Christopher Luxon, former Conservative businessman, will be New Zealand’s next Prime Minister after Saturday’s (14) election victory. Whilst the ballots are continued to be counted, New Zealand citizens voted for the change after six years of a liberal government led primarily by Jacinda Arden.
At an event in Auckland, Luxon was joined on stage by wife, Amanda, and their children, William and Olivia. The new Prime Minister thanked those from across the country, telling the audience that he was humbled by the victory and couldn’t wait to get stuck in to his new job.
“You have reached for hope and you have voted for change,” he said.
Outgoing Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, who had spent nine months in the position after taking over from Arden, told supporters that he had called Luxon to concede.
Although Hipkins said that it wasn’t the result he wanted, he wants supporters “to be proud of what we achieved over the last six years”.
After Arden’s unexpected departure from the role in January, Hipkins was left to take over as Prime Minister. He previously held the position of education minister and led New Zealand’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Luxon’s campaign focused on tax-cuts for middle income earners and a crackdown on crime. Meanwhile, Hipkins promised free dental care for those under 30 and the removal of sales taxes on fruit and vegetables.
A vital factor in the election is the government’s relationship with Indigenous Māori. Luxon has promised efforts to cease the Māori Health Authority, a body he believes is creating two separate health systems. Hipkins is proud of the co-governance scheme, accusing Luxon of condoning racism.
Shortly after Hipkins took the reins in January, Hipkins was deal thing with crises following the deadly New Zealand floods and cyclone. He was quick to jettison some of Arden’s policies, promising a ‘back to basics’ approach which focused on the mitigating the effects of the spiralling cost of living.
During the six-week election campaign, both Hipkins and Luxon travelled the country and was active in front of the cameras.
Earlier in the week, Luxon, who served as chief executive of both Unilever Canada and Air New Zealand, told his crowd that he would be cracking down on gang violence.
“I’ve gotta tell you, crime is out of control in this country,” Luxon said. “And we are going to restore law and order, and we are going to restore personal responsibility.”
He was also cheered on for promising to fix the capital’s gridlocked traffic with a new tunnel project.
Luxon, relatively new to politics, held his group against Hipkins during televised
debates. However, according to political observers, Luxon also made some blunders.
When asked in a debate how much he spent each week on food, his answer was “about sixty bucks”. Showing he was out of touch with the cost of living crisis, Luxon was ridiculed on social media.
Source: AP News
