Seymour and Peters battle it out in final leg of talks

Analysis: “We’re in the final stages, we’ve got a couple of things to close out. I’m confident we can do that, but it will take as long as it takes.”

That was the latest update from the incoming Prime Minister on Wednesday afternoon as he, Act leader David Seymour, and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters kept battling it out over ministerial posts.

Though that all left a sense an announcement could still be days away, Newsroom understands all parties are anticipating a deal getting across the line on Thursday.

Christopher Luxon, Seymour and his senior MPs, Brooke van Velden and Nicole McKee, flew into Wellington on Wednesday night, as did senior NZ First MP Shane Jones.

The Act party board already met on Tuesday night to do the bulk of the signing-off process, and the New Zealand First board will be ready to do the same on Thursday morning.

Most of its board is already in Wellington, with just the remaining missing members – Peters and his close advisor Darroch Ball – due to arrive in Wellington on Thursday.

The difference in arrival times of the leaders and MPs have been largely due to which flights they were offered by Air New Zealand.

Senior staff at the airline have been managing and coordinating available seats for the incoming government, because of Wellington Airport experiencing a huge backlog after fog struck on Tuesday.

To try to manage expectations on Wednesday, Luxon pointed to slower examples of government negotiations to shed some positive light on his own.

“I’d just say, it was 10 months to get a government formed in the Netherlands with a similar system. I think we’re doing pretty well.”

On Tuesday it seemed the ministerial posts would be a fast and easy final aspect to work through, but then Seymour went public with his pitch to be deputy prime minister.

Until then it had been almost a done deal that Peters would get it, mainly because Seymour has always indicated he wanted policy wins, not the baubles of office.

Seymour has lived by that sentiment in his time in Parliament, turning down ministerial roles in John Key’s executive so he could pursue his member’s bill in support of legally assisted dying.

It’s likely Seymour remains unbothered by the title and was instead using it to make some other gains.

New Zealand First appears to have taken a similar approach by putting a claim on the Attorney-General role.

Knowing it would likely be a long shot, Peters has taken the approach of putting it on the table so that if it’s refused, he can leverage it for something else.

On Wednesday evening, Luxon was still hammering out the last of the jobs with Seymour and Peters, while their respective chiefs of staff worked on the final wording of the coalition deal.

The hope from all three parties is that the final shape of the new government can be announced on Thursday, followed by an official signing of the coalition deal at Parliament.

At that point parliamentary services can start moving MPs into their new offices before a swearing-in ceremony on Monday.

“I know all leaders from all three parties want to move incredibly quickly. We want to get into a 100-day joint action plan, and as a result we will then be running Parliament, I suspect, right up until the last week of Christmas,” Luxon told media on Wednesday.

A big job ahead that can only begin once pen is finally put to paper on a deal.

All three leaders will be hoping that moment comes on what is now 40 days since the country voted for a new government.