[2] His father, Weston Kirton, served two terms as mayor of Ruapehu District from 1995 to 2001 and ran unsuccessfully as the National Party candidate in Taupo in both the 2002 and 2005 elections.

[2] Kirton boarded at Sacred Heart College in Auckland before studying at Lincoln University, where he earned a bachelor of commerce and management.

[2] In February 2018, Newsroom reported four allegations of indecent assault by a single perpetrator during a Labour Party youth camp.

[8] When asked in 2017 if he held aspirations on entering Parliament himself, Kirton did not rule out running one day, but expressed a desire to work in the private sector again first.

[12] In February 2023, the new prime minister Chris Hipkins appointed Kirton as his chief of staff, replacing Raj Nahna.