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November 06, 2023
Numbers lining up for Government change
Claudette Hauiti
Posted On November 6, 2023
Download AudioPrime minister in waiting Chris Luxon says Te Pāti Māori increasing its MPs to six makes no difference to National forming a Government.
The two extra seats it got from special votes, Te Tai Tokerau and Tāmaki Makaurau, means it will be a 122-seat parliament, increasing to 123 after the Port Waikato by-election.
It doesn’t change the fact National needs both ACT and New Zealand First to form a Government.
He says all Te Pāti Māori has done is changed the shape of parliament with a two-seat overhang but makes no difference to the majority total of National ACT and NZF seats.
Mr Luxon says the final count means he can now move into formal coalition talks with ACT and New Zealand First.
“National, New Zealand First and ACT will have 68 seats ultimately I suspect in parliament. There will probably be 55 on the other side,” he says.
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