Dunne's dig starts sideline squabble

By JOHN ARMSTRONG political editor

Bickering broke out between Labour's would-be partners yesterday after United Future's Peter Dunne said Helen Clark should strike a deal with him and not the "stone age" Greens.

Greens co-leader Rod Donald bit back, saying Mr Dunne's remarks were pathetic, annoying and unhelpful.

In his first major post-election speech, Mr Dunne gave nothing away about the progress of his negotiations with Labour over the formation of a government.

But he said things were moving "quite satisfactorily" and he hoped some progress towards an announcement would be made by the end of this week.

He would not say whether he was seeking a formal coalition with Labour and a seat at the Cabinet table or a looser arrangement guaranteeing support on confidence motions.

Labour has been negotiating with the Greens and United Future as it tries to shore up support for its minority coalition, which includes Progressive Coalition leader Jim Anderton.

Mr Dunne said Labour's parallel talks with the Greens on a confidence-and-supply agreement were a matter for Labour.

"But I would just make the observation that Labour plus us is a majority.

"We are not talking to the Greens."

A Herald-DigiPoll survey has found that nearly 60 per cent of voters prefer United Future as the party to prop up a Labour government, twice as many as those who favour a deal with the Greens.

Mr Dunne told the Wellington Rotary Club his party aimed to have a constructive, moderating influence, blunting Labour's "strident edges" in its political correctness and its "sectionalised" agenda.

Rounding on the Greens, he said the shift of votes at the election made it clear New Zealanders did not want a more left-wing government but preferred a broad continuation of the current direction with the addition of a moderating influence.

He said United Future was pro-economic growth and pro-free trade, and criticised opponents of the open economy as having a "stone age mentality".

In another swipe at the Greens, he said his party wanted an agreement which lasted the full three years of the parliamentary term.

New Zealanders did not want minor parties to adopt a "gun at the head" approach that threatened to bring down a government.

"We cannot afford an upheaval of yet another government ... being brought to the brink because of chaos within one of its components."



Mr Donald said Mr Dunne had "dropped his mask of reasonableness and exposed his prejudices".

Mr Donald, Mr Dunne and other leaders return to the bargaining table tomorrow after a four-day break during which officials continued the talks.

Labour and the Progressive Coalition have 54 seats in the 120-member Parliament.

Helen Clark needs one or both of the Greens and United Future to give her Government a majority.

Trying to shake off the Christian label being attached to his party because of the background of many of his new MPs, Mr Dunne said United Future was a "secular" centrist party.

He said emphasis on the importance of the family, including establishing a Commission for the Family, would be a priority in any agreement with Labour.

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