Policy by policy in power play

"Policy is everything.''

NZ First leader Winston Peters

Winston Peters says negotiations were ‘‘very constructive’’ on Sunday and he expects to continue those meetings all day and into the night on Monday.

He said the talks were dealing with things ‘‘policy by policy’’ because that was what ‘‘really matters’’.

‘‘Policy is everything, otherwise it’s just about personalities,’’ he said after a two-hour meeting with Labour.

Earlier in the day Peters met with National for about half an hour longer.

After the talks, Labour leader Jacinda Ardern said the meeting had been excellent and productive.

‘‘Negotiations will continue for Labour with the parties that we are looking to form a stable durable coalition government with,’’ she said. The NZ First leader said he felt the negotiations were ‘‘going forward’’ and progress was being made.

‘‘If you go into talks with a mind that’s not neutral, not independent, if you go into it with an open mind you’ll possibly get the right outcome.

‘‘If you don’t keep your eyes wide open to all the possibilities, you may miss a great chance for your country and for the country’s economic and social progress,’’ Peters said.

All nine possible scenarios of government, including coalition or supply and confidence with National or Labour or sitting on the cross benches, were all still on the table.

‘‘Eventually things will go to the full caucus and full board on both sides; ... to ours anyway,’’ he said.

The NZ First board was on ‘‘standby’’.

The talks may be further advanced than first thought while many commentators question whether Peters’ self-imposed deadline of Thursday may be too tight.

On his way to the 3pm Labour meeting Peters briefly stopped to say he had ‘‘precisely nothing to say about these meetings at all until they are completed’’.

On the special vote count taking two seats off National, Peters said it was ‘‘rather important to wait and that’s a fact’’.

Earlier Peters had said the 21⁄2-hour meeting with National had gone ‘‘fine, thank you very much’’. The parties met briefly last week to agree on how the talks would proceed but Peters and Labour were keen to wait until after Saturday’s return of special votes.

That saw Labour and the Greens pick up one seat each and National lose two seats, strengthening the Left bloc but still leaving both sides reliant on NZ First to form a government.

But a source said party spokespeople had been ‘‘reaching out’’ to their counterparts to open discussions ahead of the formal talks while another insider said there had been ‘‘frenetic activity’’ behind the scenes.

That included a previouslyreported eight-hour NZ First caucus on Wednesday that spilled over into Thursday.

On Saturday the Green and Labour leadership held talks in Auckland.

There have also been instructions within the two big parties for key MPs to prepare for talks by identifying areas of agreement and major sticking points.

Peters has said he will announce his choice on Thursday, when the formal election result, or ‘‘writ’’, is returned.

Both main party leaders will be vying to make an offer Peters can’t refuse without abandoning their core principles.

He is expected he will be offered the foreign affairs role and deputy prime minister as well as his passion, the racing portfolio.

After special votes were counted on Saturday, Labour and the Greens gained one seat each, meaning a National/NZ First coalition would reach 65 seats while Labour/Greens/NZ First would get to 63 seats - a majority with two votes to spare.

National announced earlier this year it would raise the retirement age to 67 in 2030 but Peters is expected to make it a condition of any deal that the age stays at 65.

Peters is set to build on his legacy SuperGold card, extending it from public transport to a fullfledged e-wallet providing discounts on doctors’ visits and eye tests, and perhaps even power bills.