Nanaia Mahuta is a woman of many firsts.
She was the first woman to be appointed as New Zealand's minister for Māori development and the first minister to begin wearing a moko kauae - a traditional facial tattoo worn by Māori women - while serving in parliament.
Now, she has become not only the country's first female foreign affairs minister, but also the first Indigenous woman to take on the role.
Speaking to reporters after Prime Minister , Ms Mahuta described her appointment as a "huge privilege".
"But I hope that when people reflect on a number of firsts of many women in this parliament, it’s the legacy we’ve inherited,” she said.
“We’re the first country to give women the right to vote, the first country to ensure that we are progressive on issues relating to women.
"So, I follow in the line of a long legacy of firsts for women, and I hope that many other women of Māori descent, mixed descent, across New Zealand will see this as lifting the ceiling once again on areas that have been very much closed to us in terms of professional opportunities.”
'Incredibly diverse'
Ms Ardern announced her new cabinet on Monday after a landslide re-election victory last month.
She described her ministers as an "incredibly diverse" group that "reflect the New Zealand that elected us".
The 20-strong cabinet includes eight women, five of whom are Māori, three who are Pasifika (those with Pacific Island heritage) and three who are openly LGBTIQ+, including Grant Robertson, the prime minister's former finance minister who she promoted to be her deputy.
"I think as a country we should be proud of this," Ms Ardern said of her diverse government.
"One of the amazing things about New Zealand is that we are often in a space now where all of these questions often become secondary.
"This is a cabinet, and an executive, that is based on merit, who also happen to be incredibly diverse and I'm proud of that."
Ms Mahuta was first elected to parliament in 1996, and has previously held a number of portfolios, including local government and Māori development.
Ms Mahuta, then minister of Maori development, and Australia's Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt perform a traditional Maori welcome on 28 February. Source: AFP
Four years ago, she began wearing moko kauae.
“It’s a symbol of who I am, my identity and where I belong,” Ms Mahuta .
At the time, the Labour MP was leading a push to introduce Māori language classes in all New Zealand primary schools by 2025. She said there were similarities between Australia and New Zealand in terms of efforts to push for greater Indigenous education outcomes.
“I know that every Indigenous people has their own historical context and while many of the learnings from each other’s country can’t be directly applicable, we can share our experience,” Ms Mahuta said.
She has retained the local government portfolio and will offer support in Māori development as she takes on foreign affairs, replacing Winston Peters, who lost his re-election bid.
"I’m absolutely privileged to be able to lead the conversation in the foreign affairs space, because what we know more than ever before in the COVID-19 context is that as a small country, we need to develop our relationships and remain committed to a multilateral rules-based trade system that works for New Zealand," she said.
Ms Ardern described Ms Mahuta as someone who "builds fantastic relationships very, very quickly" which is "one of the key jobs in a foreign affairs role".
“You only need to look at the difficult work that she has had to conduct over, for instance, her local government portfolio, and that to me demonstrates those diplomacy skills that we need to represent New Zealand on the world stage," she said.
When asked on Monday about New Zealand's ongoing relationship with Australia, Ms Mahuta said Australia remains "our closest neighbour", but would not be pressed on her priorities moving forward.
Ms Mahuta spoke to SBS News in August last year. Source: SBS News
"I’m still getting my feet under the table ... but that close relationship with Australia will only continue to strengthen," she said.
"What I believe is that we need to continue to work in a way that ensures the interests of New Zealanders are protected, that we retain the good relationship that we have with Australia, and anything further than that, I’ll be discussing closely with the prime minister."
The new cabinet will be sworn in on Friday after the Electoral Commission confirms the final vote count. it will meet for the first time later that afternoon.
Ms Ardern's Labour government will be supported by two Greens ministers outside cabinet - James Shaw as climate change minister, and Marama Davidson, as family violence minister.
With additional reporting by AAP.
