A newly installed gender-busting Santa Claus is on display at Auckland's Ponsonby Central.

Dressed in fish-net stockings, holding a bag and umbrella, this jolly statue pushes the stereotype of the traditional male Santa Claus.

In a touch of luck, the statue went up the same week Simon Bridges created controversy by saying: "Mary Poppins is a woman, Santa Claus is a man. That's how it should be."

"You guys this morning are telling me that man didn't walk on the moon, now you're telling me Santa's a woman - I just want a few things I can believe in," Bridges told The AM Show.

The creators said the new "Mary Poppins Santa" is set to put a fresh perspective on the gender diversity conversation.

"Our representation of Santa can be Mary Poppins or whatever race/gender/persuasion we prefer and can imagine. The Coca-Cola company doesn't have a monopoly on what he/she looks like," they said.

The team at Ponsonby Central and Blunt umbrellas created the Mary Poppins themed St Nick in a tongue in cheek response to Simon Bridges. Photo / Radlab