NZ First eats humble pie over Parliament seating

New Zealand First has been forced to relent on a controversy over seating arrangements in Parliament, meaning its MPs will sit on the Government's side of the House.

There was outrage late last month when deputy leader Peter Brown said the party's seven MPs wanted to sit facing Labour, because it wanted to be an "opposition party".

The wish left other parties open-mouthed as NZ First's leader, Winston Peters, had just been appointed a government minister outside Cabinet and the party had struck a deal in which it would support Labour this term on confidence and supply votes.

National warned it would dig its toes in and force MPs to sit in alphabetical order for the term rather than to give in to what it called NZ First's "ridiculous" wish.

This would have seen a repeat of the first day of Parliament's new term following the 2002 election when there was disagreement among National, NZ First and the Greens on how the front bench should be divided up.

But Mr Brown said yesterday that NZ First would - at least initially - be seated on the Government's side of the debating chamber next to United Future under a seating plan circulated by the Clerk of the House, David McGee.

As the party's whip, Mr Brown said he had agreed to the plan at least until the caucus has had a chance to debate the issue further. NZ First would have two frontbench seats under the plan, which he described as provisional.

Asked if it was a backdown, Mr Brown said NZ First were consummate politicians "who knew how to eat a bit of humble pie".

He could not say if the caucus would bother to push the point.

"If the guys want me to argue to go across to the opposition's side then that's where we'll go. If not, then we will accept it."

MPs gather on Monday to be sworn in and elect a Speaker. The State opening is on Tuesday.

The new Parliament

Monday: MPs sworn in. Election of Speaker.

Tuesday: State opening. Speech from the Throne by Governor-General setting out the Government's programme.

Wednesday: Tributes to late Prime Minister David Lange.

Thursday: First question-time. Start of Address-in-Reply debate.