Every Tuesday morning during a sitting week of Parliament, political journalists assemble on the building’s black and white tiles ready to hear from, and question, the Prime Minister and other ministers on issues of the day.
This morning’s so-called caucus run began no differently to any other. Journalists mulled around chatting, waiting for some sign of activity from the Beehive.
Minutes before the National MPs were expected, a press release dropped from the Energy Minister’s office. It announced a new rule had been agreed to for the electricity sector, which the Government believed would boost competition and address affordability.
With power prices a hot topic and a significant contributor to the cost of living – a key area of focus for the Government – it looked as if Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Energy Minister Simon Watts wanted to set the agenda for the day ahead.
But it wasn’t Luxon who strode up to the stand of media microphones, but Nicola Willis, the Finance Minister, fresh back from the United Kingdom and United States where she had been meeting with businesses and Kiwi expats.
While caucus runs are usually a free-flowing, dynamic environment where journalists (verbally) pull aside MPs to ask their questions, there was a brief moment of confusion among some about why Willis was taking the spot the Prime Minister usually speaks from, particularly just after an announcement.
That was compounded by the fact that just moments later, Luxon and Watts began making their way across the tiles together, clearly expecting to discuss the electricity rule.
A photo snapped by a Herald journalist captured the moment. Instead of being in front of the main cluster of cameras, where his National deputy stood, the Prime Minister and Energy Minister were off the side of the tiles, huddling with journalists squeezed in around them.
After the issue of the electricity rule had been dealt to, the Prime Minister was asked about a social media post from the New Zealand Society, which had hosted a reception for Willis during her time in London.
The group, which supports New Zealanders in the UK and is headed by former gossip columnist Rachel Glucina, had posted: “As the room buzzed with excitement on the Minster’s visit, gentle whispers could be heard emanating from certain expat corners that perhaps we were mingling with New Zealand’s next Prime Minister.”
Luxon laughed it off.
“Look, I’m the Prime Minister. We’ve got a great work programme. We’ve got a great set of ministers,” he said.
“We’ve got the right people on the right assignments doing excellent work, and I think we’ve got a fantastic group of ministers working as an awesome team getting this country turned around.”
And as for Willis taking his mic stand? He suggested it was for “who gets here first”.
“That’s how it works here,” Luxon said, before quickly wrapping things up.
The New Zealand Society's President, Rachel Glucina, attended a reception yesterday evening for New Zealand’s Minister...
Posted by The New Zealand Society on Monday 11 August 2025
On the other side of the room, Willis acknowledged there had been no coordination about who was to speak at the mic stand and she had taken her shot.
“I regret that I came and took his lectern. What I was intending to do, was I wanted to make myself available to journalists to talk about what I learnt on my visit last week so I thought it was important I come down early.
“I had presumed he had already gone or was coming earlier. I am little bit embarrassed I took his microphones. I know he gets a lot of microphones and he won’t be shedding a tear.”
But she’s picked up some Prime Ministerial lingo, dropping a classic Luxonism of “what I will say” when responding to whether she had seen the New Zealand Society post. The Prime Minister’s well known to use variations of the phrase when answering questions.
“Someone did show me that, and what I will say is in this job you take a lot of slings and arrows. There’s a lot of insults, and if there’s the odd fan who’s a little exuberant, well, I guess that balances things out.”
She said being the next Prime Minister was “not on the cards” and didn’t believe taking the Prime Minister’s stand was a “power play”, as put to her by a journalist.
“It’s not a power play,” she said, laughing.
“I was not well coordinated enough in my timing. I wanted to make sure I came down and shared openly with New Zealanders what I was doing offshore and why it matters to them, and so I wanted to take a bit more time.
“I saw the microphones. I came to speak. I didn’t realise that I had taken the PM’s slot, and I reckon he’s going to forgive me. He gets quite a lot of time with the New Zealand media and I don’t know whether this is going to be a surprise to any of you, but I feel like he thinks he gets enough time with all of you.”
Jamie Ensor is a political reporter in the NZ Herald press gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub press gallery office. In 2025, he was a finalist for Political Journalist of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards.