New Zealand PM Luxon calls leadership challenge response ‘decisive’
Sign up now: Get insights on Asia's fast-moving developments
New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is betting his survival of a second confidence vote in four months will ease pressure on his leadership.
PHOTO: AFP
- New Zealand PM Christopher Luxon acted decisively by removing Defence Minister Chris Penk after a leadership challenge, showing unity within the National Party.
- Luxon aims to focus on National’s economic recovery plan and claims full caucus support despite slipping poll numbers.
- Luxon rejects working with the Opportunity Party due to their policies on land tax and universal benefits, which conflict with National’s agenda for less tax.
AI generated
AUCKLAND – New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said voters should be reassured that he took decisive action after one of his Cabinet ministers mounted a challenge to his leadership less than three months from an election.
Luxon on Aug 12 won a confidence vote in his National Party caucus that was instigated by Defence Minister Chris Penk.
Luxon subsequently stripped Penk of his Cabinet portfolios and Penk later declared he will not seek re-election on Nov 7.
“I think voters will see we took decisive action, we dealt with it very quickly and we came out of that meeting very united,” Luxon told reporters on Aug 13 in Auckland.
“When a Cabinet minister challenges a leader, then they need to go and that’s what happened.”
Luxon is betting his survival of a second confidence vote in four months will ease pressure on his leadership and allow the focus to shift to National’s plan to spur an economic recovery.
He reiterated he has the full support of his caucus and said he has confidence in all of his ministers.
“We’re very united and we are focused on making sure we’ve got a positive plan to take New Zealand forward,” he said. “It’s a pretty exciting future for New Zealand.”
Still, National continues to underperform in opinion polls and his own ranking as preferred prime minister has slipped.
A 1News Verian poll published on Aug 12 showed National had 29 per cent backing compared with 30 per cent for the main opposition Labour Party.
Significantly, the centrist Opportunity Party jumped to 8 per cent and may hold the balance of power after the election if it sustains that level of support.
Luxon on Aug 13 repeated he would not work with Opportunity because its policy prescription includes a land tax and a universal benefit.
“That is a party that is all about wanting to apply another 1.75 per cent land tax on Kiwis and making every New Zealander a beneficiary,” he said. “Those are policies that do not fit with our agenda. We are a party that wants less tax, not more tax.” BLOOMBERG
