Christopher Luxon and Nicola Willis arrive at the Cordis hotel on Sunday. Photo: RNZ / Giles Dexter
The weekend is ending without a government being formed, more than five weeks after election day, as caretaker Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said today "my boxes were packed several weeks ago".
National Party leader Christopher Luxon and NZ First leader Winston Peters left the Cordis Hotel in Auckland where coalition talks are ongoing this afternoon, and said there would be no more in-person meetings today.
Peters left today's coalition talks with National shortly after noon, following a 90-minute meeting with Luxon.
Luxon said the rest of the day's meetings and conversations would be over phone and conference call.
He told reporters he anticipated he would still be in Auckland for the next few days.
It has now been more than five weeks since the 14 October election, and more than two weeks since the final vote total was announced, where special votes saw National and ACT lose their majority, needing NZ First to form a government.
Labour Party leader and caretaker prime minister Chris Hipkins broke his own political silence today as the party called for a ceasefire in Gaza. Hipkins said he was speaking strictly in his role as party leader.
He did note it had been five weeks since the election with "no end in sight" and that was a reason he was making a statement on the ongoing Israel conflict today.
"Five weeks is a long time to continue to stay silent on an issue that's as important as this one."
"It's been five weeks. I would have articulated the Labour Party's position earlier, but I have been caretaker prime minister," Hipkins said.
"I conceded the election over five weeks ago.
"My boxes were packed several weeks ago. We are ready to hand over the keys just as soon as the incoming government are ready to sort themselves out and do that."
Hipkins noted that, unlike in 2017, where Peters and New Zealand First held the balance of power between National and Labour, there should be no suspense in the final government make-up.
Labour ruled out working with NZ First this election.
"This is not a negotiation to determine who the government is going to be, that was determined five weeks ago."
In an interview with RNZ reporters this afternoon, ACT party leader David Seymour said "it carries on" when asked how negotiations were going.
"The issues are narrowing but of course, you save the hardest issues till last. That's why there's been a sense that we're nearly there, but we're still nearly there a few days later."
Seymour said progress had been made, however.
'Getting closer and closer' - Luxon
Earlier today, Luxon said a deal was down to the very last stages.
"We're getting closer and closer to getting an outcome where we can have a coalition government that is strong and stable and can take New Zealand forward," he told media waiting outside the Cordis Hotel.
Asked by one journalist about why the "final stages" of talks seemed to be lasting several days, Luxon responded that they would take as long as they needed to and the leaders needed to "bottom out" the last couple of issues.
"We've got to work our way through it."
Luxon said negotiations had not just centred on face-to-face meetings - there had been a lot of phone calls between the leaders.
He had spoken to both Seymour and Peters by phone this morning as well as members of his caucus and the National Party's board.
"Things are moving and that's why we want to close it out with a meeting."
He said once a deal had been secured, it would be formally announced in Wellington.
Winston Peters arrives for more talks with Chris Luxon. Photo: RNZ / Giles Dexter
ACT leader David Seymour and Peters met face-to-face this morning.
Peters confirmed to media the meeting had taken place, when he arrived at the hotel at midday.
He said it was "an urgent matter" to try and make progress.
"We've been working seriously hard on it ..."
He refused to provide any details on his talks with Seymour this morning, except to say: 'We're out to get to a conclusion as soon as we can."
On Saturday Luxon said the cost of holding talks in Auckland to form a new government was the price of democracy.
Today marked the fifth day of discussions between National, New Zealand First and ACT at hotels in the city as the country waits to see the shape of its new government.
Luxon said he was comfortable with taxpayers footing the bill (via Parliamentary Services), saying aside from the get-togethers being part of the democratic process the leaders of all three parties lived in Auckland.
He said the parties were trying to get a deal done as quickly as possible.