Nick Mills: Does Prime Minister Luxon show leadership in times of crisis?

Unrest in the Middle East continues. 

I watched that stand-up from the Prime Minister and I’ve got to be honest with you — I walked away feeling uneasy. 

Not because I expect a New Zealand Prime Minister to be a Middle East historian.  

We’re a small country. Our politics is usually about rates, roads, schools, the price of butter. I get that. 

But when the world tips into crisis —when the United States and Israel launch strikes on Iran— that’s not a domestic moment. That's what I call an international flashpoint.  

That’s oil prices, security alliances, global instability, the rules-based order we rely on as a small trading nation. 

And I’m sorry, that performance didn’t fill me with confidence. 

On Sunday, Christopher Luxon and Winston Peters said the Government “acknowledged” the US and Israeli action, but wouldn’t say whether New Zealand supported it.  

On Monday morning, pressed to explain what “acknowledge” actually meant, the Prime Minister struggled to articulate it.  

He repeated that the Iranian regime is “evil” —and many would agree, given its repression at home and behaviour abroad— but that wasn’t really the question. 

The question is: where does New Zealand stand? 

Under international law, military intervention has a high bar.  

Pre-emptive self-defence is defined narrowly under the century-old Caroline doctrine – the threat must be “instant, overwhelming, leaving no choice of means and no moment for deliberation.”  

Luxon said he hadn’t seen intelligence, hadn’t asked for any beyond regular briefings, and those matters were “to be determined”.

That’s the moment I thought: hang on. 

You don’t have to reveal classified material, but you do have to look like you’re in command.  

Former Foreign and Defence Minister Phil Goff spoke to Ryan Bridge this morning, questioning why the Government hadn’t already ruled the Iranian Regime a terrorist organization.  

You do have to project calm authority. You do have to explain the principles guiding the country. 

Instead, it felt uncomfortable. Out of his depth. Out of his comfort zone. 

And maybe that’s the brutal truth of politics – you don’t get to choose when the world tests you. You don’t get to say, “this isn’t my portfolio".  

If you’re Prime Minister, every crisis is your crisis. 

So here’s the question I want to put to you tonight: 

Did you feel confident watching Christopher Luxon handle that moment? 

Did you feel like he was in control? Like he understood the stakes? Like he knew exactly where New Zealand sits in a conflict like this? 

Or did you, like me, feel it was one of the weakest stand-ups you’ve seen from a Prime Minister in a long time? 

Because in times of international tension, tone matters. Clarity matters. Leadership under pressure matters. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Wellington Mornings podcast with Nick Mills
from News Talks at b as.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Unrest when the Middle East continues. I watched the stand
up from the Prime Minister yesterday and I've got to
be honest with you. I foot walked away or I
sat there looking at him, thinking I'm a bit uneasy
with that response, maybe even a little bit disappointed. Not
because I expect New Zealand Prime Minister be to be

(00:34):
a Middle Eastern historian, No, I don't. We're a small country.
Our politics usually is about the rates, the roads, the schools,
the hospitals, the price of butter, and I get that.
But when the world tips into a crisis, when United
States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, that's not a

(00:56):
domestic moment. That is what I call an international flashpoint.
That's oil prices, security alliances, global instability, the rules based
order we as a small nation, a small training nation,
rely on And I'm sorry, and I shouldn't be sorry

(01:17):
that the performance by the Prime Minister didn't fill me
with confidence. On Sunday, Christopher Luxan and Winston's Peter said
the government acknowledged the US and Israel action, but wouldn't
say where the New Zealand supported it, remember that very strongly.
Well on Monday Monday morning, the Prime Minister was pressed

(01:39):
to explain what acknowledge actually meant. The Prime Minister struggled
to articulate it. He repeatedly said that Ira Resume regime
is evil. Now, there's not too many of us that
wouldn't agree with that, and given its reputation at home

(02:00):
and its behavior aboard, that wasn't really the question. The
question is where does New Zealand stand under international law?
Military intervention has a high bar preemptive self defenses defined
narrowly under the century old Carolin doctrin. Now I talked

(02:24):
about the Caroline doctrine a bit later. The threat must
be instant, overwhelming, leaving no choice of means and no
moment for deliberation. Luxon said he hasn't seen intelligence, He

(02:45):
hasn't asked for any beyond regular briefings, and those matters
were to be determined. Now, think about that for a minute,
I thought, hang on, you haven't had the chance to
reveal classified material. Now we're not asking for you to

(03:08):
tell us about it, but we'd ask you to have
a look at it. You're in command. Former Foreign Defense
Minister Phil Goff spoke to Ryan Bridge this morning, questioning
why the government hadn't already ruled the Iranian and resume
a terrorist organization. Pretty simple, isn't it. He also said

(03:29):
that luxA needs to be more consistent with diplomatic relations,
using Russia as an example.

Speaker 3 (03:36):
You need to be consistent in your foreign policy, and
you need to follow the rule of law. Really, Luxe's
at six and seven's over that. That's obvious from his performances.
He knows that the action by Trump and Israel was illegal,
but he just can't find the words to say that
and say, well, we don't care about the rule of

(03:57):
international law anymore.

Speaker 2 (03:58):
Now. I get it that you have to protect the
calm authority, you have to explain the principles guiding the country. Instead,
it felt uncomfortable. He felt really out of his depth,
out of his comfort zone. Once again, I'll go back
to it. I don't expect them to be in his
comfort zone. And maybe that's the brutal truth of politics.

(04:20):
But you don't get to choose the situation when the
world tests you. You don't get to say this isn't
my portfolio. If you're Prime minister, every crisis is yours
to prove that you're leading. So here's the question that
I want to put to you this morning. Did you

(04:40):
feel confident watching Christopher Luction handle that moment? Did you
feel like that he was in control, like he understood
the stakes, like he knew exactly where New Zealand sits
in a conflict like this, or did you, like me,
feel that that was one of the weakest stand ups
you've seen from a prime minister in a long time,

(05:03):
because in times of international tension, tone matters, clarity matters,
leadership under pressure matters.

Speaker 1 (05:13):
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