Firefighter’s crude gesture: Prime Minister says he wasn’t aware as he watches for first time

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he hadn’t been aware of a video circulating showing a firefighter making an obscene gesture behind his back, but that it is “up to individuals” how they respond to him.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand yesterday said it was investigating after the footage emerged online.

The video, which was posted to TikTok but has since been removed, shows Luxon speaking with a person wearing a hi-vis vest with the word “fire” on the back and a yellow helmet.

The short clip shows Luxon chatting and gesturing as he speaks to the person in front of a Defence Force helicopter. He then pats them on the arm before heading towards the chopper, turning back to wave towards the camera for a moment.

The firefighter then turns to the camera and makes an obscene gesture, commonly used to mockingly simulate masturbation.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was filmed speaking to the person and patting their arm before they made a crude gesture behind his back.

A spokeswoman for Fire and Emergency said the department “does not condone the behaviour depicted in the video”.

“We are investigating the matter.”

It is understood the firefighter is a woman working for a volunteer brigade on the East Coast.

“Everyone on the East Coast knows her,” one person told the Herald.

“Hopefully FENZ understand the right to freedom of expression still exists in Aotearoa, and while the gesture may offend some people in power, many NZers appreciate it immensely - she expressed what most of us are thinking and, far from ‘bringing the organisation into disrepute’, it increased our appreciation of FENZ volunteers even more.”

The person said the video was shot in Te Araroa.

Luxon has been travelling around the country over the past week in a Defence Force helicopter to visit areas affected by flooding and landslides after tropical storms hit the country on January 21.

On Ryan Bridge TODAY this morning, Bridge asked Luxon if he had seen the video, to which he responded he hadn’t. Bridge then showed Luxon the clip, which Luxon appeared to laugh at.

“I didn’t see that, no,” he said.

“My job is just to go out there and make sure we engage with people.”

He said his role as Prime Minister was to go out into the community and make sure people were getting the support they needed from the Government.

“That’s up to individuals how they respond to that.”

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon laughed after watching the video, apparently for the first time.

Bridge asked whether Luxon thought the firefighter should be reprimanded.

Luxon did not directly answer the question, saying he had “a lot of moving pieces” over the last couple of weeks and felt the Government had done a good job responding to the weather devastation around parts of the country.

Despite being removed from the TikTok account it was originally posted on, the video has been shared widely on other social media sites.

On one Facebook post, the footage had been rewatched over 100,000 times. The majority of comments on the post endorsed the firefighter’s gesture and expressed amusement.

“It’s so condescending the way he paws strangers,” one commenter wrote.

Others said the exchange was “priceless”, and several others suggested the firefighter would receive a King’s Honour after the election.

The Herald has contacted the person who first posted the video to Tik Tok.

The Prime Minister’s office did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday.

Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice, and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 12 years.