typical Kiwi kid life. I want them to be able to make mistakes. I want them to be able to learn and to grow, without 5 million people looking over their shoulder.

“You won’t see pictures of them, you know, on social media or in the media and so on, and I simply asked New Zealanders to respect that as well.

“I know that putting my name forward to be a minister, to be an MP, to be the prime minister, I make myself public property. I absolutely accept that, but my family aren’t, and I asked that people do respect that.”

Both Ardern and National Party leader Christopher Luxon have followed political convention in making public appearances with their family, as well as fronting magazines such as Women’s Weekly for soft-focus stories on their family lives.

Ardern’s daughter Neve has been largely kept out of the media, however, unless photographed at official events such as Waitangi celebrations.

Stuff.co.nz

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