Christopher Luxon: Prime Minister on his one-on-one call with Donald Trump, abuse in care redress

The Prime Minister has shared new details about his phone call with Donald Trump. 

Christopher Luxon has had a one-on-one chat with the US President Elect yesterday morning, a call Trump was late for.  

But Luxon told Mike Hosking it was a warm conversation and a productive chat, covering everything from international conflict to golf. 

Luxon says Trump's perception of New Zealand, and our Government, is very positive. 

He’s also confirmed that a new compensation scheme for abuse in care survivors will be in place by mid-2025. 

Redress was a major talking point at yesterday's historic national apology. 

Luxon's already committing a further $32 million to the existing settlement process. 

He told Hosking that the Government's also working as fast as possible to get a new redress system in place. 

Luxon says there's a lot of design work to be done, as the current claims process goes through four different Government agencies, who all work at different speeds. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Because of yesterday. We need to make up time. Prime
Minister Christopher Luxe with us. Good morning, Well, good morning.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
Mike, listen. Apologies about yesterday, but I want to say
I'm back on the show today with your beautiful show,
with your big audience and your big host. It's wonderful
to be with you.

Speaker 1 (00:14):
Fantastic. Have you been talking to Donald Trump? Per chance.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
That's the reason I didn't come on the show yesterday,
as you know.

Speaker 1 (00:20):
But apologies for that because no need, no need for apologies.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
Straight from that show into the National Apology.

Speaker 1 (00:26):
If it had been the Prime Minister of Australia, I
would have been offended. But the President of the United States,
of course, I can course it right. Sweepstak sweepstake time.
I said the call was due to start at seven forty.
I said it started at eight fourteen. Sam says eighteen.
Glenn says eight twenty. Yeah, I think I think Sam
might be on the money.

Speaker 2 (00:46):
Eighteen was delayed and there's a lot going on on
their site as they sort of go through those four
thousand appointments, and it was very decent. I'm actually to
take time out. So you said it did start, it
later than anticipated. Which is why we were late with you.

Speaker 1 (01:00):
Okay, so you're saying eighteen was it and Sam's the winner?

Speaker 2 (01:04):
Eighteen yep, eighteen yep.

Speaker 1 (01:06):
Did he use the term at any point? I know
you can't talk about what was on the phone call.
I get that, but did he use the term at
any point? Drill baby, drill? No, he didn't.

Speaker 2 (01:16):
What we did is I congratulated him on what was
you know, obviously a very decisive and comprehensive win. You
just reflecting on it at I don't think even Reagan
or Bush Senior won what were the trifector of the
three branches of government there, But you know, that was
an incredibly massive win, and I wanted to acknowledge that
and congratulate him on that. He had was a very

(01:36):
warm It was really a relationship call. We hadn't met before,
and it was clear to me, you know, he was
very warm. He was looking forward to catching up in
person and due course, and also you know the current
perception of New Zealand is actually very positive and also
of our government. So you know, it was a good,
good call and we talked on touched very briefly on
some global conflicts, working to get him into a Pacific

(01:57):
and then discussed economic conditions really and in the US
and also in New Zealand.

Speaker 1 (02:01):
Did you get a word in edgeways?

Speaker 2 (02:03):
Yeah, no, it was good. It was really good. Actually
it was a good two way conversation. And again I
was impressed that he knew about New Zealand and has
a very favorable impression of New Zealand as a country,
which is fantastic.

Speaker 1 (02:14):
Did he use the word Bob Charles, No, there was
no Bob Charles mentioned lydia Co. No golf courses, golf
courses yes, did he name a golf course? No, So
he said, you really have had a seep state.

Speaker 2 (02:30):
They've been running a tea.

Speaker 1 (02:31):
Oh yeah, no, no, no, I need to pay the
mortgage this month. I was hoping that winter month. Now,
listen to more serious man.

Speaker 2 (02:36):
I'm on Your interest rates are coming down, Mike, I.

Speaker 1 (02:38):
Yes they are now. As to yesterday, of all the
things you've done so far as Prime Minister, where did
yesterday sit for you? Oh?

Speaker 2 (02:47):
Yesterday was a pretty tough day. It was pretty emotional day.
You're facing up to you, you know, wide scale abuse
with tens of thousands of people that was impacted from
events that in some cases were up to seven two
years ago, and you've spent time with the survivors and
I can tell you incredible people, but just incredible. Yeah,

(03:10):
just said harrowing stories. To be honest. I've actually read
all three thousand pages of the Royal Commission of Inquiry
into State Abuse, and you know, I just encourage anyone
if you want to understand what's really gone on, and
sort of actually do want to understand a bit more,
you know, go read one of those accounts, for a
couple of those accounts and you'll get a sense of
how the state didn't look after the most vulnerable people
in New Zealand at that time very well. So you know,

(03:32):
you feel a huge weight of responsibility because you're speaking
for the current government, but you're also speaking you know,
on behalf of all previous governments that have come before,
of all different persuasions, and so yeah, that's why it
was good that myself and Chris Sipkins were able to
defront and to be able to represent past then current
governments and in their future.

