Christopher Luxon in a crisis and the question he’s yet to answer - Adam Pearse
THE FACTS
- Six people are missing after a landslide at the base of Mount Maunganui’s Mauao.
- Recovery work has resumed after delays over fears further slips could occur.
- Prime Minister Christopher Luxon attended a vigil last night alongside more than 200 people.
Much of what defines a leader comes down to how they respond in a crisis.
Sir John Key and Dame Jacinda Ardern are modern examples of how prime ministers can navigate disasters, whether they be natural, economic or pandemic-related.
Ardern in particular gained international renown with her response to the Christchurch terror attack and Covid-19.
Perhaps unfairly, her prime ministerial successors will never be able to escape comparisons to what many will regard as the gold standard in responding to a crisis with compassion and fortitude in equal measure.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins suffered under these expectations in his short time as PM after Ardern resigned.
While an experienced operator with media, Hipkins appeared to struggle on the doorstep of a flood-ravaged home and in the delicate conversations with people whose lives had just been turned upside down.
In Luxon, we almost have the opposite.
Ahead of the 2023 election, the then Opposition leader prided himself on stretching every last minute to speak to as many people as possible during campaign visits, a stark contrast to Hipkins who has since upped his game in this regard.
He’s followed much the same approach in the days after the tragic landslide in Mount Maunganui, a fatal slip in Welcome Bay and extensive damage across Bay of Plenty, the East Coast and Northland.
Media were restricted from witnessing Luxon’s conversations with the family of those still missing at the Mount Maunganui campsite, but several visits were made across two days.
Last night’s vigil saw Luxon stay until dark, chatting with many who had converged on Blake Park to watch the sun go down on Mauao.
Showing little concern for his suit, he plonked himself down on the grass and nattered away.
Attending the vigil had come with a fair amount of risk for Luxon. Details of the event, organised by local families, were sparse and largely circulated through word-of-mouth and online.
Without any idea of the structure and crowd sizes, staff feared they’d convinced the Prime Minister to drive three hours to a vigil no one would show up to.
In the end, he joined more than 200 people in what came as a surprise to organisers. Assured questions would be answered afterwards, journalists gave him the space to engage without it turning into a complete circus.
It should serve as a lesson to the strategists planning their upcoming election campaigns that a little bravery and flexibility can pay off.
Luxon’s conversations tend to stick to the basics: who you are, where you’re from, how you’re doing. He has a habit of zeroing in on kids and asking about school; not particularly relevant to his reason for being there but perhaps there’s value in taking their mind off it.
Where Luxon’s skills falter is when he’s staring down the barrel of a camera, prone to fall back on well-used lines instead of offering more unique reflections.
He can thank his lucky stars he has Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell, who has looked every bit a calm and confident leader in the last week but one who is also happy to step aside and play the supporting role.
Some claim Luxon used the vigil for his own publicity. Others have been critical that Luxon didn’t rush to Tauranga on the same day as the slip fell.
His more regular critics within Māoridom have scolded the Prime Minister for skipping Rātana to travel across the impacted regions the following day.
Luxon might find solace in the quote often attributed to Steve Jobs: if you want to make everyone happy, don’t be a leader. Sell ice cream.
Luxon will tomorrow announce Cabinet’s decision on what support the Government will provide those impacted by last week’s deadly storms.
It will need to be multi-pronged to service the cut-off communities of the East Coast and Northland as well as the businesses inside the Mount Maunganui police cordon, which are losing thousands every day in what is their peak season.
While Luxon has promised “a Government here that wants to help”, the more important question Luxon needs to answer is how New Zealand adapts to the increasingly frequent and severe impacts of climate change.
Questions to that effect have been met with a promise of bipartisanship and a recommendation to talk to Climate Change Minister Simon Watts, who is working on a national flood map due to be released this year.
How Luxon delivers on what is one of the greatest threats facing this country will go a long way toward defining his own legacy as a leader.
Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for NZME since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland.