Final results of the 2020 elections: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will not budge on cannabis laws, has no regrets about keeping silent on her vote

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will not advance cannabis legalization after the referendum to allow recreational use that narrowly failed.

But he does not regret the decision not to say in which direction he was voting before the elections.

“New Zealanders have made their own decisions.”

Special votes released this afternoon showed that the cannabis referendum only narrowly failed,
with 50.7 percent of the vote against the recreational use of cannabis.

Ardern said the government has a “health-based approach” when it comes to cannabis.

Ardern will ensure that that remains the case.

Ardern said that in many cases, people are prosecuted when possession of cannabis is in addition to other charges.

If there is a case where there is only one example of possession, then the police would be taking a more health-based approach.

Your intention is to “dig deep” into that and make sure it’s happening.

Trump, Biden and the US elections

When asked about Trump, he said there would be no expectation that he would comment on that.

“We have faith in American institutions” and its democracy, he said when asked.

He said New Zealanders would not like other world leaders commenting on the New Zealand elections.

He added that “there are still votes to count.”

He did not want to make assumptions about whether Biden would take back the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement.

He said the government has “worked very hard” on the relationship between the United States and New Zealand while Trump was president.

He said that if Biden won, NZ would continue to work hard on the relationship.

When asked about US elections, he said that every democracy is different.

“Each of us has our own systems.”

House prices

On the growth in house prices, Ardern said that housing remains a considerable problem for New Zealand.

He said the government should do everything possible to overcome affordability issues.

He said the government has more work to do.

Ardern said the market is now more determined by whether people’s parents can help them with a deposit.

You want to make sure that that is not the only way to own a home.

No deal with the Maori Party

When asked about the Maori Party, he said that Labor would not reach a formal agreement with them.

All the government formation agreements have already been made, he said.

When asked to summarize the cabinet mood today, Ardern said the scale and responsibility remained the same.

He said that being a minister is a privileged position.

Ardern said his government will seek to build consensus when possible.

“It will be case by case.”

He said that during the next few weeks, the government will advance many businesses.

Ardern said he told his ministers today that there are “major challenges” that the government must overcome.

Ardern confirmed that Parliament will open on Wednesday, November 25.

Parliament will rise on December 9.

“We have a very busy schedule until the end of the year,” he said.

Ardern said it was great to see Emily Henderson become a MP.

“But I would say, sitting at this table, it’s Aotearoa New Zealand.”

His first post-Cabinet press conference comes after the unveiling of the result of the special vote that has determined the final composition of Parliament.

Those votes show that the Labor Party increased its majority to 65 MPs, one more.

The numbers also show that three seats have changed hands since the tentative results.

Priyanca Radhakrishnan of Labor has beaten Maungakiekie over Denise Lee of National, Willow-Jean Prime of Labor has beaten Northland over Matt King of National, and Henderson of Labor has beaten Whangārei over Shane Reti of National.

Reti, who has a high enough position on the list, remains in Parliament, but Lee and King are out, awaiting any recount.

The Maori Party has also won another MP, when Debbie Ngarewa-Packer enters Parliament.

Ardern is expected to provide his reaction to this news.

She is also expected to be pressured on the updated results of the cannabis referendum.

That referendum fell from 53.1 percent against, to 50.7 percent, which means that in the end there were only a few thousand votes separating the “yes” and “no” votes.

Ardern repeatedly declined to say how he was voting in that vote, saying that it was the people of New Zealand who should make that decision.

After the final vote, he said that he had voted in favor.

Some have said that if Ardern had expressed this view publicly, the “yes” vote would have won.