Hipkins set to stay as NZ Labour leader, Little resigns

Labour's six years in government ended with National's resounding victory in Saturday's poll.

Some ministers, like Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta, missed out on election, while at least one has opted not to continue.

Former leader and defence minister Andrew Little resigned on Tuesday, saying it was time for party renewal.

While the election results are not yet final, each party re-assembled in Wellington on Tuesday, holding caucus meetings to begin preparations for the next parliament.

For Labour, that involved two partyroom gatherings: first, with the 62 Labour MPs that made up the previous caucus.

The second, after lunch, had just 34 MPs in the room: those that survived the "blue-nami" election.

"It's been a pretty brutal weekend," Mr Hipkins surmised.

Under Labour rules, a confidence vote must be held within three months of an election to test the leader's support.

If a leader - in this case Mr Hipkins - failed to reach 60 per cent support, it would trigger an election with MPs, the wider party membership and affiliates such as unions all having a say.

Mr Hipkins said he would test the mood of his team in those caucus meetings.

"I indicated on Saturday night I wanted the opportunity to present to the team before making any decisions about that and we have the opportunity to do that today," he said.

"My real focus at the moment is two things: one, making sure that we ensure a smooth transition to the new government. I think we owe that to New Zealand.

"The second is to make sure that Labour transitions into being a very formidable opposition as quickly as possible.

"I'm committed to playing whatever role necessary to ensure that both of those things happen."

Labour campaign chair Megan Woods said on Sunday that Mr Hipkins "absolutely" would have the support from colleagues should he choose to stay on.

Outgoing Finance Minister Grant Robertson suggested Mr Hipkins would find support from his colleagues.

"I'm incredibly supportive of Chris, I think he has done a really good job," he said.

Mr Little, a former party president, is best known for his leadership stint which ended in 2017 when he resigned in favour of deputy Jacinda Ardern.

He did so seven weeks prior to that poll, sparking Jacindamania, and a return of Labour to power after nine years.

"The party needs to think about not just what opposition looks like, but what the next (Labour) government looks like ...I am not the face of the seventh Labour government." he said.

Mr Little, 58, said Mr Hipkins could be the man to lead Labour back to government.

"I think he can," he said.

"He just threw everything at that campaign. He's a tough cookie. He's a good leader, but what he does is up to him."

As Mr Little is a List MP, his resignation will not trigger a by-election, with his replacement drawn from Labour's list rankings.