Talking to The Front Page, NZ Herald Chief Political Reporter in the press gallery Jamie Ensor said “what was notable about that statement though, was that he didn’t say that he had the full support of his caucus".
Speculation has been rife about the stability of Luxon’s position after poor poll results, a series of public gaffes and reports of discontent within the party.
The interest in what might take place in today’s caucus meeting only intensified when Luxon didn’t take questions from media prior to the meeting, as is the regular routine.
" Normally what happens is he comes across the black and white tiles at Parliament on his way to the caucus room, stops for about 10 minutes, speaks to the media about the issues of the day, then continues on," Ensor said.
Instead, waiting media were told Luxon would be speaking after the meeting.
“That caucus meeting ended up going for about two and a half hours, which is far longer than most caucus meetings usually go.”
When Luxon did address media, he delivered a short statement of around two and a half minutes that confirmed his leadership was intact and saying “that matter is now closed”.
Luxon went on to address the media directly.
“You give citizens the chance to know the truth about their countries and their governments, and hold leaders like me accountable – and I welcome that,” he said.
“But if the media want to keep focusing on speculation and rumour, I am not going to engage.”
In response to the Prime Minister’s comments, Ensor said, " We can continue to report on the issues of the day, the fuel crisis, the cost-of-living crisis, the geopolitical developments of the day, while also highlighting what is going on in what is the biggest parliamentary party.
" It is the party that provides the biggest number of ministers in the Government. It provides the Prime Minister. Talking about the leadership of the National Party ... New Zealanders will want to know that party is stable, that the party of government is stable. That is very much what the intention of our reporting is."
After his press conference, Luxon immediately stepped away without responding to questions from journalists.
A number of caucus members were asked about the vote as they left the meeting. Some stated they had voted in support of Luxon, others refused to reveal how they voted.
Whether the vote was unanimous in favour of Luxon remains unclear, with detailed results of the secret ballot only known to scrutineers.
What is clear is that today was no ordinary day at the Beehive.
“I personally haven’t seen anything quite as chaotic in my career ... and I think that speaks to the stakes of today,” Ensor said.
Luxon may consider the matter of questions around his leadership now closed, but the potential for another confidence vote is already being discussed.
“This is not the first time it’s going to happen, you see,” NZ First leader Winston Peters said.
“Even if a leader survives a confidence vote, it often just leads to another one down the track,” Ensor said.
Listen to the full episode to hear more on:
- what the day was like for media reporting on the caucus meeting
- the significance of Chief Whip Stewart Smith’s absence
- why the meeting might have gone on so long
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5pm. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.
You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
