KEY POINTS:
Parliament is set to have a final session beginning on September 23, Prime Minister Helen Clark said today.
There has been some speculation that this week's sitting of Parliament could be the last before the election, but Miss Clark said today that was not her plan.
"It is our intention to be back on the 23rd (of September)... we are certainly not intending this to be our last week," Miss Clark said.
She would not say how long the final session of Parliament would last and Miss Clark said she had "no news" to share when asked about the election date.
Confirmation Parliament would convene for a last scheduled session all but ruled out an election being held on October 18, unless Miss Clark wanted to have a short formal election campaign of less than four weeks
This Parliament will expire on October 6 and an election must be held by November 15.
Dissolving this Parliament before that time and setting the election date is entirely the choice of Miss Clark.
Most people are picking November 8 as election day.
This week the Government is planning to pass the centrepiece of its climate change policy - the emission trading scheme bill (ETS).
This still has to complete its committee stage and since Wednesday is members' day, the earliest it could pass into law is Thursday.
Miss Clark also confirmed today that the Government would be adopting the Greens' Waste Minimisation Bill to ensure it passed before Parliament wound up.
Miss Clark has given few hints on her thinking about election dates and how long Parliament will sit for.
Miss Clark was most likely to prefer a longer formal election campaign in the hope she can trip up National leader John Key and eat into his party's lead in political popularity.
Some have speculated that the political storm surrounding New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters might destabilise the Government.
Miss Clark was relying on NZ First and the Greens to pass the ETS, and so far there has been no sign of Mr Peters threatening to withdraw support, or Miss Clark passing her judgment on his position.
- NZPA
