In a press conference held at 3.30pm this afternoon Maori Party Leader Tariana Turia formally announced that the Maori Party will not be supporting any National Party attempt to form a government.

Ms Turia said the Maori Party would form part of the opposition, but would probably vote for Confidence and Supply in a Labour Government during its formation stages when the house resumes.

The announcement effectively makes it impossible for National to even contemplate forming a Government, as even assuming they could get Winston Peters to back such an attempt, they would still be short of a majority in the house.

Scoop will post full audio and images from the Maori Party press conference shortly.

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