Newshub can reveal the Government hasn't fulfilled one of its coalition agreement commitments on time.
The coalition agreement between the National and ACT parties includes the point of issuing a formal notice - called a Cabinet Office Circular - to public service agencies saying it is the Government's expectation that services should be prioritised based on need, not race.
A similar promise is made in the National and New Zealand First coalition agreement, but, importantly, while the NZ First agreement says this should be done "as a matter of urgency", the ACT agreement specifies that this should be issued "within the first six months of Government".
The Coalition Government formally took office on November 27, 2023, meaning Monday - May 27 - marked six months since its ascendancy.
However, no Cabinet Office Circular on this topic has yet been issued or released publicly.
Speaking to Newshub on Tuesday, Nicola Willis, the Public Service Minister, said working "is progressing well" on that.
"But by mutual agreement. David Seymour and I have been also focused on other policy priorities and so we've agreed we will get to that shortly," she said.
Asked whether the parties were on the same page about what they wanted in that Cabinet document, she said: "Broadly."
"I am really confident that we are going to reach an agreement."
She said the Government would issue it in "due course".
Newshub also spoke with ACT leader David Seymour. He said he went to National and expressed desire for the parties to get the policy right rather than trying to just hit what he admitted was an arbitrarily decided deadline.
"I actually went to the National Party and said, 'look, I actually think we can do a bit better than what we've got'," Seymour said.
He said the delay wasn't due to sticking points between the parties but about articulating their views about what were technical matters in the document correctly.
"I love working with Nicola Willis, I think she is one of the most professional and collegial people in the Government, but at the same time that doesn't mean you nail everything on the first round."
