Luxon survives as leader – where to from here?

With PM under fire, Chris Harrowell and PJ Taylor (Eastern Times) have prepared this special report. 

As soon as Prime Minister and Botany MP Christopher Luxon revealed yesterday that he’d survived a confidence vote as leader of the National Party by his caucus, politicians, political insiders and voters began reacting to the news.

National MPs were called to Wellington yesterday for an urgent caucus meeting following continued speculation over Luxon’s leadership of the party.

Senior Government Ministers Chris Bishop and Erica Stanford were named as potential successors by the news media.

Following the caucus meeting on Wednesday, Luxon addressed the news media while flanked by a group of senior National MPs.

He said this year’s general election is pivotal with some very serious issues at stake for New Zealand.

The Government believes it’s made tremendous progress rebuilding economic growth, restoring financial discipline, restoring law and order and strengthening education and healthcare, he said.

“We also acknowledge we have a lot more to do. Our plan to fix the basics and build the future is a very positive plan to help New Zealand realise the innate potential it has.

“There was a confidence vote in my leadership this morning at our caucus meeting and I have the full support of our caucus.

“Our caucus is united and it is determined to win this election.

“Our focus is on National’s positive plan to fix the basics and build the future so that we realise the incredible potential that sits in this country and that we set it up for our kids and grandkids so they can do better than we can.

“It’s also an opportunity to frame the choice for voters, which is crystal clear on November 7.

“An opposition that wants to take New Zealand backwards, or a National government that wants to fix the basics and build the future, and with a plan that takes New Zealand forward.

“With that, I want to say thanks, everyone. We’re going back to work and we’re moving on. Thank you very much.”

Standing next to Luxon in support of him at the media conference podium were senior Ministers Chris Bishop, Mark Mitchell, Nicola Willis, Erica Stanford, Paul Goldsmith, Simeon Brown, Louise Upston, and National Party president Sylvia Wood.

Luxon previously survived a confidence vote in caucus in April.

On Wednesday night, he publicly announced he’d stripped cabinet minister Chris Penk of his portfolios for his role in the failed leadership challenge.

Penk subsequently released a statement saying he would not seek re-election to Parliament at this year’s general election.

Following the caucus vote on Wednesday, the Times spoke to Howick ward councillor Maurice Williamson, who served as the National Party MP for Pakuranga for 30 years and held Ministerial roles under Prime Ministers Sir John Key, Jim Bolger and Jenny Shipley.

He says he’s more surprised that Luxon went through a second confidence vote than he is that Luxon won it.

“If you’re going to change the leader, like they tried the last time around, you either do it or you die, but you don’t then come and have another go.

“Who’s to say there won’t be another go in four weeks’ time?

“And all these things are debilitating and really damaging to the confidence of voters and the public about whether you can even manage your own affairs.

“So, I think terribly damaging, at a time when you’re in an election campaign wanting to show that you’re a confident, capable Government, you give the other side all the bloody firepower they need to be able to say, ‘even his own team don’t think we’re doing a good job’.”

The Times asked Williamson if Luxon winning two confidence votes in his caucus within five months would make voters see him as tough and a fighter.

“There might be,” he says. “But there will also be people who say … if the party is doing a really good job at running the country and ministers are all performing, there’s never ever even an inkling of a challenge.

“You never saw anybody trying to topple John Key when he was running the place.

“You didn’t even hear mutterings or murmurs. They only start when there is such a lack of confidence in the team being able to produce an outcome at the coming election that’s a beneficial result for the party. So there’s clearly underlying discontent.”

Williamson says Luxon has been damaged politically by missteps such as comments he made to a Rotorua business audience, which he later apologised for, and saying during a radio interview that he would hold a referendum on New Zealand’s electoral system, without the matter having been discussed in caucus beforehand.

“Day after day we’re seeing examples of small but specific amounts of damage, and they accumulate.

“They don’t just disappear and these leadership challenges are showing there’s not confidence within your own team.

“If your own team are not confident that you’ve got things strapped down and going well how can you expect the public [to think that].”

Williamson says Luxon should “take action” against the National Party MPs who undermined him.

“You can’t just have people chipping away at people and have it ‘business as usual’.

“All that does is say to the public … that is weak, it’s really quite damaging and destructive and for no purpose.”

National’s MP for Takanini, Rima Nahkle, says: “We [the caucus] are 100 per cent behind our leader Christopher Luxon, and are focused on fixing the basics and building the future for all my neighbours in Takanini and Kiwis across New Zealand.”

National Party List MP Nancy Lu says: “We are 100 per cent united behind our leader Christopher Luxon.

“Our focus is on fixing the basics and building the future for all New Zealanders.

“I won’t comment on what happens in caucus, but I can confirm the leader has our full support and we are united as a team.

“We will continue to deliver for New Zealand as a Government and will be campaigning hard in the next 86 days to earn support from New Zealanders.”

And a person who’s worked with the National Party in advisory roles for many years told the Times Luxon’s response to the reported dissatisfaction in the National Party’s caucus of 49 MPs was “perfectly done”.

“It’s what he needed to do. Shut them up and get focused on this country and winning an election. I enjoyed how he handled the media.”

The advisor said of the reported MPs uncomfortable with Luxon’s performance as leader: “They need to grow up and mature. If they don’t, they need to be shown the door.”

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters reacted yesterday on social media by saying: “After days of speculation and distraction, it has boiled down to ‘much ado about nothing’.

“We should be focused on what New Zealanders gave us a mandate to do – turning this country around with policies and values that will give our country a better future.

“Focusing on driving down the cost of living, cost of food, cost of power, cost of fuel, turning this economy around – and do it all with stability, experience, and hope.

“This pivotal election is less than three months away and we need to give voters a clear and unified message – that we are going to win and make New Zealand great again.”