That's a wrap people - but only for today! Thanks for joining us for our post-election news.
Join us early tomorrow morning for the latest updates on our post-election coverage.
That's a wrap people - but only for today! Thanks for joining us for our post-election news.
Join us early tomorrow morning for the latest updates on our post-election coverage.
NZ first leader Winston Peters arriving at their office at the Treasury in Wellington.
Questions Winston Peters faced included whether he’d spoken to Christopher Luxon, what Luxon might have said to him, how long he was planning to stay in Wellington, whether he’d been offered the speakership and when he would make his next statement.
He answered none.
NZ First leader Winston Peters has touched down in Wellington and was completely silent during the two minute walk through the airport to his taxi.
There were a few cheers from people inside the airport as they saw Peters. Media plied him with questions but he answered none, only rewarding some with a slight grin.
Some onlookers called out, encouraging him to retain the gold card.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the party will be focusing on being a robust opposition and reconnecting with the communities which they lost support from in this election.
He told AM that it was important that they become an opposition that can hold the new Government to account, especially given they had made big promises.
Hipkins said the party still needed time to digest the result of the election before discussions about his leadership would be had.
“We need to digest why we lost this election and then in the future, what commitments we’ll make,” he said.
Regarding recent comments made by outgoing Labour list MP Dan Rosewarne about the loss of his Koru Club membership Hipkins said “going from a member of parliament to a member of the public can be a significant change.”
He said the process of losing a seat was brutal and that outgoing MPs deserved a bit of space, and he did not expect them to be perfect.
National has said on the campaign trail it wants to cut public sector back-office expenditure by an average of 6.5 per cent across a number of key government agencies.
Meanwhile, Act leader David Seymour has said he wants to make 15,000 public servants redundant “as fast as possible”.
Kia ora! If you're only joining us now, here are some of the main points from the post-election coverage so far today:
Outgoing Labour MP Andrew Little thinks current party leader Chris Hipkins is the best person to lead the party in opposition.
He told the AM Show this morning Hipkins’ inner mongrel came out during the election campaign and “that is what you need as a leader of the opposition to take the fight to the government of the day.”
Little also said Hipkins is the best person to take the party into another election.
“I think he has the skills, the talent, and the intellect to do it again,” he said.
“I have worked with him in opposition and in government and he has shown he can work in both sides of the aisle, but that is his decision to make.”