Coalition talks have finally finished, Christopher Luxon, David Seymour and Winston Peters have announced, ending a gigantic forty days of negotiations to form the next Government.
In a statement on Thursday afternoon, the trio said: "Negotiations to form a government that will deliver for all New Zealanders have concluded.
"The parties are now going through their respective party processes for final sign-off and we expect that process to be completed this evening. Subject to agreement by all parties, a signing ceremony will take place tomorrow at Parliament."
These live updates have now finished.
6:10pm - ANALYSIS: Now the Government deals are done, what happens next?
Process wise, the boards are expected to sign everything on Thursday night.
Newshub has confirmed both ACT and National's boards have signed their deals. A New Zealand First board member has just told Newshub its board had pretty much signed it off.
When the boards say "yay", Christopher Luxon will then make a phone call to the Governor General to inform her he can form a government.
On Friday morning, there will be a signing ceremony at Parliament where the cone of secrecy will officially lift on these talks.
We will learn which policies have survived negotiations, how many ministerial positions each party has secured and how that final hurdle of deputy Prime minister was cleared; whether David Seymour is right to be happy, whether Winston Peters shimmied his way into it or whether, in fact, they've reached for that creative solution of "sharesies".
In terms of how many spots everyone got, Newshub understands the number of ministerial positions is outlined in the deals - but the smaller parties are in the dark about which portfolios the other party has negotiated.
But they know all the policies. The way they have written these agreements is every policy on the Government's agenda will be outlined in them.
The plan, at this stage, is to be officially sworn in as a Government on Monday.
From there, as Luxon put it, it's the incoming Prime Minister's job to get the show moving and get the country going forward.
Jenna Lynch is Newshub's Political Editor.
6pm - Newshub Political Editor Jenna Lynch will have more details on the coalition talks on Newshub Live at 6 at 6pm on Three. You can also watch a livestream on Newshub.co.nz
5pm - That brings to an end Christopher Luxon's press conference.
4:55pm - Luxon says the National caucus has been kept informed of negotiations at a high level throughout the talks.
He is "absolutely confident" there will be a signing ceremony on Friday. The deals still have to be ratified by parties' boards on Thursday night.
The National leader says all three parties have got to know each other "very well" and notes it's important to him there is chemistry.
It is historic to have a three-way coalition, Luxon says. He says that is why the parties have taken the time to get it right.
The National caucus didn't express unease with any of the coalition details, Luxon says.
He says he expects Parliament to sit from December 5 but will confirm that on Friday.
ACT and New Zealand First have a "sense" of what portfolios each other have, he tells reporters.
There will be conversations with the MPs who have missed out on ministerial spots on Friday, Luxon says. He wouldn't say if any will be disappointed.
4:50pm - Christopher Luxon says he is pleased to announce negotiations have concluded and the details are before the parties for ratification. Once that has happened, he will inform the Governor-General.
There will be a signing on Friday morning, before a proper announcement of ministerial posts in the afternoon.
All details, including who will be Luxon's deputy, will be announced on Friday, he said.
Luxon describes the agreements as "comprehensive".
He says the agreements will show exactly what the three parties have developed. It provides a "defined work programme" for the next three years, he says.
Luxon says every party has to make concessions but there is "massive alignment" around the goals.
There were several things the parties needed to close out on Thursday, Luxon says. He wanted to make sure all leaders knew where things stood.
Luxon says the final impasse was broken on Thursday morning.
New Zealanders will know the next ministry on Friday afternoon. He hopes to have swearing-in ceremony on Monday.
4:45pm - You should be able to watch the livestream above. We are expecting Christopher Luxon very shortly.
4:35pm - Incoming Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is about hold a media standup. Newshub will livestream that above at roughly 4:45pm.
4:15pm - Newshub has just spoken with David Seymour.
"I am very happy with the way the whole deal has come together. It is multi-faceted, it is about policy, it is about positions but, most of all, it is about three former competitors in an election united to start tackling the real challenges," the ACT leader said.
He said those challenges weren't each other but issues like economic headwinds.
Seymour wouldn't say if he has received the deputy Prime Minister role.
Asked about how stable a three-way coalition could be, he replied: "Maybe three heads are better than one."
He brushed off questions about political inexperience.