Speaker 1 (03:51):
Lies your dilemma though, because already somebody called it a
PR stunt yesterday and you've opened a can of worms.
I'm not blaming you for anything, but I mean there's
a tremendous expectation building that you're writing some checks and
no matter what you do, there's going to be disappointment.
I take it you're cognizant of that and this is you.
You're in a boy.

Speaker 2 (04:11):
I mean, here's the situation. I mean, we've had a
six year Row Commission of Inquiry. It's been our most
complex longest we've ever had. You've got sixteen volumes, you've
got three thousand pages, you've got one hundred and thirty recommendations,
and this report ninety five on an interim report, a
huge amount of complexity right over a huge amount of time,
with a mess a set of individualized circumstances of wide

(04:33):
scale abuse. So you know that's the starting point. So
it is messy and it is difficult and it is hard,
but we actually have to talk about that and we
have to put some sunlight on that. So then the
question is you've got to do three things. I think
one is your first and foremost. Have to acknowledge it,
which is why the report needed to be tabled in
July finally and brought to light. You need to have
a formal apology. The second thing is we've got to

(04:54):
support the survivors and thirdly we have to importantly prevent
that abuse from happening again in upgrade all of the
practices across the agency. So look, no doubt about it.
It is difficult as messy. We will not satisfy and
meet everybody's expectations as we go through it. On the
financial redress thing, Mike, it's quite I don't think most
New Zealanders would be aware, but for twenty years now

(05:15):
there has been a financial redress claims system in place
and four thousand survivors have had their claims addressed through that.
There's three and a half thousand in the system currently
and what we have had is feedback from the Royal
Commission that can take up to four to five years,
and that is part of the process. Isn't very efficient
or very fair or very good. We think we can

(05:38):
improve that in the short term, but then we do
have to move to one single independent financial redress system,
and that is complex and hard because yes, we're dealing
with difficult economic times for New Zealand, but you're also
dealing with acknowledging that no amount of money frankly makes
any of this abuse acceptable on any dimension. So you
know it's starting from those and then having to find

(06:00):
a way to work your way practically through it.

Speaker 1 (06:02):
Give me a time, when will they know?

Speaker 2 (06:06):
Erica and I are working really hard to make sure
that we can do it in early twenty twenty.

Speaker 1 (06:09):
Five, and so the first half of twenty five.

Speaker 2 (06:12):
Yeah, yeah, and you know, we'll go as fast as
we possibly can to deal with that. But you know,
there is a bit of you know, there's quite a
lot of design work to be done as to eligibility,
how you actually administ the system. At the moment, the
claims process comes through four different government agencies, you know,
how for MSD or OT or education, and it's variable

(06:34):
and some do it faster and some do it slower,
and then the payments are different, and so you know,
there's a whole bunch of complexity to work through. As
we sought that system out.

Speaker 1 (06:42):
Only got sixty seconds left apeck anything tangible or not.

Speaker 2 (06:47):
It's going to be interesting, Mike coming You've got a
US president at the end of the term, You've got
the Chinese president there. I will sit down with a
one on one bilateral with President she which I'm looking
forward to, you know, and it's a difficult time because
you know, we have strong advocates for free trade and
yet you've got many other countries around the world that
have been moving away from that, US and China included.

(07:07):
So I'm really interested in my first one to see
whether we can make the case for you know, good
trading principles that we can excite the other twenty one
countries around.

Speaker 1 (07:16):
Oh quickly, sorry, almost forgot the fair Digital News Bargaining Bill.
Is it dead in the water? It was supposed to
be on the paperwork today it's not. It's vanished. Is
it dead? Yeah?

Speaker 2 (07:26):
No, Look, that's really a question for Paul Goldsmith. I
tasked him with that role to work his way through
that issue.

Speaker 1 (07:31):
But what did I tell you when you see it?
It's not on the thing today, Paul.

Speaker 2 (07:35):
No, that's just us juggling some other things around that
we want to get through before the end of the year.
As I've got these forty three actions that I'm pushing
pretty hard. I've got a few of them coming in
the last two weeks of the year, so I'm pushing ministers.
It is still your life, say about surely? Yeah, still
live And he's working for his way through it. I
know he is. He'll pop up and have more to
say about it.

Speaker 1 (07:54):
Surely, right. Appreciate your time, Christaler Lux and Prime Mins.
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