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

The Australian prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, says he has sent Ardern a congratulatory text and hopes to speak to her soon.

We’re yet to hear from the Australian foreign minister, Julie Bishop, who during the election campaign said it would be “very difficult to build trust” with a Labour government in New Zealand. It came after news broke that the Australian deputy prime minister held dual Australian/New Zealand citizenship – and that an NZ Labour MP had asked a question about dual citizenship that (apparently unwittingly) contributed to the revelation.

Bishop accused NZ Labour of collaborating in a plot to destabilise the Australian government. Ardern called that “false claims”.

Outgoing prime minister Bill English and Green party leader James Shaw will also speak later, after Ardern. Green support – likely through an informal deal, as Winston Peters appeared to rule out a three-party coalition – will be essential for any Labour-led government.

Labour has 46 seats and NZ First nine, not enough to bring them to the 61-seat majority. The eight seats belonging to the Greens will therefore be crucial.

It’s expected that the Greens, who have distanced themselves from National, will fall into line. But nothing is yet certain.

The first official pronouncement from NZ Labour – the new government – has landed:

Labour is pleased to have successfully concluded negotiations with New Zealand First as a critical step to forming a Labour-led progressive government, says Labour leader Jacinda Ardern:

I thank the New Zealand First party and leader Winston Peters for agreeing in principle to a coalition arrangement with Labour.

The negotiations have been courteous, constructive and robust. Throughout, we have focused on our shared values and the policies that can take New Zealand forward.

We are both committed to forming a strong and durable government that can deal with the many challenges this country faces.

The Green party is now undertaking its internal approval process before we confirm final arrangements to form a Labour-led progressive government. This too has been an excellent process, which I thank James Shaw and his team for.

This is an exciting day. We aspire to be a government for all New Zealanders and one that will seize the opportunity to build a fairer, better New Zealand.

We will work hard to ensure New Zealand is once again a world leader, a country we can all be proud of. We said we could do this, we will do this.

I thank Bill English and acknowledge the service he has given to this country as prime minister, and for a hard fought campaign. We both share a commitment to making New Zealand a better place and Bill has left his mark.

Jacinda Ardern – who learned she would become prime minister watching Winston Peters’ speech on TV – will face the media for the first time since the announcement in around 15 minutes from now (8pm NZ, 6pm AEDT, 8am BST). We’ll cover it live here.

A statement from ACT leader – and the party’s sole MP – David Seymour warns that a Labour coalition with Peters is “beholden to a madman on the loose”.

ACT was one of three smaller parties that kept Bill English’s minority National government in power in the last parliament.

Seymour’s statement reads:

With no hints on policy and vague attacks on capitalism, New Zealanders now face a weak leftwing coalition beholden to a madman on the loose.

Winston Peters’ perverse marriage with Labour and the Greens threatens countless groups: taxpayers, Auckland infrastructure users, millennials, immigrants and the businesses relying on them, and more.

If this coalition governs as it campaigned, then New Zealanders face a big-spending, tax-everything-that-moves, 1970s-protectionist, red-tape-loving government.

A reminder that Jacinda Ardern became leader of the Labour party on 1 August – less than three months ago. Weeks later, she is the prime minister.

Further congratulations from former Australian Labor prime minister Julia Gillard:

A quick guide to what you need to know about Jacinda Ardern, Labour leader and New Zealand’s next prime minister:

Peters says talks between NZ First and Labour have been “extremely constructive” but refuses to divulge what cabinet and ministerial roles have been dished out.

That’s for the prime minister to reveal, he says.

And now he’s done. We’re expecting to hear from Ardern soon.

“No doubt she saw it on the television,” Peters says.

He confirms he did not tell English first either, saying he thought the New Zealand public had the right to know first.