Jacinda Ardern is next prime minister of New Zealand, Winston Peters confirms – as it happened

The Green party will meet this evening to decide whether it will back the Labour/NZ First coalition. Winston Peters has said the Greens would not be in government, making a likely outcome a confidence and supply arrangement.

But this would need to be formally accepted by the Green delegates.

We didn’t get enough votes to secure a referendum on the future of the Māori seats, Peters says. This was a key NZ First policy that now looks likely to be discarded as Ardern had said she would not support it.

Peters points out that all Māori seats fell to Labour in the election, wiping out the Māori party’s parliamentary representation.

Swift congratulations for Ardern from Australia’s Labor leader Bill Shorten:

A reminder that we are due to be hearing from Jacinda Ardern – New Zealand’s new prime minister – right after Winston Peters finishes taking questions.

It’s not clear if Bill English, the outgoing PM, will speak. Earlier today he said he had not considered whether he should resign if National did not win out in the coalition deal.

“There are far too many people living in degraded and poor conditions in this country,” Peters says, adding that those in power were thought to be out of touch with the reality of life for New Zealanders. That was the key issue in the NZ First caucus, he says.

He says part of the coalition deal will be to build 10,000 affordable homes each year.

It appears the Green party will back the Labour/NZ First coalition with a confidence and supply deal – its eight seats are needed to get the coalition to the 61-seat majority it needs.

Labour won 46 seats and NZ First has nine.

Peters says he is not saying what job he will have in the new government, saying it’s in the gift of the new prime minister, Jacinda Ardern.

He suggests he has been offered the deputy PM role, adding that NZ First will not have the key finance minister job.

Peters says the choice ultimately came down to whether to stick with the status quo or go for change:

The people of this country did want change. And we have responded to that.

Peters says Ardern displayed “extraordinary talent” during the campaign.

He says it will be her choice which ministerial portfolios are given to NZ First.

The country voted for change, Peters says.