Luxon defends 'c-list' faux pas, but business leaders reportedly unimpressed

It's not the first time the PM has been accused of disrespecting New Zealand businesses while overseas.

Mōrena, and welcome to The Bulletin for Wednesday, June 19.

In today’s edition: A resolution to the government’s pledge of new cancer drugs could be coming as soon as next week, why we’re sending military support to Japan, and tolling is on the table for Wellington’s second Mount Victoria tunnel. But first, the prime minister is facing questions over comments he made about New Zealand business leaders.

(Image: Christopher Luxon on X)

The PM prepares to meet his Japanese counterpart

Christopher Luxon will today meet with Japan’s prime minister Fumio Kishida for bilateral talks and a state dinner put on for the visit. It’s the culmination of the prime minister’s whirlwind business tour of Japan, briefly overshadowed (once again) by the beleaguered Defence Force 757 that broke down in Papua New Guinea. Stuff’s Bridie Witton previewed the trip earlier in the week, teasing that the agenda would focus on hot topics like trade and security in the Asia-Pacific region. Since then, as RNZ’s Anneke Smith reported, Luxon has attended a number of events, including to a local Costco to sample New Zealand produce. But one subject of conversation that nobody could have foreseen was over the calibre of the delegation itself, with the prime minister forced to defend comments he made in an interview about New Zealand business leaders, some of whom have travelled to Tokyo alongside him.

Who’s on the trip and what’s been announced so far?

We’ll get to those remarks in a moment, but first, who’s on the trip? The NZTE has the full line-up of business leaders that have travelled to Japan with Luxon. It includes representatives from Air New Zealand, ASB, Aurecon, Fonterra, Ngāi Tahu Tourism, Rocket Lab and Zespri. Yesterday, reported the Herald’s Jenée Tibshraeny, Rocket Lab announced it had signed a deal that would see it send 10 satellites into space for the Japanese company Synspective. It’s the biggest single launch contract signed by Rocket Lab to date, though the company’s chief executive Peter Beck wouldn’t disclose the precise value. Fabrum, a Christchurch-based engineering firm, announced on Monday it would supply Toyota with its liquid hydrogen storage tech. Air New Zealand’s boss Greg Foran has also used his time abroad to announce a further push by the airline into Asia, reported Stuff’s Lorna Thornber. It will boost its service to Japan by 30,000 seats between November and March in response to increased demand. If your workplace is anything like mine, it feels like everyone is booking holidays to Japan at the moment – fingers crossed more seats means cheaper airfares. 

C-listers and ‘tag-alongs’

On Twitter yesterday, Luxon said he wanted to be New Zealand’s “biggest cheerleader” on the world stage. But Newstalk ZB’s Jason Walls reported that the prime minister labelled the business leaders that accompanied former prime ministers Jacinda Ardern and Chris Hipkins on trade missions “c-list” and “tag-alongs”, in audio shared here on Twitter by Ben McKay. This Stuff report from last year breaks down the “business heavyweights” who joined Hipkins for his tour of China, some of whom, such as Greg Foran, have joined Luxon in Japan. Before the trip, Luxon made similar remarks to the Herald, telling Tibshraeny that business leaders on past delegations “weren’t able to convert well enough”, business-speak for turning opportunities into money. The prime minister claimed the comments were taken out of context when pressed on them by Newshub’s Amelia Wade. "What I said is it's very exciting that we've got a high-calibre delegation of chairs and CEOs of New Zealand's major companies." 

It’s not the first time Luxon’s been accused of criticising the business community

As reported by The Spinoff’s Toby Manhire in 2022, Luxon told an audience in London that “businesses are getting soft and looking to the government for all their answers”. A few days later, Luxon expressed concern to the Sydney Morning Herald that New Zealand had become fearful, inward, and negative, adding that "we get rich by doing business around the world, not by selling things to each other in New Zealand." Luxon almost repeated that exact same quote last week on his Instagram when announcing his Japan visit. Perhaps most infamously, there was Luxon’s claim that New Zealand was “negative, wet [and] whiny”, comments he made when speaking to farmers on the campaign trail last year. 1News reported on those remarks here. In April this year, Interest’s Dan Brunskill reported that Luxon had been asked by Comvita’s chairman Brett Hewlett to stop making unhelpful comments, such as that New Zealand was “under new management”, while abroad. “New Zealand has never been closed for business,” said Hewlett. According to Amelia Wade, some of the business leaders on this trip are “unimpressed” with Luxon’s latest remarks – perhaps not surprising given it took them over 40 hours to arrive in Japan. 

Labour leader Chris Hipkins told The Bulletin that the prime minister liked to talk himself up and others down. “There has generally been goodwill on matters of trade and representing New Zealand abroad,” he said. “Luxon doesn’t seem to have the same respect for our country doing well internationally no matter who’s in charge.” Luxon and the business delegation will return to New Zealand tomorrow. All going well, they’ll arrive back in the country onboard the 757 which has been repaired and dispatched to Tokyo to pick everyone up, as The Post reported here.

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 Cancer drugs fix could come as soon as next week

Scrutiny week at parliament continues to make headlines, with Newshub’s Jenna Lynch reporting on the current state of the government’s pre-election pledge to fund 13 new cancer drugs. Health minister Shane Reti was grilled before a select committee yesterday, admitting that the absence of the new medications from Budget 2024 should have been communicated better. His Labour counterpart, Ayesha Verrall, said it was “manipulative and cruel” for the government to have persisted with a promise it could not follow through on. But Reti recommitted to delivering the drugs, despite concerns doing so may interfere with Pharmac’s independence, and that the shopping list of meds may be out of date. Crucially, Lynch has reported that an announcement on how to fix the problem could “come as soon as next week”. The Spinoff’s Alice Neville wrote a full timeline of National’s cancer drug promise and the fallout earlier in the month.

It’s not the only tidbit to have come out of scrutiny week. Stuff’s Glenn McConnell wraps five takeaways from the first 48 hours.

NZ deploys ships and planes to monitor North Korea

Though the focus of Luxon’ visit to Japan has squarely been trade and business, the prime minister also announced a military deployment while visiting a naval base in Tokyo yesterday, RNZ reported. The prime minister confirmed our Defence Force will send a frigate and planes to military bases in Japan to help with ongoing sanctions against North Korea. The deployment, said Luxon, will support sanctions monitoring until September 2026. “These deployments help detect and deter actions that directly contravene United Nations Security Council sanctions on North Korea, such as ship-to-ship transfers of illicit material at sea,” the prime minister said. On his social media, Luxon said the announcement was well-timed given Russia’s Vladimir Putin is currently in Pyonyang. The BBC has further detail on Putin’s trip, reporting the Russian leader praised North Korea for its support of the ongoing Ukraine invasion.

Listen: How Taxi is getting the NZ economy moving

Taxi is a new venture helping Kiwi businesses turn their provisional tax payments into a new source of business funding, at about half the price of a typical big bank overdraft. It’s from the founders of Tax Traders, who manage the better part of three billion dollars of tax pooling here.

To talk building better businesses, giving the economy a rev up and making Aotearoa more productive, co-founder and CEO Nicola Taylor joins the latest episode of Business is Boring.

Click and Collect

• On the front page of The Post this morning, Erin Gourley reports that tolling is on the table for Wellington’s second Mount Victoria tunnel. It follows on from recent comments by the infrastructure minister that all of the new roads of national significance could be tolled.

• Speaking of infrastructure, I suggest you read Duncan Greive’s analysis for The Spinoff looking at the “edgy” solution to funding major new projects, and the controversy over user pays models.

• We’re expecting the latest GDP figures tomorrow (the Herald’s Liam Dann previewed that here). Meanwhile, across the ditch, Australia’s Reserve Bank has kept interest rates on hold for a fifth consecutive time.

• We’ve talked a bit about greyhound racing in The Bulletin over recent weeks, but it looks like a decision on the industry’s future won’t be coming anytime soon. RNZ’s reported that Winston Peters won’t be rushing his decision on a potential blanket ban.

• Sticking with Winston Peters: Stuff’s Tova O’Brien reports this morning that the acting prime minister was consulted on a media support plan, despite his claims otherwise.

• From The Listener (paywalled), New Zealand’s first test-tube baby celebrates major milestone.

• The front page of The Press reports on potential cost-cutting measures to restore Christ Church Cathedral, and how this could degrade the building’s earthquake resilience.

Right now on The Spinoff

Violet Blue unpacks MBIE's bad romance with a foreign-surveillance-for-hire firm. Eda Tang explains what social supermarkets are and asks whether they enhance people's dignity. Alex Casey is back with the penultimate week of MAFS rankings featuring a snake in shark's clothing. When she's sick, Lucinda Bennett dreams of broth. Marama Muru-Lanning draws on research showing that when a Māori person goes to hospital, they don't leave their ethnicity at the door. For The Cost of Being, a parent of 'two under two' with a hefty mortgage breaks down her costs.

That’s it for The Bulletin today, thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow.

Let me know in the comments, or get in touch with me at thebulletin@thespinoff.co.nz, if you have any feedback on today’s issue or anything in the news.

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