John Key: 'Odd' final result will make us work harder

Name: National loses majority, Greens gain seat
Uploaded: 2014-10-05T08:42:16+13:00
Duration: 235 s
Description: The National Party can no longer govern alone as the final election results left them with one fewer seat than on election night. That seat will instead go to the Green Party, who will increase their total number of seats to 14. List MP Steffan Browning will return to Parliament.

NZ Herald

5 Oct, 2014 08:12 PM2 mins to read

The National Party can no longer govern alone as the final election results left them with one fewer seat than on election night. That seat will instead go to the Green Party, who will increase their total number of seats to 14. List MP Steffan Browning will return to Parliament.

Prime Minister John Key says he is a little disappointed by final election results which mean National will not be able to govern alone.

Speaking on Newstalk ZB this morning, Mr Key said it was unlikely National have would passed legislation without the support of its coalition partners.

"Really, what legislation would be passed that either Act, or United [Future] or the Maori Party would find so unacceptable that they wouldn't vote for it, or, alternatively any other party in Parliament.

"I guess it makes you work that little bit harder, which is no bad thing. It's just odd actually more than anything, because it's a very, very complex mathematical formula, but the advice that we had was that it was pretty unlikely we would lose one [seat] because we got the 119th seat and not the 120th, but effectively what happened was the special's [votes] were so massively skewed against us.

"It just seems odd - we got about 48 per cent of the vote across the country."

Mr Key is due to announce his Government's ministerial portfolios by 11am today. He told Newstalk ZB that the list would reflect a theme of rejuvenating and promoting talent.

"I think one of the failings I thought of, [to] put it in those terms of Helen Clark, was that in those three terms that she had, she did leave the party a bit vulnerable the day when it was all over and she and Michael Cullen went.

"There was so much power and control and energy occupied by those two top spots and so you had this very weakened party and you see that on display now.

"One of my big jobs is to make sure that I can continue to develop the party so there's bench strength just in the same way that Steve Hansen has to do that for an All Black team and a chief executive does that for a company."