PM Christopher Luxon talks school lunches, Parliament’s ‘Mexican Stand-off’ and economic growth

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says he is confident the new-look free school lunch regime will overcome teething problems.

And he has also again had his say on the verbals in Parliament earlier this week - dubbed a “Mexican Standoff” by New Zealand First - saying he wouldn’t have made comments that had come from the likes of Winston Peters and Shane Jones.

Luxon and new Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, also the Finance Minister, spoke to media this afternoon at the Fisher and Paykel Healthcare facility in East Tāmaki.

The visit followed more complaints about the quality of some of the free school lunches, which has seen some people sharing unflattering photos of meals dished up to children during their first week back at school for 2025.

Luxon said there had been teething problems around timeliness and quality with regard to school lunches.

Associate Education Minister David Seymour is working hard at improving that and Luxon expects the minister to get it to the right place.

The Prime Minister is unaware if the company supplying the lunches will be penalised.

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In terms of the latest Parliamentary barbs across the debating chamber, the Prime Minister said it is up to all MPs to watch their rhetoric.

NZ First Minister Shane Jones called out in Parliament “send the Mexicans home” during a verbal stoush between his party leader Winston Peters and members of the Green Party.

The embassy said yesterday it was following up on the matter through “diplomatic channels”.

Luxon said today MPs are in Parliament to focus on the New Zealand people, he said.

Asked what he thought about the Mexican Embassy raising concerns about comments from Jones, Luxon said that was for Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters to address.

Earlier, Peters had said he was looking forward to seeing the Mexican ambassador at Waitangi Day celebrations.

Luxon repeated today that the offending statements weren’t comments he would make.

Pushed on when he would sort out his coalition partners, Luxon said he was not the language police.

He said he was focused on getting results from his ministers, including economic growth. If it was a National MP who made those comments, he would make the same remarks.

Willis said the best way to generate money to invest in health and schools is to grow the economy faster.

Every time we get more tourists and more exports, that produces more tax revenue, she said.

The visit comes as the PM pushes a plan that he says will help speed up economic growth in New Zealand.

Luxon said he was pleased to see optimism being reported about 2025 growth in an Infometrics report.

Economic growth has become a Luxon catch-cry in 2025 and was central to the Government’s “digital nomad” scheme launched on Monday that would allow people visiting New Zealand on short stays to work remotely for their employers back home.

Unlike similar schemes overseas which use a special visa, the Government’s scheme would be bolted on to New Zealand’s existing visitor visa scheme, meaning people visiting New Zealand on an ordinary tourist visa can continue working for their foreign employer.

People visiting New Zealand from a visa waiver country like the United States, Japan, South Korea, Argentina, Israel, and the European Union would be able to work as part of their visa.

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Adam Pearse is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team, based at Parliament. He has worked for NZME since 2018, covering sport and health for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei before moving to the NZ Herald in Auckland, covering Covid-19 and crime.