Labour leader Jacinda Ardern says she is not concerned about potentially governing alone because it would give her Government a strong mandate for rebuilding New Zealand from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking on Newstalk ZB this morning, Ardern was asked whether a single-party government would mean she could have no potential coalition partners in three years.
"What I have been taking to the electorate and to voters is that I do want a strong mandate … because I want an absolute focus on our recovery.
"It is fair to say in an MMP environment that multiple different parties can slow things down.
"That is not to say that there aren't things that can be drawn from consensus building, and I will build consensus on the big issues. But I also want a strong mandate."
Asked if she would stay on if in Opposition, Ardern said she did not want to speculate about what would happen with any of the minor parties or the effect on the election result.
"But nor have I got into a situation of declaring what would happen if we weren't successful.
"My focus has to be on the last five days of getting Labour into a good position."
At current polling, NZ First will not make it back into Parliament and the Greens are hovering just above the 5 per cent party vote threshold.
Ardern said the Greens were not to be feared.
"You hear a lot of fear-mongering at election time, often from the National Party, but people need to just look at the reality of the last three years.
"They've already seen them in Government."
She said MMP guarded against "lurches" in either direction on the political spectrum.
Ardern was interviewed by broadcaster Mike Hosking this morning in the final instalment of the Newstalk ZB Leaders Breakfast series.



COALITION PARTNERS
The first section of the interview focused on Labour potential coalition partners and their main policies.
Ardern said the Green Party's wealth tax was not Labour policy and it would not be part of any post-election negotiations. She said the major party forming a government should set the direction on tax policy.
"We have ruled it out. And I've done it multiple times."
Ardern also said she had not had any negotiations with other parties about possible ministerial portfolios, saying it was presumptuous.
Asked about any possible new taxes, Ardern said her party's "primary" proposals were a new top tax rate and a digital services tax.
Hosking said the most popular question for Ardern from listeners was about Ihumātao.
Ardern said just one person had raised it on the campaign trail.
She blamed the impasse over Ihumātao on MMP, saying that NZ First leader Winston Peters had prevented any progress at the site.
There was no secret deal, she said: "We have to find a way through."
The historic site near the airport in South Auckland was occupied by protestors last year who opposed a proposed development. Construction has been put off until an agreement can be made between the Government, various groups within the iwi, and the construction company Fletchers.
Ardern said her bottom line for the situation was that it could not "unravel" the Treaty process.
"Any gifting of land would be problematic in that regard."
THE ECONOMY
Ardern was next asked how long the government could keep supporting the tourism industry if the borders were going to be closed for an extended period.
She said the Government was backing strategic industries with one-off payments - such as Whale Watch in Kaikoura.
Asked how she would describe New Zealand's economic position, she cited a Bloomberg article which described New Zealand as one of the most attractive places to do business.
"[We are] well placed relative to others and that matters," she said.
"We have an opportunity here - not just because we have an open economy - we have an opportunity around investment."
FARMING AND FAIR PAY
Ardern said talk of an urban-rural divide came up every election and she did not believe it existed.
The Opposition had tried to promote the idea that farme...