Prime Minister-elect Christopher Luxon and NZ First Leader Winston Peters join in Diwali festivities.
Video / Dean Purcell
National Leader Christopher Luxon and NZ First Leader Winston Peters have seen each other for the first time since it was confirmed the pair must work together to form the next Government.
Speaking in front of a crowd of thousands at Auckland’s Aotea Square for today’s Diwali celebration, Luxon addressed his kingmaker coalition partner but the pair did not speak, a party spokesperson confirmed.
“The right honorable Winston Peters is here,” Luxon said to Peters during his opening remarks.
He also acknowledged the attendance of his parliamentary colleagues. Among them was Labour list MP Priyanca Radhakrishnan and National MP Melissa Lee.
National Party leader and Prime Minister-elect Christopher Luxon at the Auckland Diwali Festival in Aotea Square. Photo / Dean Purcell
Peters refused to answer questions when approached by media.
Luxon told media shortly after the results were released yesterday afternoon he would “get cracking”. He said he would work through the weekend on coalition negotiations - but he could not guarantee completing those negotiations by the Apec gathering on November 12-13.
Peters told The Platform that Luxon had called him a mere two minutes after the final count was released.
The final election count, which included more than 600,000 special votes, saw National lose two seats compared with election night on October 14 and with it the slim one-seat majority it held with Act.
Due to Te Pāti Māori winning six electorates, Parliament will have a two-seat overhang, as they won more electorate seats than through their share of the party vote (3 per cent), with another seat to be added after the Port Waikato byelection making up a record 123 seats.
This means 62 seats would be needed by any of the parties to form a majority.
NZ First leader Winston Peters at the Auckland Diwali Festival today. Photo / Dean Purcell
On the final results, National dropped from 50 seats on election night to 48, while Act remained on 11. This gave the two parties a combined 59 seats, meaning another three seats are needed for them to form a government.
This brings NZ First into the picture, which remained on the eight seats it recorded on election night. Together the three parties would have 67 seats, with another seat likely to be added with Andrew Bayly the favourite to win the Port Waikato byelection.
Asked yesterday what is on the agenda, Peters told Sean Plunket on the Platform he had go to ahead in confidence and treat negotiations with urgency and deal with them as fast as possible.
Peters said he couldn’t, however, be “foolish about it”.
On Act and David Seymour, Peters told the Platform that he didn’t rule the party out during the campaign.
“What can we agree on... we can’t all get what we want, we have to get a sound much, much better government under way.”
After being asked about NZ First and Act working together, Peters said of the last Government’s policies: “What we had foisted upon us [was] unelected, un-campaigned on [change] from the other side, just rammed down our throats.
“We have to put our differences aside - that is the nature of politics.”
He said the most useful thing was for National, Act and NZ First to all get in the room together as opposed to separate conversations.
Peters thought negotiations could happen more quickly than some people may think.
“This is not my first negotiation, I’m only negotiating with one side, so to speak, not two and that’s why we can expedite this,” Peters said.
