WELLINGTON, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- The New Zealand Labour Party and the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand reached an agreement on Saturday to cooperate in the 53rd Parliament.
A Cooperation Agreement was released on Saturday evening in a joint statement by the party leaders, which will see the Green Party co-leaders hold ministerial portfolios outside of Cabinet, and areas of cooperation on climate, environment and child and community wellbeing issues.
The Green Party will support the Labour Government on procedural motions in the House and at Select Committees, and will not oppose it on matters of confidence and supply for the full term of the upcoming Parliament, providing the Labour Government with extra stability in the House, said the statement.
According to the agreement, areas of cooperation between the two parties included the Zero Carbon Act, environmental protection and wellbeing issues.
"Labour won a clear mandate to form a majority Government on our own to accelerate our recovery from COVID-19. This agreement respects the mandate voters provided Labour while continuing our cooperative work with the Green Party in areas where they add expertise to build as strong a consensus as possible," Labour Party leader Jacinda Ardern said.
"This Cooperation Agreement will deliver stability and cooperation in key policy areas while allowing the Greens to take an independent position from the Government on all other matters," Ardern said.
"The Green Party is thrilled to enter into this governing arrangement with Labour", said the Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson. "We entered into this negotiation hoping to achieve the best outcomes for New Zealand and our planet."
The two parties have been in talks for forming the next government this week. The discussion was concluded on Saturday afternoon. The Green Party members voted in favour of the agreement on Saturday evening. Enditem
