New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins lost for words after reporter asks him to 'define a woman'

New Zealand's newly elected Prime Minister Chris Hipkins struggled to define the term 'woman' when a reporter's question about gender caught him off guard. 

During his regular afternoon press conference on Monday, Mr Hipkins was asked by Sean Plunket, a broadcast reporter from The Platform, to 'define a woman' on behalf of himself and his government. 

Mr Hipkins took a moment to gather his thoughts before responding.

'Um,' Hipkins began, before pausing. 

'To be honest Sean, that question has come out of left field for me.'

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins was caught off guard after a reporter asked him to 'define  woman' during a press conference (pictured)

Mr Hipkins then took a long pause before finishing his answer, claiming people define their own genders.

'People define themselves, people define their own genders,' Mr Hipkins said. 

Mr Plunket asked the question again, referring to an article written by British Opposition Leader Keir Starmer about the legal framework for transgender people in British law.

'Keir Starmer has said that he believes 99.9 per cent of women do not have penises, and I know it's a strange thing for him to say, but given recent events in New Zealand, I'd ask again: how do you define what a woman is?' Plunket said. 

Mr Hipkins explained he was not expecting the question and did not have a pre-formulated answer but reiterated that gender identity is decided by a person. 

Mr Hipkins (right) response was mocked on Twitter, with Piers Morgan claiming he  should know what a woman is because he replaced one when he took over as Prime Minister after Jacinda Ardern (left) stepped down from the lead role

Mr Hipkins's response went viral on social media, with the likes of Piers Morgan and Harry Potter author J.K Rowling mocking his answer on Twitter. 

'BREAKING: New Zealand's new Prime Minister doesn't know what a woman is, despite replacing one as Prime Minister,' Piers Morgan wrote. 

New Zealand's former prime minister Jacinda Ardern resigned from office in press conference on January 24, announcing Mr Hipkins as her successor. 

J.K Rowling, who defines herself as 'pro-women,' tweeted: 'In the interests of balance, someone should now ask women how they define Chris Hipkins.'  

On Tuesday, Mr Hipkins said he still reads Harry Potter to his children, despite Rowling's tweet. 

Mr Hipkins added he stood by his answer but the issue of defining gender was 'not front of mind'.

'Ultimately, I'm aware that this is a very emotionally charged issue for some people, and as a leader, I don't want to contribute to that,' Mr Hipkins told NZ media.

British author J.K Rowling, who defines herself as 'pro-women', aslo mocked the Prime Minister's response (pictured)

The question on gender identity was raised in the wake of protests over anti-trans activist Kellie-Jay Keen. 

Keen was forced to leave New Zealand after she was attacked during a rally in Auckland in March. 

Mr Hipkins condemned the violence, but said that 'most' people at the rally were respectfully exercising their right to free speech. 

Keen labelled Mr Hipkins a 'gutless coward' and vowed to return to New Zealand at a later date.