Simeon Brown rules out Opportunity after Christopher Luxon appeared to rule the party in
National’s campaign chair Simeon Brown has poured cold water on remarks by leader Christopher Luxon that suggested National was open to doing a deal with Opportunity after the election.
At a public meeting in Greymouth on Thursday, Luxon was reported by The Press as saying he would work with “whoever” he had to ensure a second term. Luxon’s office has since said he was talking about working with Act and NZ First and that his ruling out of Opportunity still stood.
Luxon’s remarks appeared to refer to the controversy around deliberately splitting votes to trigger an overhang rather than ruling Opportunity in.
With most polls showing National would need the support of Opportunity to govern, this was interpreted as meaning Luxon was softening his months-old position of ruling out Opportunity from any post-election coalition.
Not so, said Brown this morning. Speaking to the Mike Hosking Breakfast on Newstalk ZB.
“No, I don’t think so,” Brown said when asked if Opportunity was now in play.
“We’ve been very clear as the National Party, we’re not doing a deal with the Opportunity Party … we’ve been very clear we’ll work with Act and NZ First, we’ve been very clear we’re not going to work with the Opportunity Party, that’s been our clear position that the Prime Minister has been saying.”
Brown said National was campaigning for a National Party vote and a vote for “anyone else” puts that at risk.
Brown claimed Luxon had been clear about the position, using the words “clear” or “very clear” five times in the space of about 90 seconds as he sought to clarify Luxon’s remarks.
Hosking disputed that Luxon had been clear, noting his remarks on the West Coast were not very clear.
Luxon told the Greymouth meeting: “There’s no value giving it [the party vote] to Act, there’s no value giving it to New Zealand First, you’re not helping me,” he said.
“I’ll make it work with whoever I have to in order to make sure we win and make it, take the show forward.
“But it is a lot easier when you’ve got a big, active party sitting around 20, 30 seats in that Cabinet to get that job done.”
Luxon vowed to support mining and work with “whoever” he has to, to ensure a second term, while campaigning on the West Coast.
Luxon, who has repeatedly ruled out working with the Opportunity Party, told the gathering of National supporters in Greymouth on Thursday night he would work with “whoever I have to” to ensure a second term.
However, his office says the Prime Minister’s comment was not a turnaround.
“The PM was referring to MPs from NZF and Act,” Luxon’s chief press secretary, Finn Stichbury, said on Friday morning.
MP Paul Goldsmith this morning backed his National leader in ruling out working with TOP.
“No, no”, Goldsmith said when asked by Nadine Higgins on Ryan Bridge TODAY if Seymour was “showing you guys some sense” in keeping the door open to the Opportunity Party rather than risk being in opposition.
“TOP are to the left of the Greens. The Prime Minister has been very clear … a vote for TOP is a vote for the left,” Goldsmith said.