David Seymour has played down the chances of the right-bloc of National and ACT needing New Zealand First to form a government.
It comes despite recent polling showing if National and ACT want to form a government following the October 14 election, they will need New Zealand First.
The latest Newshub Reid Research Poll showed the right bloc of National-ACT would only get 60 sets – one short of the number needed to form a government. This means they would need New Zealand First who would have six seats based on the Newshub poll.
But despite this, Seymour, the ACT Party leader, believes National and ACT will have enough support to form a government.
Seymour's comments come on the same day advance voting kicks off – just 12 days before the election.
Seymour told AM co-host Ryan Bridge advance voting has only just started so there is a long way to go.
"Let's face it, the polls are opening today. We know we can't afford to go on like this and we deserve more than a choice between more of the same or chaos," he said.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins has been describing the coalition of National-ACT-New Zealand First as "chaos" and called New Zealand First leader Winston Peters "a force for chaos in government".
National and ACT, particularly Christopher Luxon, have been calling the left bloc of Labour-Greens-Te Pāti Māori a "coalition of chaos" for the majority of this year.
But despite this and when questioned if he was agreeing with Hipkins that a coalition involving New Zealand First would be chaos, Seymour denied it.
"What I'm saying is New Zealanders have a choice and that is an ACT-National government that is ready to make real change on day one and the reason that you need to give your party vote to ACT is to make sure that you don't get the other option, which is inaction because we can't afford to keep on going the way that we are," Seymour said.
Seymour described a coalition involving New Zealand First as "very challenging" which is why he's urging people to vote for ACT.
"Nobody's voted yet except for overseas voters and so the appeal to people who are thinking, 'where do I put my party vote today' is if you want a strong and united government of ACT and National ready to fix the economy by getting on top of government waste on day one, so that families struggling at the end of the week can actually breathe a little bit, then an ACT and National government can deliver that," he said.
"Yes, the alternatives are very challenging. Of course, you respect the election result. You do your best to work with the people that are there but I say to people, if you want to see a government that is not just a change, but a real change of direction for this country, then a party vote for ACT is the most powerful thing you can do to deliver that."
But when questioned on AM following Seymour's interview, Peters said the last stable Government New Zealand had was in 2017 when he formed a coalition with Labour.
"Now, here's the point here, ask Jim Bolger or ask Helen Clark who was most fair and reasonable the other day, when she made the comment about Winston Peters being able to be trusted and treats people with respect," he said.
"In the last six years, the only time there was a stable government was 2017 to 2020. When I left and when New Zealand First left it was month after month of mess, people being fired everywhere, ministers going down."
Questions have been raised about how a coalition involving National-ACT-New Zealand First would work given Luxon has committed to working with Peters should he need him to win the election.
At the end of last month, a fiery Newshub Nation Powerbrokers debate raised more questions than answers about that relationship and how Seymour and Peters would work together.
During the debate, Seymour and Peters were bickering and throwing jabs at each other.
"He's not baiting, he's imitating," Peters at one point yelled out amid suggestions Seymour had been race-baiting for votes.
"It's like an arsonist showing up dressed as a fireman, saying, 'I am here to help and fix it all,'" Seymour said of Peters.
The quarrelling between the pair prompted Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson to ask: "Do people actually trust that Luxon is going to be able to manage these two?"
