Politics Live Blog: October 16 - 22
Luxon taking advice from the Key/English era, details about next government still weeks away
LAWRENCE SMITH/STUFF
Incoming prime minister Christopher Luxon says it will take a few weeks to form the next government, as the full election result is not expected until November 3.
More than 500,000 "special votes", which are cast through late enrollments or by people travelling away from their electorates, are yet to be counted. The Electoral Commission expects to release those results on November 3.
In the meantime, Luxon has said he and the National Party will be talking with potential coalition partners ACT and NZ First - but he won't go into detail about those conversations.
Luxon is also in communication with key figures from the John Key era, including Key himself, Bill English, their chief of staff Wayne Eagleson, and former minister Steven Joyce.
Speaking on Morning Report, Luxon said National would keep lines of communication open with leaders of ACT and NZ First so as to form a government as soon as possible once the final election result is issues.
"We want to start building that relationship," he said.
He said he would be giving very little detail about what policies, promising and positions would be held by his coalition government, until those commitments have been finalised through negotiations.
Luxon is taking lessons from the past as he navigates those negotiations, and readies to lead the next government. He acknowledged many of National's senior figures, including himself, had no experience in government.
He told Newstalk ZB that he'd enlisted the help of English, Joyce and Eagleson, who had been coaching National's caucus on how to be ministers and how to lead the public service.
Those senior figures form Key's government would, no doubt, also have plenty of tips about how to work with David Seymour and Winston Peters.
More than 500,000 "special votes", which are cast through late enrollments or by people travelling away from their electorates, are yet to be counted. The Electoral Commission expects to release those results on November 3.
In the meantime, Luxon has said he and the National Party will be talking with potential coalition partners ACT and NZ First - but he won't go into detail about those conversations.
Luxon is also in communication with key figures from the John Key era, including Key himself, Bill English, their chief of staff Wayne Eagleson, and former minister Steven Joyce.
Speaking on Morning Report, Luxon said National would keep lines of communication open with leaders of ACT and NZ First so as to form a government as soon as possible once the final election result is issues.
"We want to start building that relationship," he said.
He said he would be giving very little detail about what policies, promising and positions would be held by his coalition government, until those commitments have been finalised through negotiations.
Luxon is taking lessons from the past as he navigates those negotiations, and readies to lead the next government. He acknowledged many of National's senior figures, including himself, had no experience in government.
He told Newstalk ZB that he'd enlisted the help of English, Joyce and Eagleson, who had been coaching National's caucus on how to be ministers and how to lead the public service.
Those senior figures form Key's government would, no doubt, also have plenty of tips about how to work with David Seymour and Winston Peters.