Deal or not?: Labor offers Greens ministerial portfolios

Labor has offered the Green Party a deal that includes two ministerial portfolios, but is now up to a select group of key members of the Greens to accept that deal.

Whether the deal is accepted or not depends on a group of delegates from the Green Party, who are debating it at the moment.

The possible agreement would see that the Green Party would maintain the following portfolios outside the Cabinet:

* Marama Davidson will be appointed to the position of Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence and Deputy Minister for Housing (Homeless).

* Hon James Shaw will be appointed to the post of Minister of Climate Change and Associate Minister of Environment (Biodiversity).

The deal would also mean that the Labor Party leader and the Green Party co-leaders will meet every six weeks to monitor progress in the areas of cooperation set out in this deal.

The Chiefs of Staff will meet periodically.

Green Party ministers will attend Cabinet Committees for issues relevant to their portfolios and will receive Cabinet Documents relevant to their portfolios, as provided in the Cabinet Manual, as per the agreement.

“The Green Party agrees to support the Labor government by not opposing votes on matters of trust and supply throughout the term of this Parliament,” said the agreement, published by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

In addition, the Green Party will support the Labor Government in the procedural motions in the House and in the Select Committees in the terms established in this agreement.

“This will provide New Zealanders with the assurance of a strong and stable Labor government supported by the Green Party for the next three years.”

He said Shaw and Davidson have been granted ministerial positions, outside of cabinet.

“James knows climate change from the inside out,” Ardern said.

Ardern said that never before has a party won a majority under the MPP.

He said the deal “strikes the right balance.”

She said the deal means the Labor vote is now strengthened in the House.

Ardern said the government plans to work with the Opposition to increase the length of the parliamentary term.

She said there may be conciseness in this.

On Monday, he will be outlining the new cabinet.

Ardern will deliver a speech on the Government’s priority during this period.

He said a strong mandate for Labor will allow the government to “accelerate its response.”

Ardern said that this arrangement is based on the skills of those within the Green Party. It would also benefit the government, he said.

“I will use the mandate that we have been given.”

She said she never considered a coalition agreement and said that was “never on her mind.”

“We have certifiable and stability,” in the Chamber, he said.

Ardern said both Shaw and Davidson bring solid experience to the table.

On Davidson, he said it makes sense for the government to use his “passion.”

Ardern said Shaw and Davidson have “very clearly defined” areas that they will work on if the deal is approved.

Ardern said he was under the impression the Greens leadership was happy with the deal.

“We have been working together for three years,” he said. “We both have a win, a win with this arrangement.”

He said it is necessary to address reforms to electoral financing.

The possible agreement says that the Green Party will determine its own position in relation to any policy or legislative matter that is not covered by the ministerial portfolios and the areas of cooperation established in this agreement.

Key members of the Green Party have officially started debating whether or not to accept the government formation agreement presented by the Labor Party.

Co-leaders of the Greens James Shaw and Marama Davidson have been negotiating a deal with the Labor leadership for more than a week and now it is up to 138 delegates from the Green Party to decide whether that deal should be accepted.

Both Shaw and Davidson have not previously said what had been discussed behind closed doors.

Ardern told a news conference this afternoon that, in the interests of “transparency”, he would publish it before a final decision.

He said this agreement honors those who voted for a Labor majority.

Ardern said the deal would ensure that there was a majority in the chamber on the most important votes.

She said that “we will not stop” on recovering from Covid-19.

Ardern said there were several areas of political agreement in the agreement.

She said the deal means that the Labor vote is now strengthened in the House.

The outcome of the Greens’ decision will be broadcast later today, Ardern said.

The text of the possible agreement published by Ardern reads: “The Green Party agrees to support the Labor government to provide a stable government during the term of the 53rd Parliament. The parties agree to work in the best interest of New Zealand and New Zealanders, working to honor Te Tiriti or Waitangi, and to build and maintain public trust in the integrity of Parliament and our democracy.

“This agreement builds on the constructive and lasting working relationship between the two parties. It does so by establishing the agreements between the Labor and Green parliamentary parties regarding the ministerial portfolios and areas of political cooperation set out in this agreement.

“The Green Party agrees to support the Labor Government by not opposing votes on trust and supply issues throughout the term of this Parliament.”

But at the 4:30 pm press conference, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern revealed what she and her leadership team offered the Greens, in terms of their involvement in their government.

As Ardern prepared for the press conference, the Green Party delegates voted whether or not to accept what had been offered.

If more than 75 percent of the participants on the call approve, the agreement will be enacted.

But if not, the Greens will not return to the negotiating table and will spend the next three years in opposition.

However, this will not leave Ardern leading a minority government, as Labor won 64 of the 120 electorate seats in the elections.

The result of the Green delegate voting will likely be known later tonight.

After the 2017 elections, the Green Party adopted the same process when Labor presented it with the Bid and Trust agreement.

That agreement was overwhelmingly endorsed by delegates.

But in 2017, Ardern needed both the Greens and New Zealand First to get enough support to form a government.

This meant that both parties had a lot of influence and could ask that certain policies be included in the government’s agenda or that some of their deputies be ministers.

That’s not the case this time, so any deal offered to the Greens is unlikely to be as good as the one they got after the 2017 election.