Mr Hipkins, sworn in as prime minister last month after Jacinda Ardern's surprise exit, had pledged to shed unpopular policies and rein in spending.

A fortnight after taking office, he led his new team's first cabinet meeting in Wellington on Wednesday.

Two Ardern-era policies thrown on the bonfire - a merger of TVNZ and Radio NZ and the social insurance scheme - had been widely tipped.

However, a pay rise for New Zealand's lowest earners was not forecast.

The government will raise the minimum wage in line with CPI, increasing it by $NZ1.50 ($A1.36) an hour from April 1.

Citing a "new direction", Mr Hipkins said he was determined to "shift our focus to the bread and butter issues that matter to New Zealanders".

"In tough times, it's critical to support those who struggle the most to make ends meet," Mr Hipkins said.

"Those on low incomes make impossible trade-offs between food and medical care, dry homes and a pair of shoes.

"These families need our support now more than ever and an inflation-adjusted lift in the minimum wage will mean thousands of New Zealanders do not go backwards."

Mr Hipkins said the social insurance scheme, a pet project of Finance Minister Grant Robertson, was "off the table" until economic conditions improved.

In place of the public media merger, the government will give more to RNZ and the media funding agency NZ On Air.

The government has also deferred hate speech reforms, referring them to the Law Commission, and stopped a planned biofuels mandate that would have raised the price of fuel from its launch in April.

Mr Hipkins said the policy changes would save the government "hundreds of millions of dollars".

The re-orientation of government priorities comes ahead of an October 14 election at which Labour will seek a third term.

Two public polls released last week showed the transition from Ms Ardern to Mr Hipkins delivered Labour a bounce in support.

Mr Hipkins appeared to rebuke his predecessor's vast policy agenda, saying the government was "doing too much too fast".

However, he denied taking a swipe at Ms Ardern, one of his closest friends in politics.

"Jacinda Ardern indicated herself prior to Christmas there would need to be a degree of refocusing and reprioritisation of the government this year," he said.

"Now I have led that process. That's my paper that went to cabinet today."

The policy reset comes after a whirlwind 20 days in New Zealand politics since Ms Ardern's shock announcement.

During that time, Labour MPs decided on a new leader and deputy, Carmel Sepuloni and Mr Hipkins picked a new cabinet, shuffled portfolios, attended Waitangi Day commemorations, travelled to Australia and announced the policy shifts.

Mr Hipkins also announced $NZ5 million ($A4.5 million) in support to Auckland businesses following record floods late last month - New Zealand's most expensive natural disaster since the 2016 Kaikoura earthquakes.

Australian Associated Press