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Ardern wants more support for small business loans and $ 300 million in cash incentives to hire the unemployed by the end of the year.
And while he is revealing little about a possible government deal with the Greens, he is emphasizing the “strong mandate” given to Labor and the need to retain voters who may have turned to Labor for the first time.
“I said I want to talk to the Greens and I will next week, but … that mandate exists for Labor,” Ardern said.
Collins, leader of the National Party, told Mike Hosking of Newstalk ZB today that “there will be no bloodshed” despite his party’s devastating electoral defeat to Labor.
She would remain as leader, despite knowing that some in the party did not support her and had caused problems during the campaign.
“I’m not into this vengeful thing, bloodshed.
“I think when the team has a good chance to win, they recover and behave, and what we saw was that most people did the right thing, they worked so hard and they were totally supportive.
“But times of stress can be opportunities to show character and some make mistakes.
“In general, it will make me sad to see people lose their jobs.”
When he took over the leadership, he knew it would be an “incredible journey.”
“It has been comprehensive, and I was pleased to provide the required leadership.
“I am not going to resign, I am not personally there for the glory of the opposition leader, I do not think there is any glory in that. I do not think there is any movement underway, I am very focused on 2023.”
Personally, he felt “good” despite the great loss.
“We did everything we could do … sometimes you just need to keep going. Get up and move on.
“I’m hoping to get hit by something, but I’m not [feeling it]. I was in rugby yesterday and I thought that was the kind of result we wanted. “
While his leadership problems, which changed three times in four months, “didn’t help,” Collins attributed the loss directly to the “Covid tsunami.”
“We did the right thing to at least present a credible economic plan, it made no sense to talk about Covid because every time it made people more scared about their health.
“But it will be nice to have a review on what went wrong and what went right.”
Greens co-leader James Shaw told Hosking not to read “too much” in the Prime Minister’s words so far about a possible coalition deal with the Labor Party, and that they simply want to “see how it goes.”
He had spoken to Ardern since Saturday.
“We congratulate each other on the respective victories on Saturday. Obviously it was a great night for Labor, they made history and so did we. We said, ‘Good for you, and we’ll talk in the next few days.’
They had a caucus this morning, inductions for new MPs, but over the next few days they would be looking to arrange a meeting with Labor. No specific meeting was set up, but this was not necessary, Shaw said.
“We didn’t know how the elections would play out, we have to let the dust settle,” Shaw said.
The Greens had previously established six priorities.
“We will sit down and ask what we can do with these priorities.”
When Hosking asked what the Greens would do if the Labor Party said they don’t want to honor them, he said: “They won’t say … it’s been a good partnership … we have a constructive working relationship.
“We have spent the last three years in government together.
“We have many shared ideas and a shared vision of how we want our country to move forward.”
The idea that all of his priorities would be rejected was an “absurd statement,” Shaw said.
“I think people think it is more transactional than it is. We have spent the last three years in government together.”
But the relationship this time was different than in 2017, when Labor needed the Greens, as opposed to this election when Labor could rule alone.
Shaw said he still thought they could contribute something to any new government, with highly specialized and focused ministers.
Having a larger majority in the chamber would affect things like select committee membership, and they also needed to look to 2023.
“There are many good reasons to continue the partnership we have had.”
Ardern said yesterday that he hoped to form the next government within two to three weeks, and saw the election victory as an endorsement of Labor’s Covid response and the recovery plan in particular.
“What was the message, particularly [from] Those New Zealanders who may have voted for Labor and have not done so before?
“I think they were backing the work we’ve done at Covid and supporting the plan we have to move forward.”
First priorities
She said the first of the blocks will be the flexible salary scheme and changes to the small business cash flow loan scheme.
The first would subsidize companies an average of $ 7,500 and up to $ 22,000, if they give unemployed Kiwis a sustainable job; The $ 311 million plan is estimated to support up to 40,000 jobs.
The latter would extend the loan scheme until the end of 2023, while doubling the interest-free period from one year to two years. The criteria would also be extended beyond basic expenses to include investment in new equipment or digital infrastructure, or to help adapt to the impacts of Covid-19.
Ardern said Labor plans for the loan scheme had not received the green light in the previous coalition.
“We can go ahead with the implementation.”
He added that the community case of Covid-19 in the dock worker, revealed yesterday, was an example of the operation of border controls as they should.
“There is nothing to suggest the need to change any of the restriction levels.”
He said he would go ahead with everything in the Labor election manifesto, but there was also license to go further in some circumstances.
“There will always be problems that will arise over the course of a term.”
Former Prime Minister Helen Clark and former Finance Minister Sir Michael Cullen encouraged Ardern to embrace the center.
“The reality is that elections in New Zealand are won in the center,” Clark said.
“I think he will want to continue governing in a way that includes a fairly broad spectrum, and with regard to where the economy can go from here, [she] I would definitely want to include the voices of those in the business community on how to rebuild. “
Cullen said the election result was a mandate for action on, among other things, climate action and transportation infrastructure.
But it was not an invitation to lurch to the left in terms of tax or welfare reform, he said, and any attempt to leap in that direction could risk losing “middle voters.”
Ardern will be heading to Wellington today and meeting his group today and tomorrow.
It seemed to pour cold water on any governing deal with the Maori Party, whose candidate Rawiri Waititi won the Waiariki seat by a slim margin of 415 votes.
“As I seek to be a consensus builder
I also want simple arrangements for this next term. “
She said the leaders of Spain, Denmark, the United Kingdom and Canada had contacted her to congratulate her, but had not heard from Donald Trump.
“I don’t usually have those direct communications with the president of the United States,” Ardern said.