4:05pm - Christopher Luxon, David Seymour and Winston Peters have released this statement:
"Negotiations to form a government that will deliver for all New Zealanders have concluded. The parties are now going through their respective party processes for final sign-off and we expect that process to be completed this evening.
"Subject to agreement by all parties, a signing ceremony will take place tomorrow at Parliament."
2:35pm - National deputy leader Nicola Willis has told media the parties are "very close".
"I think we should be excited. There is a new Government coming for New Zealand and it is going to be a good one," Willis said.
She said "good progress" was being made and New Zealanders would be updated "very soon".
Asked about Peters' comment that he had finished negotiating, Willis said she wanted to see the full context of his remarks but believed the parties were "very close".
2:30pm - Caretaker Prime Minister Chris Hipkins told Newshub he believes Kiwis want the incoming Government to "get on with it" and form a government.
When asked by Newshub if negotiations were taking too long with squabbling over the deputy Prime Minister role, Hipkins believed they were.
"It's 40 days, I think New Zealanders are ready to know what the shape of their next government is going to be," he said.
When asked for his thoughts on the potential for a co-deputy Prime Minister, Hipkins said he didn't know how it would work, but believed that was "the least of their problems".
National, ACT and New Zealand First have said they will be a "strong and stable government" but Hipkins wasn't so sure.
"I do think New Zealanders want to see a stable government come out the other side of this, but given the squabbling we have seen over the last 40 days I'm not sure they can have a lot of confidence that is going to emerge," he said.
When asked for his thoughts on Winston Peters potentially being Deputy Prime Minister, Hipkins believed the New Zealand First leader and ACT's David Seymour would "run circles around" Christopher Luxon.
2:20pm - Newshub understands a formal announcement on coalition talks is more likely to now happen on Friday.
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has just held an impromptu media conference. He wouldn't confirm a deal had been reached.
He said coalition negotiations have been going "very fast" and "we're well on the way of forming a very sound and stable Government".
"We're still required to catch one or two people because of circumstances that are on the road that couldn't be at our meeting today in terms of being updated," he said. "We're not trying to be difficult here, but until we spoke to them, we can't answer your questions."
Peters said he wouldn't breach the confidence of his negotiating partners.
Asked if a deal had been reached, Peters replied: "Well, if that was the case, I would have told you."
So are you still negotiating?
"No," he said.
"You're not going to nail me down. This is not my first rodeo, right?"
On the matter of a potential co-deputy Prime Ministership, he said that wasn't something New Zealand had ever done.
He was asked about a comment David Seymour made on Thursday morning that he couldn't see any reason why a deal couldn't be done on Thursday.
"We spend a lot of time with Mr Seymour to be in agreement and I don't disagree with him on that matter."
12:49pm - Winston Peters has arrived at the Treasury buildings. He entered without answering any media questions.
12:30pm - Winston Peters has arrived at Wellington Airport alongside his staffer Darroch Ball.
"There is no interview going on here," he said as he approached media.
"One more time. There is no interview going on here. Are you slow learners?"
He refused to answer questions, including about whether he would share the deputy Prime Minister role.
"I am not going to answer those questions."
Peters wouldn't say when a deal would be done.
He said it had been "less than three weeks, and not the malicious lies you've been telling them."
12:10pm - ACT leader David Seymour has just left Parliament for lunch.
Asked by Newshub if he had a deal, Seymour responded: "We are in a pretty good space but it is not my place to say if we do or don't right now."
He said the ACT Party board had signed off on details negotiated to date a couple of days ago.
"They have signed off in principle what we have and that is the consultation we need to do with them. We have satisified the requirements of the ACT Party constitution in the eyes of our board."
Seymour said the board didn't need to sign off on ministerial appointments.
11:20am - Newshub Political Editor Jenna Lynch spoke to AM earlier about the coalition negotiations, including the idea of David Seymour and Winston Peters sharing the deputy Prime Minister role.
11am - Speaking to Newshub, New Zealand First's Shane Jones said it was "very positive" that Winston Peters was coming to Wellington.
Asked if Thursday was the day a deal was made, Jones said: "There is that great line from Exodus: Forty days and 40 nights, up in the mountain, and the covenant emerge and the commandments were written. So it is probably the day."
It has been forty days since the election.
