PM Christopher Luxon speaks as Cabinet discusses Treaty Principles Bill
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is refusing to say what came out of today’s Cabinet discussions about the controversial Treaty Principles Bill but is confirming he’s yet to see a draft.
The Treaty Principles Bill, proposed by Act to re-define the Treaty principles, was discussed by Cabinet this afternoon, the Herald understands.
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India free trade agreement
Scott Palmer
Luxon couldn't confirm when he would travel to India in efforts to secure a free trade deal but he acknowledged it was "difficult" getting to India this year, given the number of overseas trips scheduled this side of Christmas.
However, he was confident pushing the visit to 2025 wouldn't negatively impact his drive to secure a free trade agreement, which he'd committed to this term.
Religion, politics, Treaty Principles Bill
Scott Palmer
Asked if he believed religion and politics should mix, Luxon said New Zealanders wanted the Government to govern regardless of their faith.
He advised people who wanted to know more about his personal faith to watch his maiden speech.
Luxon confirmed he had not seen a draft of the Treaty Principles Bill at Cabinet today.
Luxon touches on Inland Revenue, monkeypox
Scott Palmer
On Inland Revenue's data sharing with social media entities, Luxon said he wasn't fully briefed on the issue. He understood the data-sharing was in line with privacy laws.
On monkeypox, Luxon said he had spoken with Health Minister Shane Reti about it and encouraged people to see a doctor if they were concerned.
Luxon says people entitled to their views on Bill
Scott Palmer
On calls from the Christian community opposing the bill, Luxon said people were entitled to their views.
"People are entitled to those differences in a democracy."
The bill was one of the main reasons the coalition negotiations dragged on after the election last October.
Treaty Principles Bill
Scott Palmer
The House will adjourn tomorrow so speeches could be made in light of Kīngi Tūheitia's death.
On the Treaty Principles Bill, which was discussed in Cabinet today, Luxon said he wouldn't talk about Cabinet matters but said more would be said about it shortly.
He couldn't elaborate on the status of the Bill.
"David Seymour will have more to say about it shortly," Luxon said.
Luxon repeated National's position not to support the Bill past first reading.
He described the coalition agreement to introduce the Bill as not satisfactory to either National or Act, given National didn't support the bill at all and Act originally proposed to hold a referendum regarding the Treaty principles, which the new Bill sought to re-define.
The Bill would come to the House in November, Luxon said.
Expanding access to cancer drugs
Scott Palmer
He said a strong economy was the only way public services improved.
Luxon linked that with today's announcement from Pharmac that two new cancer drugs would be funded this year, expanding access for people suffering a variety of cancers.
Earlier this year, the Government allocated a further $600m to Pharmac to fund up to 26 new cancer drugs and 28 other medicines.
The funding boost came after widespread criticism when the Government didn't include National's pre-election promise to fund 13 new cancer drugs in this year's Budget.
Luxon 'pleased to be back'
Scott Palmer
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says he's pleased to be back in New Zealand following his trips to Malaysia and Korea.
He pointed to signs of economic recovery in New Zealand, citing increases to tourism revenue.
However, he said attracting further investment from overseas was a priority of his Government.
Luxon described the trip as "positive" with conversations including expanding access to those markets regarding red meat and blueberries.
Luxon's post-Cabinet press conference
Scott Palmer
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is set to speak to reporters in his first post-Cabinet press conference in a couple of weeks following trips to Korea, Malaysia and Tonga.
In between the trips, Luxon also visited Ngāruawāhia for the tangi of Kīngi Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII, held at Tūrangawaewae Marae.
Luxon’s post-Cabinet press conference will be live-streamed from the top of this page from around 4pm.
Act leader David Seymour’s bill, part of the coalition Government’s agreement, will go to first reading in November and could be sent to a select committee for further discussion.
On the bill, Luxon said he wouldn’t talk about Cabinet matters but said more would be said about it shortly.
He couldn’t elaborate on the status of the bill. “David Seymour will have more to say about it shortly,” Luxon said.
However, Act’s coalition partners, National and NZ First, have said they will not support the bill past its first reading.
It comes after 400 church leaders, including all three Anglican archbishops, the Catholic Archbishop and a Catholic cardinal, the Methodist Church president, and the Salvation Army commissioner signed an open letter to MPs calling on them to vote down the bill.
Luxon also recently visited Ngāruawāhia for the tangi of Kīngi Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII, held at Tūrangawaewae Marae.
In Korea, Luxon met with President Yoon Suk Yeol and the pair discussed regional security, growing trade links and a joint commitment to strengthening the relationship. Luxon also visited the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) which separates North and South Korea.
“Tensions on the Korean Peninsula continue to run high,” Luxon said.
“New Zealand is making concrete contributions to regional security through monitoring North Korean sanctions violations, and deployments to the United Nations Command in Korea.”
In Tonga, Luxon expressed New Zealand’s enthusiasm for Australia’s Pacific policing initiative, saying we were “all in” and would be contributing financially towards its $400m cost.
“We’re all in, we think it’s a fantastic idea.”
The initiative aims to establish regional training centres and a police response team able to assist when natural disasters and other crises hit in the Pacific.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has maintained the initiative was “Pacific-led”, but it was widely understood to be a response to China’s growing security presence in the region.
Luxon downplayed suggestions the initiative was intended to respond to China’s security push in the Pacific, claiming the “primary focus” was to reduce transnational crime and human and drug trafficking.
Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.