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Labour will not be forming a formal coalition with the Greens

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Newshub can reveal Labour leader Jacinda Ardern will not be forming a formal coalition government with the Greens.

Instead, the Prime Minister is planning a lower-level support arrangement, but there will be no negotiations because the Greens have zero bargaining power – Labour is powerful enough on its own.

Labour’s class of 2020 met together for the first time on Tuesday and Ardern was absolutely giddy with success, welcoming 22 new MPs into the Labour caucus – one so large serious space sacrifices have been made.

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“I have not seen this room so full before,” Ardern told the caucus. “There’s no room for the sausage rolls.”

Labour now has 64 MPs – an outright majority – so the Greens are not needed to govern.

The Greens won’t mention a coalition and they’re not going to get it.

“We expect nothing,” Green Party co-leader James Shaw said, when asked if he expects there to be a formal coalition agreement with Labour.

The Greens will be offered a little more than nothing but not a lot.

“New Zealand has delivered us a mandate to be able to govern,” Ardern said. “What I’m looking for are areas of potential cooperation.”

Newshub understands that cooperation won’t be a fully-fledged coalition deal with the Greens in on all the action.

“I want to make sure that I’m having these conversations directly with the Green Party,” Ardern said, when asked if she could rule out a coalition with the Greens.

Labour leader Jacinda Ardern, Green Party co-leader James Shaw, and Labour's finance spokesperson Grant Robertson.
Labour leader Jacinda Ardern, Green Party co-leader James Shaw, and Labour’s finance spokesperson Grant Robertson. Photo credit: Getty

Ardern is also holding off making a call about who her deputy Prime Minister will be – either the deputy Labour leader Kelvin Davis or her Finance Minister and bestie Grant Robertson.

“Any decisions around roles and responsibilities are yet to be made,” Davis said.

“I totally support Kelvin, I mean he is the deputy leader of the Labour Party and he will remain the deputy leader of the Labour Party, I’m sure,” Robertson said.

But Labour deputy doesn’t necessarily mean Deputy Prime Minister.

“When it comes to the deputy leadership within the party I have no intention of changing that, however keep in mind, all of the role allocation I will work through over the next two weeks,” Ardern said.

In this party of winners, there are a couple of losers.

Helen White lost Auckland Central to the Greens’ Chloe Swarbrick.

“Sorry?” White said when asked why she lost to Swarbrick. When the question was repeated to her, White said: “I’ll talk to you later.”

Tamati Coffey also looks set to lose Waiariki to the Māori Party’s Rawiri Waititi.

“I’ve not conceded just yet,” he said, alluding to the special votes which are yet to be announced.

That’s for another day.

“Today we crack on with the mahi,” Ardern told her caucus.

And with such a large and rowdy bunch, Labour’s definitely got its mahi cut out for it.

So what happened to this promise ?? Went up not down

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Labour would lift 100,000 children out of poverty by 2020 – Ardern

1:22 pm on 5 September 2017

Labour leader Jacinda Ardern is committing to lifting 100,000 New Zealand children out of poverty by 2020 if her party is elected.

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Labour leader Jacinda Ardern Photo: RNZ

During last night’s Newshub leaders’ debate, National Party Bill English promised to set a specific target for reducing child poverty.

He said 50,000 children should be lifted out of poverty through the government families package announced in the Budget in May – and, if National was re-elected, further initiatives could double that result.

Ms Ardern told Morning Report this morning she was pleased but surprised to hear her National Party counterpart commit to a target.

When asked if Labour would commit to the same number by 2020, she said yes – measured as 50 percent of the median income.

“My goal is to eradicate child poverty in New Zealand,” she said.

“We can lift about 50,000 as well, when it comes to the extra 50,000 that of course is something that we’ll have to set targets for in government … Our package relative to his at budget time actually did more for lower or middle-income families.

“He said he’ll do 50 [thousand] based on his tax package, the extra 50 [thousand] I assume that means he’s going to have another tax package.

“If that means he’s going to only target low-income families, that’s positive.”

In the debate she claimed 290,000 children in New Zealand were living in poverty.

“That’s what most organisations in New Zealand tend to use,” she told Morning Report. That was based on UNICEF figures.

“It’s the number of families living on 60 percent or less of the median income.

“Bill English then disputed that figure, so a little bit of a lack of clarity around what he based that number on,” she said.

Ms Ardern said it was good to hear Mr English put a number on it after all these years. His predecessor, John Key, had refused to set a target, saying it was too hard to measure.

“After nine years we’ve finally got Bill English saying there’s child poverty in New Zealand. I think that’s a bit of a win.”

She said Labour had also already committed to the goal set by the Children’s Commissioner of cutting child poverty by 10 percent.

In Wellington this morning, Mr English defended his decision to announce a target on live television.

“It was just a great opportunity in a debate where everyone is focused on the election and you’d have to say they are very interested, it was a great opportunity to be able to announce that target in a way that people would actually see it and believe it.”

Mr English said several of National’s initiatives – such as an increase in the accommodation supplement and free GP visits for under-13s – would also help reduce child poverty.

Oh so true

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#JudithWon CRUSHINGLY. I enjoyed watching the #Stardust fly as Cindy went up against a professional politician who knows what she’s talking about. Ardern was exposed as the superficial postergirl for a party bereft of real policy. Once the PR buzzwords ran out she was lost.

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