Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has brushed off questions about whether he has spoken to ACT leader David Seymour, who publicly said he did not believe what Luxon was saying.
Luxon last Wednesday made it clear National would not support ACT's Treaty Principles Bill after the select committee stage, having previously said there was "no intention" and "no commitment" to support it further.
ACT's David Seymour has been championing the bill, which would set a new interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi's principles into law.
After Luxon ruled out further support for it, Seymour told Newshub's The AM Show he did not believe it, saying "ultimately the bit I don't believe is he won't change his mind if the public really wants it".
"Last week, he wouldn't rule out supporting it further, yesterday he would, I think perhaps he got a bit nervous after Waitangi," Seymour said.
The ACT Party also saw a 5.6 percent boost in the latest Taxpayers Union-Curia poll, up to 13.7 percent, over the weekend.
Luxon on Monday, speaking after the weekly Cabinet meeting, told media he did not think this showed he was on the wrong side of the debate.
Asked if he had any conversations with Seymour about undermining him, Luxon gave few details.
"We have lots of conversations all the time with all my coalition partner leaders," he said.
"We have lots of conversations across the Cabinet and with other leaders as well ... there is a difference of opinion between our respective parties on this issue, we have a compromise that doesn't meet the needs of both parties I suspect."
RNZ
