New Zealand High Commissioner to Samoa suggested $10k donation amid Christopher Luxon matai title koha discussions
Tuisinavemaulumoto'otua Christopher Luxon takes part in a ceremony bestowing his matai title in Apia, Samoa, in March. Photo / Government of Samoa
New Zealand’s High Commissioner to Samoa suggested giving thousands of dollars to an undetermined project in Apia as officials explored koha arrangements ahead of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon being bestowed with a matai title.
The suggestion of a grant was made before the Samoan Government told New Zealand officials that it would “cover the koha for Apia Village relating to the matai title”, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) said.
However, New Zealand still proceeded with a grant, which ended up being about $31,000, to Apia Village to help with preparations for Samoa’s Independence Day. Those celebrations occurred on Monday, with Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters in attendance.
MFAT told the Herald that the grant would have been made whether or not the matai title had been bestowed, and that the payment of a koha was a “customary requirement”.
The Herald obtained the correspondence through the Official Information Act (OIA). It reveals officials’ communications about the matai title in the lead-up to the Prime Minister’s trip to Samoa in March.
The bestowing of the chiefly title on Luxon largely overshadowed the visit, with “miscommunication”, as Luxon put it, over what had led to him receiving the honour.
At one point, Samoan media reported Samoan Prime Minister La’aulialemalietoa Polataivao Leuatea Fosi Schmidt as saying that Luxon had requested the title via New Zealand’s High Commissioner. This was strongly denied by Luxon’s office and MFAT.
Schmidt issued a statement confirming that neither Luxon nor his representatives requested a title. Then, at a state dinner, Schmidt revealed that he had received a 3am phone call from New Zealand indicating that the matai title ceremony could be called off.
However, Luxon ultimately went through with it, receiving the title of Tuisinavemaulumoto’otua at a traditional ava ceremony. He was the sixth New Zealand Prime Minister to receive such a title.
One email thread included in the OIA response is from New Zealand’s High Commissioner to Samoa, Si’alei van Toor, to a group of officials on February 15, about a month before the trip.
In it, van Toor said: “I suggest we offer Apia village a 10k HEF [New Zealand High Commission Fund] grant for a project but will need to be in touch with them to figure out on what”.
The email was sent as part of planning for the “Pacific Mission”, though all other content in the email thread is redacted.
MFAT sought to address the content of that email proactively by including an explanatory comment in a letter provided to the Herald alongside the correspondence.
It said that, early in the planning for the visit, “there was reference to a High Commission grant for a project for Apia Village”.
“This was prior to being informed by the Government of Samoa that it would cover the koha for Apia Village relating to the matai title,” the letter said.
“As announced during the ava ceremony, the New Zealand High Commission has proceeded with the grant for Apia Village, which relates to their preparation for Samoa’s Independence Day on June 1, 2026.
“The grant was made in recognition of the longstanding and close relationship between New Zealand and Apia Village, including support for the New Zealand engagement with Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) as Apia Village was the ‘host’ village for New Zealand during CHOGM.”
The Herald asked MFAT a series of questions, including whether the consideration of the grant was in response to the matai title, why New Zealand proceeded with the grant if the Samoan Government was covering the koha, and whether the grant would have been made had the matai title ceremony not occurred.
MFAT said in a statement that the “grant would have been made whether or not the bestowal had taken place”.
It said the HEF grant for an Apia Village project had been “floated as officials explored appropriate koha requirements for the ava and bestowal ceremonies”.
“The Government of Samoa subsequently informed us that it would cover the koha for Apia Village. Payment of such a koha to the hosting village is a customary requirement.”
MFAT also said the High Commission ended up granting approximately $31,000 to support “infrastructure” for the village’s Independence Day celebrations. This was described as in line with other HEF grants made in Samoa.
The rest of the communications released via the OIA show officials discussing how to explain the significance of the matai title, including framing it as “recognising New Zealand as a whole”.
There were also questions over when to tell media about the title in the week before the trip.
Ultimately, MFAT officials had to respond to journalists’ questions about the Samoan Prime Minister’s reported remarks and deny that the High Commissioner had requested a title for Luxon.
Briefing material for the Prime Minister sent ahead of the trip said the matai title “is far more than a cultural honour, it is a declaration of kinship diplomacy that [...] New Zealand is not just another state, we are viewed as extended family”.
It listed “former New Zealand Prime Ministers with matai titles”, mentioning Sir Robert Muldoon, David Lange, Jim Bolger, Sir John Key and Sir Bill English. It also included Peters, despite his only having been an acting Prime Minister.
At the Apia ceremony, Luxon thanked the village, saying, “we are now connected forever ... this is not just a relationship, we are family”.
He later acknowledged there had been “some miscommunication” about the title, but he wanted to move on from that.
At a dinner, Schmidt addressed apparent dissent in Samoa and on social media about Luxon receiving the title.
“Do not worry about the nonsense on Facebook,” he said. “Let the village of Apia sort it out and handle it with respect. It is normal for us here.”
Jamie Ensor is the NZ Herald’s Chief Political Reporter, based in the press gallery at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub press gallery office. He was a finalist in 2025 for Political Journalist of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards.