NZ election 2020: Jacinda Ardern thanks New Zealand amid Labour landslide – live results

6.21am EDT 06:21

Australia Labor Leader Anthony Albanese has congratulated Ardern:

6.18am EDT 06:18

Ben Raue

The Māori Party has gained the lead in one of the seven Māori electorates.Rawiri Waititi has narrowly taken the lead from Labour in the central North Island electorate of Waiariki.

The Maori Party lead in Waiariki is currently 299.

This may be the only electorate race which will make a difference to the national seat count. If the Māori Party win, they will have win one seat that they wouldn’t otherwise have won, and be eligible for list seats.

At the moment they have only polled around 1% of the national party vote, which isn’t enough to win a second seat on the list, but it is theoretically possible they could pick up a second if their vote picks up. Still that would be one less seat available for the other four parties.

6.10am EDT 06:10

My colleague Phil Taylor is at the Green Party event.

The Greens are hopeful of playing a role in the new government.

Co-leader James Shaw told the Guardian a few minutes ago that even though preliminary results indicate Labour could govern alone there were many reasons Labour may want to include the Green Party.

He expects to speak to Labour leader Jacinda Ardern by phone tomorrow, though he said the counting of special votes allowed some breathing space.

The Election result would see “a very strong progressive government”.

“The precise make up of that remains to be seen but there are a number of reasons Labour would want the Greens as part of the government.

“One is to get the largest majority in the house possible.

“Another was to make use of the party’s experienced ministers,” says Shaw.

“And we want to win again in 2023. It’s important to build on our partnership.”

He said it was clear from the result – the party with 7.8% with 88% of the vote counted, and Chloe Swarbrick poised to win the Auckland Central electorate – that voters want the Greens “not just to be in parliament but part of the government.”

6.08am EDT 06:08

And here is Judith Collins, conceding defeat earlier this evening:

National leader Judith Collins concedes the 2020 New Zealand general election Photograph: Greg Bowker/Getty Images

6.06am EDT 06:06

Some scenes from the Labour event tonight, where Jacinda Ardern has been talking to supporters:

Labour Party leader and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks to media after claiming victory during the Labor Party election night function Photograph: Hannah Peters/Getty Images Supporters during the Labor Party function at Auckland Town Hall Photograph: Phil Walter/Getty Images Jacinda Ardern, her partner Clarke Gayford and party members gather on the stage at the Labour Party’s event Photograph: Michael Bradley/AFP/Getty Images

6.04am EDT 06:04

The Guardian’s Charlotte Graham McLay is at Nationals HQ:

As well as Paul Goldsmith who I spoke to earlier, I’ve also head from a couple of centre-right analysts about the night’s result.

Tau Henare, a former National party MP (he’s also represented a couple of others) said Judith Collins “won’t be leader” of the party “for that long.”

He added that her concession speech was “very magnanimous and unlike the Judith we’ve come to know.” He’s referring to her divisive, “Crusher” Collins persona that was likely to have led much of the voting public to have already made up their minds about her – love or loathe – before she became leader.

Henare said that Labour’s result came down to Covid-19. “Folks trust her to get us through it,” he said of Jacinda Ardern.

Ben Thomas, a public relations consultant and former National government staffer, also said the vote was “a reflection of the bond [Ardern] formed with the electorate during Covid.”

He said the incredible thing about this result was that centre-right National voters went to centre-left Labour, rather than to the minor parties as would usually be the case.

Updated at 6.05am EDT

6.01am EDT 06:01

Ardern says her daughter Neve “was asleep as any good two year old would be” as the results came in. With that she leaves the gaggle of media to head backstage.

Updated at 6.03am EDT

5.59am EDT 05:59

She has no intention of changing the deputy leader.

It is “usually the natural order of things” that the deputy leader will be deputy PM, she adds, and she has no intention of changing that either.