Prime Minister John Key signed two insurance agreements yesterday in the form of confidence and supply deals with Act and United Future.
Neither smaller party has extracted an explicit commitment to change a policy in the deal in their own right as they did in the previous two deals in 2008 and 2011.
There will be a lot of consultation, co-operation, and goodwill.
Essentially both parties have been given a position in the executive in return for their votes on confidence and supply issues.
United Future's Peter Dunne returns to his portfolio of Internal Affairs, Associate Minister of Health and Associate Minister of Conservation and an entitlement to a Crown limo.
Act's David Seymour enters Parliament as Under-Secretary to the ministers of Education - likely to be Hekia Parata again - and the Minister of Regulatory Reform, Bill English, with no entitlement to a Crown limo.
But Mr Key signalled yesterday he would get a ministerial role later in the term, unless he turns out to be hopeless.
Crucially, as a member of the executive, Mr Seymour will be able to set up an office with about three staff, and perhaps another staffer, with the funding he will get as the recognised parliamentary leader of Act.
It's not a matter of "job for boys" so much as taxpayer funding that other parties get to promote themselves, their parties and to keep across every important political development.
Mr Dunne and Mr Seymour's votes may not be needed at all given that National has 61 seats in a 121-seat Parliament.
They may be needed in two possible circumstances: in the unlikely event of National losing a seat when the final vote is declared later this week, the deals will be crucial.
The small parties would, however, be crucial in the event of a rebellious backbench National MP.
The closest Mr Key has come to a rebel so far has been former MP Tau Henare refusing to rule out wanting to become Speaker.
At this stage it is hard to pick which backbencher could go off the rails.
The risk is higher when there is a large new intake and the Government is taking unpopular measures, as was the case with National's rebels in 1990-93, encouraged by Winston Peters.
National has 15 new MPs this time, nine in electorates and six list MPs but the conditions are not similar.
There are no broken promises against which to rebel. And the party list is a disincentive to independent behaviour, and given that three of the nine electorate MPs came in through a de-selection or threat of de-selection, constituency MPs cannot be considered absolutely secure.
The biggest risk of rebellion would be from experienced MPs who have fallen out with their colleagues.
Under the parliamentary system, the Prime Minister and the party cannot order an MP to resign.
The most they can do is expel them from the caucus but they are still entitled to cast their vote any way they wish.
When the final votes are counted, there is just as much chance that National will gain a seat on the specials as it has in losing one, in which case Act and United Future have got very generous deals.
The deals
National-United Future
What United Future gets:
*Agreement with National to work on its priority polices:
*Progressing the next step of the National Medicines strategy.
*Improving water quality in lakes, rivers and streams.
*More opportunities for recreational fishers, such as reserves which ban commercial fishing.
*Use of public-private partnerships for roading projects.
*Leader Peter Dunne appointed Internal Affairs Minister, Associate Conservation Minister, *Associate Health Minister, and remains outside the Cabinet.
*Ministerial salary of $226,300, access to Crown limousines.
What National gets:
*United Future's agreement to support all of National's confidence and supply votes including budgets, as well as procedural votes in the House - including going into urgency.
National-Act Party
What Act gets:
*Agreement with National to work on its priorities:
*Extending the charter schools programme.
*Reducing regulatory burdens.
*Reform of the Resource Management Act.
*Parliamentary leader David Seymour appointed under-secretary to the Education Minister and Regulatory Reform Minister.
*Under-secretary salary of $175,600.
What National gets:
*Act's agreement to support all of National's confidence and supply votes including budgets, as well as procedural votes in the House - including going into urgency.