December 7 2021
The first parliamentary showdown between Christopher Luxon's new-look National Party and Jacinda Ardern's Labour Government did not disappoint.
Opinion by Claire Trevett
Claire Trevett is the New Zealand Herald’s Political Editor, based at Parliament in Wellington.
If National's new leader Christopher Luxon learned anything from his first foray against Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, it is that it is futile owning a cannon if someone has stolen all your cannonballs.
That low-down thief was not Ardern – but Luxon's supposed ally, Act leader David Seymour.
ThePM herself was relatively gracious to the fifth leader of the Opposition she has faced.
Ardern shook Luxon's hand as MPs filed in for Question Time and congratulated him on his new role.
National leader Christopher Luxon smiles at an exchange during Question Time. Photo / Mark Mitchell
There was only a subtle sledge: as he questioned her about the traffic lights system she simply observed he had not been in Parliament back in mid-2020 when the first round of lockdowns were ending.
It was a reminder of just who the rookie was here, and who had been steering the country throughout the 18 months since then.
Instead of the PM, the one who seemed most determined to spoil Luxon's first outing was Seymour.
Seymour had the fortune to have Question 2 while Luxon had Question 4 - and the early bird gets the worm.
National's new front bench: Leader Chris Luxon flanked by deputy Nicola Willis (left) and finance spokesman Simon Bridges. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Seymour made the most of it, asking questions on all manner of Covid-19 related issues that he knew Luxon himself was probably hoping to tackle her on: Auckland being at the red setting, the rules, and roadblocks up north.
He then engaged in blatant theft: asking the PM the exact same question that National's finance spokesman Simon Bridges had lodged to ask Grant Robertson later in the hour.
By the time it got to Luxon, it seemed that all he had left among the vast stockpile of questions in front of him related to why more had not been done to increase ICU capacity since Covid arrived.
It was a safe enough pick. ICU capacity would indeed have been an area of vulnerability for the Government in the Covid response had New Zealand suffered the same spread as most other countries. It still could be, if the worst happens.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern answers questions from National leader Christopher Luxon in Question Time. Photo / Mark Mitchell
But it is also an issue that has been litigated over and over again, and the PM has responded to it over and over again - by highlighting the reasons ICU had not been overloaded. That is the overall success of the Covid response.
Even now, Seymour was not done. After Ardern said the problem was not funding the beds, but getting staff for them, Seymour leapt to his feet to beat Luxon to the next obvious question: why it had taken so long to open space for ICU staff in MIQ.
Instead of the PM, the one who seemed most determined to spoil Chris Luxon's first outing was David Seymour. Photo / Dean Purcell
That said, Luxon's ultimate goal was to survive without making an egg of himself or embarrassing the caucus that placed trust in the rookie. He did achieve that.
The only perilous moment was when he lost his place in the very long list of options for questions that he had in front of him.
Luxon had said before the encounter that he knew he was a rookie and hoped to get "better and better" over time.
That will undoubtedly happen: Luxon will also learn to pick topics that play to his own strengths and the PM's weakness, rather than the PM's strength: the Covid response.
That may require him to start doing a Seymour and stealing question lines himself – from his finance spokesman.
Bridges proceeded to show his new boss how to run a question line and what topics to pick. He zoomed right in on the rising cost of living.
Cost of living is fast shaping up to be the area of vulnerability for the Government and while it might not be all the Government's fault, that won't stop Bridges blaming them for it. It is also set to be around for some time to come while many aspects of the Covid response have now faded into irrelevancy.
That exchange delivered the best sledge of the day – when Bridges asked about inflation outstripping wage growth, Robertson noted "as the member might appreciate more than most, sometimes events can move quickly and numbers can shift around."
It was a clear reference to Bridges' recently failed attempt to get the numbers to take the leadership himself.