Exodus 34:28 says: "Moses stayed there with the LORD for 40 days and 40 nights. Moses did not eat any food or drink any water. And he wrote the words of the agreement (the Ten Commandments) on the two stone tablets. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, he carried the two stone tablets of the agreement."
10:35am - New Zealand First's Shane Jones has just walked past waiting media in Wellington. He handed Newshub's Lloyd Burr a chocolate bar, called "Payday".
Does it mean something, we wonder. Is today 'payday' for New Zealand? Will we receive a Government?
10:30am - A smiling Winston Peters has made his way into Auckland Airport security, but hasn't given much away.
"See you guys," he told waiting media.
Asked if he was on his way to Wellington, he said: "Take a wild guess. It doesn't get any better, does it?"
He ignored a question about whether a co-deputy Prime Ministership could happen.
10:25am - New Zealand First leader Winston Peters is on his way to Wellington, having just gone through Auckland Airport.
He is the only one of the three leaders of National, ACT and New Zealand First not to yet be in the capital.
10:20am - National deputy leader Nicola Willis has just spoken to Newshub at Parliament.
"We are continuing to make progress and today is a good day," she said.
Asked if that meant there was a deal, Willis responded: "Every day is a good day in my life. I am a positive, optimistic person."
She said Kiwis could be confident that those involved in forming a Government were doing everything they can to get a deal as soon as possible.
10:15am - ACT leader David Seymour says he hopes a deal comes together on Thursday. He's just arrived at Parliament.
"I certainly hope so. I am very happy with the way things are going. I see no reason for there not to be. Until it is signed on the bottom line, I am just another guy saying I hope it happens very soon."
Asked if it was a real prospect that there could be a shared deputy-Prime Ministership, Seymour said it "could well be", but that it depended on negotiations.
"Lots of people put lots of options on the table and I am sure at least one of them will end up being the final deal."
He said sharing the role with Winston Peters was "one of the possibilities that has been floated". But there "could be well be totally different ones as well".
Asked about how that may work, he said he wouldn't go into the "exact workings of it".
Seymour said the focus throughout negotiations has been on policy, rather than ministerial appointments.
"I share the frustration that we haven't been able to do that faster, but I think probably Winston and Chris would say the same thing, the important thing that is you now have three former competitors in an election about to become cooperators in a Government.
9:10am - A pro-Palestinian group has splatted red paint across the offices of politicians in Auckland for their stance on the Gaza conflict overnight.
Tāmaki for Palestine targeted seven politicians including incoming Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's Botany office and ACT leader David Seymour's Epsom office, saying the red paint represents the blood of over 14,000 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces.
Five other National MPs were also targeted including Judith Collins, Simon Watts, Dan Bidois, Paul Goldsmith and Melissa Lee.
8:30am - National President Sylvia Wood has arrived in Wellington, another sign that a deal may be imminent. She refused to comment on the status of the talks, other than to say "good progress" had been made. She wouldn't say whether the National Party board had met to consider any agreements.
8:20am - Christopher Luxon has walked across the road from his apartment to Parliament.
He said it was a "glorious" start to the day. It's unclear what he might be referring to. It's a very cloudy day in Wellington. It's possible it's "glorious" as he is on the verge of getting a deal sorted.
"We are getting really close now. A couple of calls to make this morning and hopefully we will close it all out," he said.
"We are very, very close."
Luxon said he worked late and spoke with both David Seymour and Winston Peters on Wednesday night, but he wouldn't say if he expects Peters to arrive in the capital on Thursday.
He also refused to give anything away about the current state of the deputy Prime Minister role.
"At the moment, we have got a little bit more work to do this morning and then hopefully we will be in a good place."
8:10am - Kia ora, good morning, and welcome to Newshub's live updates of what may be a massive day in New Zealand politics.
With all three of the political leaders involved in negotiations having said talks are in their final stretch and both Christopher Luxon and David Seymour in Wellington, there is hope a deal could be announced on Thursday.
Both Luxon and Seymour have said their movement to the capital is more due to logistics and countering the threat of flight disruptions than a signal that an agreement has been reached.
But while the National and ACT leaders are in Wellington, there's been no sign of Winston Peters.
Newshub has eyes all around Parliament and at Wellington's airport on the lookout for the New Zealand First leader as we wait to see if today could be the day we get a new Government.
