Sharples lifts lid on talks with Nats

National has renewed its courting of the Maori Party -- possibly in an attempt to thwart Labour's march towards government.

Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples today said National had approached the party this week and there had been talks.

The move comes as caretaker prime minister Helen Clark holds talks with minor party in a bid to seal support for her new government.

Labour has held talks with the Greens, New Zealand First, United Future and the Maori Party.

Miss Clark needs 61 votes on confidence and supply and more meetings are expected today.

The Maori Party, which has four MPs, is holding a series of hui around the country to get feedback from members and its position will not be finalised until Monday.

Dr Sharples said that, although unlikely, a deal with National was still on the table and that was one of the options Maori Party MPs were putting to members at the hui.

"It is one of the things we are putting in front of our people," he told NZPA.

Maori Party papers handed out at the hui offer two options -- to stay in Opposition or to enter a confidence and supply agreement.

All the speculation has been around the party offering confidence and supply to Labour, but the papers do not spell out a specific party.

Dr Sharples said those papers could refer to a deal with either National or Labour.

However the Maori Party and National are at loggerheads over the Maori seats.

National wants them scrapped, while the Maori Party wants them entrenched so they cannot be removed by a simply majority vote in Parliament.

Nearly all the talk at the hui so far has been about whether the party should attempt to go into coalition with Labour or whether it should remain independent and sit on the cross benches.

Party leaders have indicated that if its does the latter it may still support a Labour-led government on confidence and supply.

National has barely been discussed.

National first talked to the Maori Party's leaders in the days immediately after the election, but leader Don Brash conceded defeat to Miss Clark at the weekend after the tally of special votes resulted in National dropping a seat to end up with 48, two less than Labour's 50.

Dr Sharples said National was trying to build up its support and he understood the party was also talking to United Future and New Zealand First.

That suggests it is positioning itself in case Labour is unable to form a government, or the one it forms comes unstuck mid-term.

The renewed approach may also merely be an attempt to sabotage Labour's talks.

United Future leader Peter Dunne said he had met National leader Don Brash after the election and again last week, The New Zealand Herald newspaper reported today.

There had been no subsequent contact as United Future was at the moment negotiating in good faith with Labour, he told the newspaper.

NZ First senior MP Brian Donnelly told the newspaper he was not aware of any discussion between the party and National and believed it unlikely.

National deputy leader Gerry Brownlee today refused to comment to NZPA on the talks.

However when contacted earlier by the Herald Mr Brownlee did not deny there was contact between National and parties Miss Clark is meeting.

"We have maintained at all times the channels are open. It's not unusual for politicians to talk among one another."

- NZPA