In a statement, Labour’s whip Duncan Webb said the caucus would meet at 1pm on Sunday to endorse the nomination and confirm Hipkins as party leader.
Hipkins will become Prime Minister once Jacinda Ardern formally resigns the post. It is not yet clear exactly when that will happen. She announced her resignation on Thursday.
Carmel Sepuloni is almost certain to be deputy leader to Hipkins after Kiri Allan rules herself out.
Labour MP Kiri Allan says she does not intend to put her hand up to be incumbent Labour leader Chris Hipkins’ deputy – and it is understood Carmel Sepuloni is set to get the role.
Allan told the NZ Herald she would not be running for the deputy Prime Minister or deputy leader roles.
"I really want to give Chris the space to choose the team he thinks will take us through for the electoral win. I back him."
"There will be some simple decisions to make and I think it will be a pretty simple process."
Caucus elects the Labour party’s deputy leader – usually the person the leader says they prefer – while the Prime Minister chooses the deputy Prime Minister. The two are usually held by the same person, but Ardern has had Kelvin Davis as her deputy leader and Grant Robertson as deputy Prime Minister.
It is understood Allan was one of those who nominated Hipkins as leader – at least seven MPs were needed for the nomination.
Allan told the NZ Herald she had supported Hipkins because he was intelligent and experienced and had been involved in the leadership group of the party for the past six years "through some of our hardest times."
"He’s had a lot of time, he’s got a lot of skin in the game. He’s been here for many years. He’s ready. And we’re ready as a team right behind him."
"I’m really proud of him. I am going to be so excited to serve in his government."
"Once New Zealanders get to know Chris as a person and not just a politician, they will see what we see. An intelligent man who has diligently serves – a competent man. That’s what they will see too."
Asked if she thought Hipkins – who has never contested the leadership before – would be surprised to find himself becoming PM almost overnight, she said he knew that a week could be a long time in politics.
"We found out this week that even a day can be extraordinarily long and many things can change. Chris knows the environment. I’m sure he would have had a chuckle at some point or a ‘goodness gracious me, what’s just gone on.’ But he knows just how politics is and how things can operate."
There had been speculation about whether others - including Michael Wood - would put their names forward for the nomination of the next Prime Minister, but Labour was keen for a tidy, uncontested handover.
The early momentum went behind Hipkins, including snap polls showing the public also believed he was the front-runner.
Hipkins is Police Minister and Education Minister, and became well known to many New Zealanders through his role as Covid-19 Minister. He was one of Ardern’s most trusted lieutenants.
He is not expected to comment publicly until after the caucus has endorsed him as its leader.
The Police and Education Minister was able to convince his colleagues he had enough party support to take over the top job, making him an automatic selection to replace Jacinda Ardern.
This should allow Hipkins to be sworn in as new PM ahead of a busy few weeks in politics, including Labour’s pilgrimage to Rātana, and Waitangi Day commemorations. Parliament is not set to return until February 14.
Nominations for candidates closed at 9am this morning.
Going into today, Hipkins, Kiri Allan, and Michael Wood’s names had all remained in the mix for a leadership or deputy position.
Another possible contender floated as deputy had been Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni.
However, the Herald was told just prior to this morning’s 9am deadline that Allan had chosen not to stand for leader of the Labour Party - and was instead throwing her support behind Hipkins.
Speaking at Wellington Airport yesterday, Hipkins said stability and good leadership were top discussion points among the party.
He said conversations were "about making sure that we make a good, sound decision about who should be the leader of the party, that the party then unites behind that new leader and that we continue to provide the stability of leadership that New Zealanders have come to expect from us for the last five and a half years".
"The conversations that I’ve had with my colleagues suggest that they take their responsibility very, very seriously," he said.
"There is no fight going on here, everybody is just really constructively engaged in making sure we make a good decision."
Ardern also spoke on Friday, saying she was confident a result could be stitched up quickly.
