Incoming prime minister Christopher Luxon and ACT leader David Seymour are meeting today to discuss ministerial portfolio allocations, 1News understands.
It follows a similar meeting yesterday between Luxon and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters, where the cards were laid on the table about ministerial expectations.
A consideration in ministerial allocations will be proportionality — ensuring the right balance is struck when dishing out who gets what with ACT and NZ First.
All three parties will be in a coalition agreement together and therefore inside Cabinet, but there remains debate over which particular ministers will sit around the all-powerful Cabinet table.
Once ministerial portfolios are divvied up, all three parties will then take their respective agreements back to their boards for sign-off.
Yesterday Luxon hailed a “significant milestone” in coalition talks, closing out an “agreed policy programme” with both ACT and NZ First.
Seymour, however, said Luxon may have jumped the gun slightly.
“I wouldn’t say it’s as close as Chris Luxon says. I suspect Chris got up and had one too many Weet-Bix, but I can understand his enthusiasm, there’s just a couple more steps to go.”
NZ First’s Winston Peters said a deal hadn’t been reached yet but they were at the final stages with just a few “cross checks to go, and confirmation that the words and letters are right”.
He said discussion on ministerial positions was a “work in progress”.
