Jason Walls: Political editor says that limited environmental damage from sinking is seen as a “good win” for Luxon

Prime Minister Chris Luxon has apologised to Samoa's Government, over the sinking of HMNZS Manawanui this month.

Chris Luxon and Political Editor Jason Walls is at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa.

Luxon says his meeting with the king went well and that he was “very knowledgeable” about several issues.

Walls says that the king expressed his love for New Zealand by the amount of knowledge he had for it and that the Prime Minister said that he was “quite charming”.

Walls said that Luxon was very clear yesterday that it has not been as bad as he imagined it was or any of the initial estimates in terms of environmental change. As there is verylimitedenvironmental damage, Walls says that people don't seem too overwhelmingly upset.

Walls said that Luxon said that he's “chalking that up to a big, a good win and of course the fact that nobody died”.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Afternoon. The Prime Minister has met King Charles for the
first time. They're both at the Commonwealth Heads of Government
meeting and some more, and Christopher Luxen says his meeting
with the King went well.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
He was very knowledgeable about a number of issues, very
knowledgeable about New Zealand, very interested in New Zealand. And
you know, it was a very natural conversation and it
was just the two of us sitting outside and having
a chat on a couple of seats.

Speaker 1 (00:20):
News dogs be political leaders. To Jason wools is in
some war for us? Hey, Jason, good afternoon, Heather. Do
we know what the two of them talked about?

Speaker 3 (00:28):
We have very little information as to what actually they
talked about. I mean, there is this apparently, according to
the Prime Minister, there is a bit of a royal
protocol where you don't actually talk about what was said,
but you can kind of give a sort of vague
implication as what they talked about. And as you just
heard in that clip, they talked about how much the
King likes New Zealand, how much he has a deep

(00:49):
knowledge for it, and the Prime Minister said that he
was quite charming. So we don't we know quite a
lot of surface level information such as that, but anythink
a little bit deeper, we probably.

Speaker 1 (00:58):
Won't know apologize over the navy ship sinking.

Speaker 3 (01:02):
Well, listen, he's sort of always has apologized in a sense.
I mean, he's said from the beginning. He said, he's
made his apologies clear to the Samoan governments and that
has been a theme throughout this whole time he's been
in Samoa for the Commonwealth Heads Forum. He talked about
it yesterday when he was addressing press. He talked about
it again today. But interestingly, interestingly, on the other side

(01:23):
of town, we're talking to Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters
who said that there is no apology necessary essentially, and
we just got finished with that stand up. So it
sounds like the tour on a slightly different footing when
it comes to that. But of course the Prime Minister
says he's already conveyed those apologies, so it's already been done.

Speaker 1 (01:42):
So tell me what's the vibe that you're getting there
on the ground. Are they angry about the thing going down?

Speaker 3 (01:47):
Oh? But the thing is it's a it's literally on
the other side of the island, so we can't physically
see it, and so there isn't this looming shadow from
where we're sitting. However, obviously it is metaphorically looming over this,
over Choggham. I mean there is a New Zealand Navy
vessel that sunk in their waters. I mean there is
a lot of climate mitigation work going on. Luxon was

(02:10):
very clear yesterday that it has not been as bad
as he thought it was or any of the initial
estimates in terms of the environmental damage, and he said
he's talking that up to a big a good win
and of course the fact that nobody died. So at
this stage, because there is a very limited environmental damage,
it doesn't seem like there is overwhelming upset. There was,
as I understand, supposed to be a protest planned around that,

(02:32):
but that didn't even go ahead today. So you know,
if a protest doesn't go ahead, you can't really assume
that things are really out of control with anger.

Speaker 1 (02:39):
There's some very interesting that Charles and his speech actually
addressed this issue of his government over in the UK
paying reparations for slavery, historic slavery. Has it been any
reaction to that.

Speaker 3 (02:49):
In terms of the Prime Minister. No, we were pretty
focused on just I mean, there was a lot of
climate change chat that commentary that King Charles had in
his speech, and we briefly try to bring it up
with Winston Peters, who is less than forthcoming to reporters
about whether New Zealand has to or what his reaction
was to that. But it's the sort of thing. You know,

(03:11):
you have these deliberate lines in these set piece speeches,
especially from a monarch, that are specifically designed to set
a news agenda and start a conversation, and you can
bet your bottom dollar that's exactly what the press team
and the royal in Castle Windsor we're doing.

Speaker 1 (03:28):
Brilliant. Jason, thanks very much, enjoy your time. There's news Talks.
He'd be political leader to Jason Woolsey.

Speaker 3 (03:32):
For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive.

Speaker 1 (03:35):
Listen live to News Talks. It'd be from four pm weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.