ACT leader David Seymour says he expects the second biggest party in the new government would have a strong case to secure the role of deputy prime minister.
Seymour made the comments outside National Party leader and incoming prime minister Christopher Luxon’s house in Auckland today, following a meeting inside.
He said there was “still a lot of negotiating going on” in coalition talks.
Yesterday, Luxon announced policy discussions had concluded and only ministerial roles were left to be decided. Seymour later countered that Luxon may have had “too many Weet-Bix” and got over-excited.
Today, Seymour said part of the formation of the government included putting people in roles that aligned with the policy goals of the government “as well as their own skills and passions”.
He said there had been a “really constructive” discussion “about what the shape of the government is, as opposed to the policy objectives of the government”.
Those discussions would be ongoing, he said, but ACT was happy with the direction they were headed in so far, he said.
“ACT wants to be able to play a positive role in government and a role that aligns with the objectives that ACT has.”
He said there was a goal for the government to have the “right people in the right place”.
“I think that we’re achieving that. I wouldn’t say it’s robust, I’d say it’s collaborative and constructive, which is how we’re going to have to be for the next three years.”
He said his expectation was that proportionality to party vote was important when handing out ministerial roles between ACT and New Zealand First, and that he would expect the second biggest party could have strong case in securing the role of deputy prime minister.
He said it was more important to “take our job seriously rather than ourselves seriously”.