Revealed: Why Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was rushed away from Auckland media briefing

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was rushed away from a briefing to the media last month after police received intelligence of a security risk.

On July 26, Luxon was rushed away from the central Auckland media stand-up by a member of the Diplomatic Protection Service, an arm of the police that looks after the Prime Minister’s Security. One DPS officer could be heard telling Luxon, “we need to leave right now” as he ushered them away. Other officers could be heard saying “we gotta go”.

A police response to an Official Information Act request from the Herald said “the Prime Minister was removed from the scene following receipt of intelligence about a potential security risk”.

Police said that all further information relating to the decision was withheld as making it available would be likely to prejudice the maintenance of the law.

It was reported at the time that Luxon was moved on to avoid being caught up with people protesting Israel’s invasion of Gaza, which has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians. Information released by the police is silent on the matter of whether the threat and the protest were connected.

Luxon’s office said they did not comment on security matters.

Protests in New Zealand and around the world have grown as governments have proved themselves to be powerless to stop the bloodshed.

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) lifted Australia’s terror threat level to “probable” last month. ASIO’s director-general Mike Burgess said the conflict in Gaza was not the “cause” for raising the terror level, though it had been a “significant driver”.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urged Australians to debate issues like the war in Gaza peacefully.

“No one is suggesting people should have conformity to particular views, but the way people express things is important,” Albanese said.

“It is not normal to have people in occupations for months outside electorate offices, where the work of those electorate offices is to assist people.”

Luxon said at the time he had not been advised there was a greater risk of threats such as politically related violence in this country. The terror threat level is currently low meaning a terrorist attack is a realistic possibility.

In April of this year, Luxon urged the Israeli Government to accept a ceasefire, and urged Israel not to move into Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip.

Negotiations for a ceasefire are still ongoing. American media cited US officials claiming those talks were at an advanced stage until Hamas’ political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in Tehran in late July in an assassination Iran blamed on Israel.

The New Zealand Labour Party has called for the Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-state solution. The Government has stopped short of this, arguing that New Zealand’s longstanding bipartisan support for a two-state solution recognises the fact that both sides of the aisle believe in a Palestinian state.

Thomas Coughlan is deputy political editor and covers politics from Parliament. He has worked for the Herald since 2021 and has worked in the Press Gallery since 2018.