Long weekend: Coalition talks hit final hurdle
Treaty of Waitangi issue and final structure yet to be agreed
How the next Government applies the Treaty of Waitangi in legislation and the public service remains unresolved as coalition negotiations appear close to an end.
The leaders of National, Act and New Zealand First are signalling a deal is imminent but it’s unlikely an announcement will come over the weekend as incoming PM Christopher Luxon says talks will continue into tomorrow if necessary.
It’s understood the next Government’s
application of the Treaty of Waitangi is still being discussed between the three parties.
Act remains hopeful its proposal to hold a referendum on the Treaty’s principles is still achievable, despite National showing no support for it.
NZ First has publicly stated its intention to reform Te Arawhiti, the office of Ma¯ori Crown relations, and address what it believes is the Waitangi Tribunal’s misinterpretation of the Treaty. NZ First MPs have stated a referendum is not something they had campaigned on.
Discussions were ongoing between Act and NZ First about how the two parties could converge on their priorities regarding the Treaty.
Also yet to be finalised was how the agreement between the three parties would be structured.
So far, Luxon had referenced the separate deals National was looking to strike between Act and NZ First, but it had raised questions over how the two smaller parties could be assured their promised policies would be supported by all three governing partners.
Last night, Luxon said the matter had been something the three leaders had spoken about and revealed a deal between Act and NZ First was “something that we will look to do”.
Pressed on why three separate deals were necessary, Luxon said he wouldn’t speculate publicly.
He also revealed a second meeting featuring all three party leaders would likely occur in the coming days but not before further talks between individual leaders took place over the weekend, likely in Auckland.
The three leaders have only met together once before and it was a brief encounter. Asked why there was a need for another three-way meeting, Luxon said it was important for all parties to be clear on what had been agreed and have an opportunity to raise any last-minute issues.
Yesterday morning, Luxon said he had scheduled meetings with both Peters and Seymour. However, he later admitted the Seymour meeting was no longer necessary and the pair had been communicating by phone to resolve remaining issues.
It was understood there was little need for the pair to meet given a deal was close to completion.
Luxon and Peters met for about two and a half hours, which the former described as “very good”.
Peters told reporters after yesterday’s meeting there were still points of disagreement to resolve.
However, speaking to the Weekend Herald about 5pm, he said it would be fair to say National and NZ First were close to an agreement on policy.
At the time, Peters had just left a meeting with Act representatives, which he described as positive.
All three leaders were indicating they were very close to reaching a deal, but remained reluctant to state when Kiwis could expect their next Government to be formed.
It was likely more in-person meetings would occur today in Auckland. Sunday’s agenda hadn’t been finalised.
Luxon had previously stated his preference to announce the final arrangement of the National-led Government in Wellington, but did not rule out talks continuing in Auckland tomorrow.
The formation of Luxon’s Cabinet and ministerial portfolios was being left to the end of negotiations, as was the confirmation of the next Deputy Prime Minister. Peters, Seymour and National deputy leader Nicola Willis had been cited as possible candidates.
Seymour previously said there had been loose discussions of the allocation of ministerial posts between Act and National, while Peters said talks between him and Luxon had concerned policy only.
Ahead of his meeting yesterday, Peters acknowledged some of NZ First’s policies had been ruled out during negotiations.
Peters refused to name those policies and said it was not the time to make those kinds of announcements. “We’ve got to do that collectively.” When asked if the next Government would deliver on promises of a mini-Budget before Christmas, Peters said: “I think I can say that, yes. Not a mini-Budget but an announcement.”