Next New Zealand PM slams ‘abhorrent’ Ardern treatment

NEW Zealand’s incoming prime minister Chris Hipkins criticised the “abhorrent” treatment endured by Jacinda Ardern and vowed on Sunday to shield his own family, three days after her shock resignation.

In his first remarks after being unanimously endorsed by Labour Party MPs as the party’s leader and the nation’s next prime minister, Hipkins attacked the personal abuse suffered by Ardern during her more than five years in the top job.