Coalition deal forecast by Monday

By ANDREW LAXON

Labour and the Alliance plan to sign a formal coalition agreement next Monday and announce cabinet positions by the middle of next week.

However, the coalition deal will not set out detailed policy positions like those thrashed out by National and New Zealand First three years ago.

Labour leader and Prime Minister-elect Helen Clark said yesterday that the agreement would not cover policy.

"That is largely for the budget process because it involves, in many cases, spending and how much money there is and how fast you can do things.

"So really this agreement is about how you work together, what are the rules and that is why it is not going to take very long."

Yesterday was the first day of coalition negotiations between the Labour team of Helen Clark, deputy leader Michael Cullen, policy expert Heather Simpson and the party's secretary-general, Rob Allan, and the Alliance team of leader Jim Anderton, deputy leader Sandra Lee, chairman Matt McCarten and constitutional law expert Dr Andrew Ladley.

Afterwards Helen Clark said she was confident a deal could be presented to the Labour caucus and council on Friday and to the Alliance caucus and council on Saturday.

"We're hoping we'll be in a position to sign the coalition agreement formally next Monday and move on to the selection of ministers by the middle of the week."

She said the parties had a pretty good idea of how cabinet posts should be divided.

The biggest sticking point in forming a Labour-Alliance cabinet is likely to be how many seats and important portfolios the Alliance will get.

The party is expected to win four seats, with an economic development job for Mr Anderton, housing for Sandra Lee and justice for Matt Robson. MPs John Wright, Laila Harre and Phillida Bunkle would then fight it out for a possible fourth place inside the cabinet.

Helen Clark also confirmed yesterday that her Government would scrap National's Superannuation 2000 Taskforce. "We have a policy," she said. "You have a taskforce when you don't have a policy."

Meanwhile, former NZ First MP Neil Kirton briefed the Alliance caucus yesterday on how to cope with being a junior coalition partner.

Mr Kirton, who was sacked by his leader, Winston Peters, for defying his senior Health Minister, Bill English, said he planned to go back and spray the apples at his orchard near Napier.