Leader of the Opposition Simon Bridges won't rule out participating in a grand coalition to fight COVID-19, as he officially puts the National Party's election campaign on hold.
A grand coalition, which occurs when a nation's two dominant parties join forces in a coalition government, has only happened twice in New Zealand's history.
The first was the cabinet of 1915-1919 assembled during World War I, and the second the coalition of 1931-1935 to combat the Great Depression.
Now, with the coronavirus presenting another opportunity to unite New Zealand's largest political parties against a mutual enemy, Bridges told Magic Talk's Peter Williams he's open to the idea.
"A lot of people are saying those sort of things to me," he said of suggestions that he and deputy National leader Paula Bennett could join the government.
"We've heard [Finance Minister and Labour MP] Grant Robertson, among others, say [we need to implement] a wartime-type response.
"I can't answer your question clearly today, other than to say when the facts change, I change.
"We've got an openness to supporting and assisting here as we see something we've never seen before in New Zealand, certainly in my lifetime."
New Zealand now has 102 confirmed cases of coronavirus, and that number is expected to increase exponentially. There have not yet been any deaths here as a result of the pandemic.
In a time of such severe crisis, the National Party's preparations for the scheduled 2020 election have been put on the backburner.
"This is about lives and livelihoods, for the good of our country - not politics," Bridges told Magic Talk.
"We've stopped our campaigning, we've stopped our campaign meetings, we've cancelled our regional conferences.
"I've literally just, with the expectation we may shortly be at [alert level] three or four, cancelled the rest of my week's meetings."
After his interview with Magic Talk, Bridges sent a statement to media on Monday afternoon, officially confirming the National Party's decision to suspend its election campaign.
"This morning I have asked all of our MPs to suspend any form of campaigning," the statement reads.
"Our MPs and candidates will still be in their communities offering help and advice to their constituents, giving out important information and advocating for them.
"The Opposition will continue to play an important role to ensure the best decisions are being made in the interests of all New Zealanders. We won't be campaigning for the foreseeable future, however."
He said he's been "talking a lot" with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, and is willing to give her and the Government his "full support, as long as they're working expeditiously".
However, he believes the Government's current alert level is not high enough - and wants New Zealand to immediately make the jump from level two to level four.
"We've seen over the weekend these alert levels, that's a good initiative, but of course 'critical' is where we are. I do think we are at level four."
Simon Bridges' full statement on suspending National's election campaign
"This morning I have asked all of our MPs to suspend any form of campaigning.
"Our MPs and candidates will still be in their communities offering help and advice to their constituents, giving out important information and advocating for them.
"I have offered the Prime Minister my full support during this crisis, providing they move expeditiously enough. We will work in a supportive and constructive way in the interests of New Zealanders.
"I have also offered the Government the services of our MPs and staff to assist where we can.
"We want to do all we can to protect the lives and livelihoods of New Zealanders.
"In the past 24 hours I have been inundated with calls from doctors, health professionals, scientists and teachers all wanting the level to be raised.
"I believe the country needs to move to Level 4 on the Covid-19 alert system and I have expressed this to Jacinda Ardern.
"We won't regret moving quickly to stop this virus spreading. We may have regrets if we don’t.
"We will support the Government where we can. But we won’t always agree and we will continue to let the Government know when we don’t.
"The Opposition will continue to play an important role to ensure the best decisions are being made in the interests of all New Zealanders. We won't be campaigning for the foreseeable future, however."
