New Zealand sets November 7 election date

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the election date, which lands a month after the All Blacks play at home against Australia, was swayed in part by the sports-mad country’s fixtures. — Reuters pic

WELLINGTON, Jan 21 — New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon called general elections for November 7 today, touting his government’s record on the economy and crime.

Luxon said the election date, which lands a month after the All Blacks play at home against Australia, was swayed in part by the sports-mad country’s fixtures.

The latest Taxpayers Union/Curia survey released last month gave the opposition Labour Party a narrow lead of 31.6 per cent to 30.0 per cent over Luxon’s conservative National Party.

But the poll indicated that Luxon’s coalition government would still remain in power, based on those figures, with the support of its partner parties.

Luxon vowed that his government would “deliver on our plan to fix the basics”.

“When we took office the country was going in the wrong direction, and it’s taken a lot of hard work in the last two years to start turning things around,” the prime minister told reporters.

“The economy is picking up, with increasing business and consumer confidence, building and manufacturing taking off, and exports doing incredibly well.”

‘Desperate’ 

The prime minister pointed to inflation dropping from seven per cent under the previous government to less than three per cent.

Luxon also highlighted a free trade agreement struck with India, saying legislation to enshrine it was expected to pass this year.

He commended his own government’s efforts to combat crime.

“In law and order, police are more visible on the beat, there are 38,000 fewer victims of crime, youth offending is down by 16 percent and ram raids are down by 85 per cent,” Luxon said.

Opposition Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins, who was briefly prime minister after Jacinda Ardern’s resignation in 2023, said Luxon had picked a late election date because he was “desperate” to keep his job.

“It’s a late election relative to what we’ve seen recently,” Hipkins said.

“We’ve typically seen New Zealand going to the polls in October rather than in November,” he added.

“That suggests that he’s desperate to hold on as long as he can.”

Hipkins said his party would campaign with positivity.

“All Christopher Luxon and National are offering is more blame, more excuses, more negativity, more cuts.

“New Zealand is a better country than that.”

The last election in 2023 was held on October 14. — AFP