Tuesday, 10 February 2026 12:25

Where is Luxon?

Written by The Hound

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OPINION: Why can't Christopher Luxon stand up to Winston Peters over the latter’s high-profile attack on the proposed Indian FTA?

No surprise that Peters has pulled out the immigration card and linked it to the FTA - and his narrative is gaining traction.

If Parliament does not approve the FTA as it stands, it will be detrimental to all Kiwis, not to mention sheep farmers and orchardists, among others, and will rob NZ of an important, stable market.

In terms of the battle, Winston has been hard hitting – throwing verbal hand grenades at Luxon and promising to derail the deal.

Luxon’s response seems to be to throw verbal powder puffs back, coming across as lacklustre and weak for not taking Peters head on.

A mate of yours truly reckons Luxon needs to grow a pair and claim the high ground on this issue.

Time to act like a politician and not a play-it-safe corporate manager.

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