As the National Party undertake coalition talks and Labour move into a caretaker Government role, what are politicians actually doing while Aotearoa is in Government limbo?
National MP Erica Standford and Labour's Ginny Andersen joined AM on Friday following the weekend's 'blue-nami' election result which saw Labour ousted from Government.
Stanford told AM there's "not much" she can do right now in Wellington aside from welcoming National's new MPs: instead, she's focusing on her constituents after a great result.
"I've got a few issues arising in my electorate, so I've got Massey Albany are losing some of their science departments, so I'm actively working there to see what I can do to help."
Stanford says she's making an effort to be more present in her electorate after a staggering result on election night, where she took 73.5 percent of the vote.
"I'm so grateful to the people of the East Coast Bays for putting their support back in me and asking me to do another three years."
However, Andersen's result was not one worth celebrating, with the MP losing the Hutt South seat to National's Chris Bishop.
After a devastating result for Labour, Andersen told AM there's "a number of things" the party needs to look at moving forward.
"[We need to] go back to some of those communities that clearly we were not connecting with, or listening to, and I think Auckland is that area we need to do a whole lot of work in."
Bishop took 45 percent of the vote in Hutt South and although special votes are still to be counted, Andersen isn't counting on them.
"We'll have to wait for those specials, I've kind of given up hope on the specials. I don't think that's going to get me over the line."
Andersen will remain in Parliament as a list MP and will "still be doing my job in the community".
With several portfolios still under her ministerial belt, Andersen noted there's currently not much she can do while Labour is in a caretaker role.
"I still see papers for all of those areas and there's still some regular work that ticks over."
Andersen said the responsibly for the outgoing Government now is to ensure a smooth transition for the new one.
"That's the best thing for all New Zealanders."
Watch the full political panel above.
