For the second time in two weeks, the National Party appeared to be rearranging its policies in an effort to stop itself from being outflanked by a resurgent Act Party. The Act Party has been consistently polling above 10% since July last year and has been above 13% in some individual polls. To achieve this goal, it has been courting traditional National Party voters in rural communities and wealthy suburbs. Before that was announced, Hoggard had played a leading role in negotiations around He Waka Eke Noa — which the Act Party outright opposes. Seymour said his party would not accept a coalition deal that handed out ministerial roles but didn’t adopt Act Party policies.
