Luxon’s Rethink – A Radical Pipeline of Absolutely Nothing New
The Wrong Sort of Recycling
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says he wants a “total rethink” of how New Zealand approaches major events, pitching it as a way to stimulate the economy. He envisions a pipeline of conferences, spectacles, and cultural showcases - a steady calendar designed to pump energy and dollars into the country.
On the face of it, it’s not a bad idea. Events can attract visitors, fill hotels and give local businesses a shot in the arm. Yet the announcement lands less like a bold new economic strategy and more like a leader in search of something - anything - that might generate momentum.
We’ve seen this before. When Chris Hipkins realised his government was sliding towards defeat, he began tossing Labour’s long-held principles overboard in the hope of appearing pragmatic and cost-of-living focused. Climate policies, health reforms, equity programmes - all quietly and shamefully shelved. The effect was not rejuvenation but a kind of hollow embarrassment. A government that looked like it no longer knew what it stood for.
Luxon now risks a mirror image. Big talk of rethinking events. Hints that the foreign buyers ban is “so close” to being lifted. A list of infrastructure projects framed as proof of progress. It all sounds active, but none of it feels like vision. It is activity for the sake of activity - announcements strung together in the hope that they add up to a story.
The problem is that major events take years to secure and deliver. The economic pay-offs are long-term, uncertain and vulnerable to global shocks. Foreign buyers might re-enter the housing market, but that will not solve deep affordability issues. And pointing to $815 million in level crossing upgrades, port recovery timelines, or a $7 billion project pipeline is fine, but this is standard government business, not transformative direction.
Even on foreign policy, where Luxon has shown unusual bluntness in calling out Israel over Gaza, the stance feels carefully hedged. Demanding humanitarian access while holding off on recognising a Palestinian state is a way of looking principled without fully committing. Let’s call it performative arm flailing.
The comparison with Hipkins is unflattering but apt. Both men, at moments of political unpopularity, turned to a scatter of policies that looked like action but carried the faint odour of desperation. In each case, the announcements were meant to project control but instead highlighted the absence of a coherent narrative.
Governments survive unpopularity if they can still tell a clear story about where they’re heading. Hipkins lost his story and with it his support. Luxon is in danger of doing the same. A rethink of major events may deliver a few headline wins, but without deeper vision, it will look like what it is - a Prime Minister scraping around for something to look good over.
Aotearoa deserves better than the spinelessness dished up by consecutive Prime Ministers.
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