PM Christopher Luxon speaks as Cabinet discusses Treaty Principles Bill

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is refusing to say what came out of today’s Cabinet discussions about the controversial Treaty Principles Bill but is confirming he’s yet to see a draft.

The Treaty Principles Bill, proposed by Act to re-define the Treaty principles, was discussed by Cabinet this afternoon, the Herald understands.

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Act leader David Seymour’s bill, part of the coalition Government’s agreement, will go to first reading in November and could be sent to a select committee for further discussion.

On the bill, Luxon said he wouldn’t talk about Cabinet matters but said more would be said about it shortly.

He couldn’t elaborate on the status of the bill. “David Seymour will have more to say about it shortly,” Luxon said.

However, Act’s coalition partners, National and NZ First, have said they will not support the bill past its first reading.

It comes after 400 church leaders, including all three Anglican archbishops, the Catholic Archbishop and a Catholic cardinal, the Methodist Church president, and the Salvation Army commissioner signed an open letter to MPs calling on them to vote down the bill.

Luxon also recently visited Ngāruawāhia for the tangi of Kīngi Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII, held at Tūrangawaewae Marae.

In Korea, Luxon met with President Yoon Suk Yeol and the pair discussed regional security, growing trade links and a joint commitment to strengthening the relationship. Luxon also visited the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) which separates North and South Korea.

“Tensions on the Korean Peninsula continue to run high,” Luxon said.

“New Zealand is making concrete contributions to regional security through monitoring North Korean sanctions violations, and deployments to the United Nations Command in Korea.”

In Tonga, Luxon expressed New Zealand’s enthusiasm for Australia’s Pacific policing initiative, saying we were “all in” and would be contributing financially towards its $400m cost.

“We’re all in, we think it’s a fantastic idea.”

The initiative aims to establish regional training centres and a police response team able to assist when natural disasters and other crises hit in the Pacific.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has maintained the initiative was “Pacific-led”, but it was widely understood to be a response to China’s growing security presence in the region.

Luxon downplayed suggestions the initiative was intended to respond to China’s security push in the Pacific, claiming the “primary focus” was to reduce transnational crime and human and drug trafficking.

Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.