Politics Blog
Watch: The six questions it took to get Simeon Brown to say if finance role up for negotiation with David Seymour
National campaign chairperson Simeon Brown has just spoken to reporters, in a press conference where he declared: "New Zealanders deserve to know what policies will be on the negotiating table".
Brown then faced questions about what policies and roles National was willing to negotiate with ACT and NZ First.
He initially wavered when asked if ACT leader David Seymour could be finance minister under a future coalition.
On current polling, there is a real chance that current finance Minister Nicola Willis will not return to Parliament after the election. That is because she is running as a list only candidate, and National's polling has slipped to a point where it may not win any list seats.
He insisted that Willis would return to Parliament. Then he endorsed Seymour as a competent associate finance minister.
"David Seymour has been for the last three years an associate finance minister and has played a really important role, helping to find savings, making sure that we can have a track back to surplus and deal with the very many challenges that we're facing in the New Zealand economy," Brown said.
Asked a second time if Seymour could be finance minister, if Willis didn't return to Parliament, Brown said: "She will make it back."
Asked again, he said: "I'm not going into hypotheticals."
Asked yet again, he said: "We're not entertaining hypotheticals. We are focused on making sure that New Zealanders think the choice is between National and Labour. "
Asked for what could have been a sixth time, he eventually committed to National holding the finance portfolio.
"National governments have National Party finance ministers, and that will be Nicola Willis," he said.
Brown then faced questions about what policies and roles National was willing to negotiate with ACT and NZ First.
He initially wavered when asked if ACT leader David Seymour could be finance minister under a future coalition.
On current polling, there is a real chance that current finance Minister Nicola Willis will not return to Parliament after the election. That is because she is running as a list only candidate, and National's polling has slipped to a point where it may not win any list seats.
He insisted that Willis would return to Parliament. Then he endorsed Seymour as a competent associate finance minister.
"David Seymour has been for the last three years an associate finance minister and has played a really important role, helping to find savings, making sure that we can have a track back to surplus and deal with the very many challenges that we're facing in the New Zealand economy," Brown said.
Asked a second time if Seymour could be finance minister, if Willis didn't return to Parliament, Brown said: "She will make it back."
Asked again, he said: "I'm not going into hypotheticals."
Asked yet again, he said: "We're not entertaining hypotheticals. We are focused on making sure that New Zealanders think the choice is between National and Labour. "
Asked for what could have been a sixth time, he eventually committed to National holding the finance portfolio.
"National governments have National Party finance ministers, and that will be Nicola Willis," he said.
Simeon Brown and David Seymour. Stuff
In Stuff's Ask Me Anything with Seymour, he indicated he was interested in being finance minister - but said that would be a conversation for after the election.
With Brown committing to a National minister holding the finance portfolio, he was then asked about NZ First leader Winston Peters' campaigning for his party to hold the immigration portfolio.
Brown didn't rule out having NZ First take on immigration.
"Look, ultimately, we are focused on making sure that National wins this election," he said.
NZ First announced its immigration policy in September, which included the party holding the immigration portfolio if re-elected to government.
With Brown committing to a National minister holding the finance portfolio, he was then asked about NZ First leader Winston Peters' campaigning for his party to hold the immigration portfolio.
Brown didn't rule out having NZ First take on immigration.
"Look, ultimately, we are focused on making sure that National wins this election," he said.
NZ First announced its immigration policy in September, which included the party holding the immigration portfolio if re-elected to government.
Peters said it was “imperative that a New Zealand First minister holds the immigration portfolio”.
Both Peters and deputy NZ First leader Shane Jones have faced criticism, including from National, for comments about immigrants. Peters targeted a Chinese-Kiwi MP in Parliament, telling him to "go back" to China where they "lie like a flat fish".
And Jones described potential immigration from India to New Zealand as a "butter chicken tsunami".