[10][11] The Greens consented to a confidence and supply agreement with Labour and New Zealand First in return for several concessions, including: a referendum on legalising cannabis, treating alcohol and drugs as a health issue, net zero emissions by 2050 and requiring a climate impact assessment analysis for all legislation[12][13] The Government made several policy announcements in late 2017.

[36] On the foreign policy front, Ardern stated that New Zealand would be seeking to shift away from a 'donor, recipient relationship' with Pacific Islands nations in favour of forming bilateral partnerships in March 2018.

[38][39] In April 2018, Attorney General David Parker announced a government inquiry into allegations that the New Zealand Special Air Service had committed war crimes against Afghan civilians during Operation Burnham while stationed in Afghanistan.

[48][49] In terms of employment policy, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Iain Lees-Galloway announced that the Government would be raising the minimum wage to NZ$18.90 an hour from April 2020, a $1.20 increase from $17.70.

[54][55][56] In terms of electoral law, the Government introduced legislation restoring the voting rights of prisoners serving less than three years imprisonment and banning foreign donations over NZ$50.

[75][76][77] Other notable Government actions in 2019 have included re-entering Pike River Mine, upgrading the New Zealand–China Free Trade Agreement, and apologizing to the victims of the Erebus air disaster.

[87] On 25 March, the COVID-19 alert system was raised to Level 4, leading to the closure of schools and most businesses with the exception of essential services such as supermarkets, petrol stations and health providers.

[89] Prior to Parliament's closure, it passed three bills with cross-party support dealing with emergency spending, remitting interest on tax owed after 14 February, allowing local authorities to meet remotely, governments to take over schools, and suspending no-cause evictions and rent increases for six months.

[98][99][100][101][102][103][104] In late March 2020, Finance Minister Grant Robertson confirmed the government was negotiating with banks to ensure that nobody would lose their homes as a result of defaulting on mortgage payments during the pandemic.

[128][129][130] In terms of housing, the Government passed legislation which eliminated rental bidding and "no-cause" evictions, raised the period of rent increases to 12 months and allowed victims of domestic violence to end a tenancy within two days' notice.

[141] On 22 July, Ardern dismissed Iain Lees-Galloway from his Immigration, Workplace Relations and Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) ministerial portfolios after he admitted having an inappropriate relationship with a former public service employee.

[145] During its Speech from the Throne in late November 2020, major Government policy announcements included free COVID-19 vaccination, building 18,000 public homes, raising the minimum wage, replacing the Resource Management Act 1991 and promoting economic recovery from COVID-19 through infrastructure investment and training incentives.

[152][153] On 17 December, Ardern also announced that the Government had purchased vaccines from the pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca and Novavax for New Zealand, Tokelau, the Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa, Tonga, and Tuvalu.

[173][174] The Government's agricultural, environmental and Clean Car policies also attracted opposition from farming advocacy group Groundswell NZ, which mounted nationwide protests on 16 July.

[180][181] On 7 October, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta confirmed that the Government was sending a special representative to the Middle East to help 825 stranded Afghan visa holders to leave Afghanistan.

[192][193] In mid-January 2022, in a terms of COVID-19 policies, New Zealand government asked suppliers Abbott Laboratories, Roche, and Siemens to give it priority in ordering stocks of rapid antigen tests.

[194] Amid the surging outbreak of highly transmissible COVID-19 Deltacron hybrid variant across the nationwide, New Zealand government won't imposed new lockdowns, but indoor hospitality venues and events will be capped at 100 people with vaccine passes.

[197] In mid-September of the same year, New Zealand government scrapped the country's COVID-19 Protection Framework ("traffic light system"); ending face-mask wearing and isolation requirements, and most vaccine mandates.

[208][209] Other notable Government initiatives have included launching a New Zealand-centric "Te Takanga o Te Wā" history curriculum, reducing fuel excise taxes, road user charges and public transportation fares, allocating NZ$23 million from the State Sector Decarbonisation Fund to reduce greenhouse emissions, acquiring full ownership of Kiwibank and launching a national public transportation payment system called the National Ticketing Solution.

[223] To address a national skills shortage, the Government launched a fast tracked residence policy in May 2022, which controversially excluded nurses, teachers and dairy farm managers.

[235] In late May 2022, Ardern met with United States President Joe Biden and Governor of California Gavin Newsom to discuss the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), promote gun control and climate change cooperation.

[236][237][238] On 19 January, Ardern confirmed her resignation as Prime Minister, Labour Party leader and MP for the Mount Albert electorate prior to the 2023 New Zealand general election, scheduled for 14 October.

[6] As Prime Minister, Hipkins announced that the Labour Government would focus on "cost of living" issues such as rising rent, food prices, the housing shortage and the economic impact of COVID-19.

[243] Between February and March 2023, the Government scrapped several policies and programmes including the proposed TVNZ–Radio New Zealand merger and plans to introduce hate speech legislation and lower the voting age to 16 years.

[251] In terms of foreign policy, Hipkins undertook his first overseas state visit to Canberra where he met Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to reaffirm Australian-New Zealand bilateral relations.

[254] Following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on 7 October, the Government contributed NZ$10 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross's (ICRC) and the United Nations' World Food Programme's humanitarian relief efforts.

[258] On 27 June, the Government invested NZ$128 million in increasing tuition subsidies between 2024 and 2025 for all tertiary institutions including universities, wānanga and the mega polytechnic Te Pūkenga.

[370] In late October and early November 2018, the Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway drew criticism from the opposition National Party for his decision to grant residency to the convicted Czech drug smuggler Karel Sroubek.

[394] On 2 November, it was reported that Michael and Rachel Perrett, the owners of the Green School, had reached a settlement for the Government's NZ$11.7 million grant to be converted into a loan; a development that was welcomed by local principals.

The Shadow Leader of the House, National MP Chris Bishop, who has been critical of the use of "patsy questions" in the past,[396] said that Seymour was showing "remarkable hutzpah" in complaining about the practice the day after making use of it himself.