A former NZ First MP has remarked that the party's veteran leader was giving his potential coalition partners a lesson in the basics of politics after his unexplained absence from their negotiation meeting yesterday.

NZ First's caucus met in Wellington on the day - but Winston Peters was absent and none of the newly elected MPs would explain where he was.

However, work was progressing in his absence, they said.

"It's the million-dollar question," remarked Newstalk ZB political editor, Jason Walls - who'd waited for Peters to arrive at Wellington Airport but spotted no sign of him.

Former NZ First MP Andrew Williams told the Mike Hosking Breakfast today he believed Peters was showing Luxon and Seymour how to play politics.

Williams, who has given extraordinary commentary on Peters' political style in the past, said Peters was 78 years of age, he'd entered Parliament in 1979 - before Act leader David Seymour was born.

"I think what Winston is trying to do is give them a lesson in Politics 101 and call the shots," he said.

Williams said he got the sense talks were progressing positively but that the foreign property tax - a policy National supports but NZ First opposes - would be a cruncher.

“National may have to back down on that or Winston will simply have to not come to the party," he said.

"Perhaps they could come up with some compromise like raising the [property value] threshold from two million, put it up to three or four - give Winston something where he can say 'well at that level, we can accept it but at two million it's a no-go'."

A surprise, perhaps to the political veteran might perhaps be how much he has in common with the Act leader, Williams said.

He noted it was a surprise Seymour and Peters hadn't had much to do with each other in recent past - but since talks began, they likely learned they held similar viewpoints on more issues than Peters might have previously expected.

"The three of them should have been together well before now," said Williams.

"It's not acceptable Peters is playing around. He does it all the time and likes to play people off like this - he enjoys being the centre of focus and, you know, he's a great man for looking in the mirror."