Christopher Luxon says he will work with the likely new UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in the wake of the projected Labour landslide.
A UK exit poll has forecast Labour will win 410 seats, with the Conservatives heading for their worst result of the modern era.
The Prime Minister said he would work with “every leader the partner countries deliver” and was confident he would have a good relationship with whoever won the election.
Luxon spoke to journalists in Ashburton with just days remaining before he travels to the United States for this year’s Nato summit in Washington DC.
Luxon was visiting the farming co-operative Ruralco.
He said the wool industry was a “classic” but there had not been enough innovation in the sector.
The sector faced challenges and some “very exciting” R&D projects were under way, such as grounding wool down to a substance for paint or the make-up industry.
To “move the needle” we needed to innovate strongly, Luxon said, and figure out how to get better prices for it.
On military-style academies, Luxon said he would not accept the “status quo” of what has been happening in New Zealand.
“Pundits, media and commentators may not like it,” he said, but the Government would be trying something “different”.
“I care deeply about those young people,” he said, adding he cared deeply about victims of crime and reducing crime in New Zealand.
“Why on earth we wouldn’t try something different given how abysmal” the results have been, he said.
On Newshub’s last day today, Luxon thanked the “Newshubbers” for all the work they had done and their contribution, adding he wished them the best for what’s to come.
Luxon to attend Nato summit
On Monday, Luxon is set to fly to the US ahead of the summit, alongside other world leaders, with whom he willhold several bilateral meetings.
Luxon has said security would be a central focus of the summit, particularly with respect to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
During the summit, a meeting of the Indo-Pacific Four – New Zealand, Australia, Japan and Korea – will take place. It was the third time such a meeting had been held at a Nato summit, intended to allow the countries’ leaders to discuss shared challenges.
Luxon is also set to meet with members of the US administration and Congress.
“It is imperative that we have good relationships with key American decision-makers, so they understand what New Zealand is trying to achieve in the world,” he said.
After Washington DC, Luxon would travel to San Francisco with the intention of securing “greater investment links” between New Zealand and the United States, Aotearoa’s second-largest trading partner.
Yesterday, Luxon and Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey elaborated on the Government’s five mental health and addiction targets revealed in the Government Policy Statement on health.
In an interview with the Herald, Doocey said he was confident the targets could be achieved, despite data concerning some of the metrics never before being collected.
“We will need to move at speed to set up the data monitoring and ensuring data quality as well.”
Adam Pearse is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team, based at Parliament. He has worked for NZME since 2018, covering sport and health for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei before moving to the Herald in Auckland, covering Covid-19 and crime.
