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The Labor class of 2020 was liberated into the wild and wonderful world that is New Zealand’s Parliament, and they are buzzing.
“Unbelievable, it hasn’t been assimilated yet,” said Steph Lewis, the new Labor MP from Whanganui.
“Of course, a little nervous, but mostly excited,” said Labor list new MP Rachel Brooking.
“I am very excited to meet all the new colleagues and it is a completely new adventure,” said Ingrid Leary, the new Labor MP for Taieri.
MPs receive a crash course to become MPs with tours of the maze of buildings. There is so much to see and so much to learn.
“Just finding our way,” said new Green Party deputy Teanau Tuiono.
“There are a lot of white men,” said another of the new Green deputies, Ricardo Menéndez March.
ACT frontman David Seymour had caffeine after a blowout over the weekend.
“A couple of champagnes, they really hit you,” he laughed.
He vows to take on the role of chief agitator for NZ First leader Winston Peters, who did not return to Parliament.
“My goal is to be Winston, but not an idiot,” he told The AM Show.
Seymour may not have the largest caucus, but surely the highest doubling rate – nine ACT MPs joined him in Parliament.
Seymour said he spent the day organizing. There’s a lot of that going on, especially with the prime minister trying to juggle a cabinet.
Chris Hipkins of Labor, who currently has the health portfolio, said he has not yet discussed with Jacinda Ardern whether he will keep it.
“I haven’t even had a chance to talk to the prime minister about it yet,” he said.
Andrew Little said there is “a lot of work for everyone and, you know, a lot of hands make the job easier.”
Raising his hand to be included is Green Party co-leader James Shaw.
Speaking to Newshub at the airport, he said it has been “very busy for the last 48 hours, so all of that will come later this week.”
When asked if he tapped Ardern on the shoulder on the flight, he laughed: “No, I was a few rows behind.”
Ardern doesn’t need to go back into the hallway, but he did meet up with the Greens on Monday anyway.
Newshub has been told that their meeting was just an update, a chinwag on how everything was shaken on Saturday, and that no negotiations were started. But they did talk about the process and timelines for the deal discussions.
Anyone who remembers the last election knows how long the negotiations can take. Winston Peters took almost a month to make up his mind and, coincidentally, exactly three years have passed since his D-Day, the day he crowned Jacinda Ardern as Prime Minister.
This time it should be faster. It’s much simpler, it’s up to Ardern if she brings the Greens or not.
The first meeting scheduled for tomorrow is the Labor Bonanza caucus, and they may need a larger meeting room.
