Watch: Minister acts as bodyguard as PM Luxon confronted by angry local at public meeting

Crime, education, the economy and blowing apart red tape were all on the agenda for Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in Rotorua last night - and one person was thrown out for bad behaviour. 

More than 150 people gathered at the Rotorua Racecourse to listen to Luxon chit-chat about everything he could in 60 minutes as part of his national roadshow. 

Luxon rattled off facts and figures about how National had turned around the country after he said it was left in a poor economic state by previous Governments. 

He reassured listeners not to “freak out” about what was happening around the world, as international conflict had been around since World War I. 

He said New Zealanders should focus on what they could control and he was feeling more optimistic about the future than in years. 

Luxon started the night by praising Rotorua MP Todd McClay, reiterating locals should be proud of their representative. 

Rotorua MP Todd McClay plays bodyguard for Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at a public meeting in Rotorua. Photo / Kelly Makiha 

He said he held down his local responsibilities while also carrying out an important role for the country as Trade and Investment Minister and Foreign Affairs Associate Minister, roles which Luxon said took McClay overseas most weeks. 

“How he juggles everything so well I don’t know.” 

He said McClay’s relationships overseas were instrumental in getting the free trade agreement with India, something which he said was vital for New Zealand’s economy. 

“I hope you are feeling proud of the contribution you are making to New Zealand,” Luxon said to McClay. 

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at a public meeting at the Rotorua Racecourse. Photo / Kelly Makiha 

Many of his words were met with applause from the mainly right-leaning audience and he only received a minor ribbing when it came to question and answer time. 

That came from a woman in the crowd who questioned why National wasn’t doing more to pay for tertiary students trying to get better educations and qualifications at universities. 

Luxon said the National Government extended the fee-free period from one year of study to three years, but they didn’t see more young people enrol or improved results, so they removed it. He said in New Zealand tertiary education was subsidised heavily by the Government - quoting a figure of 85% - which he said was generous. 

Another man raised the difficulty of running a business, saying he was trying to build five units in Rotorua but the resource consent process alone was taking seven months. 

Luxon said “red tape” and the Resource Management Act were areas that made him tick and he thanked the man for raising it. Luxon said successive Governments had employed too many “layers”, making many things too hard and too slow in New Zealand. He hoped the amalgamation of councils would help this. 

Planned “blowing apart” of the Resource Management Act would also help, he said. For instance, he said Costco decided against franchising throughout New Zealand as there were “82″ different interpretations of the building code throughout the country. He said instead Costco just opened one store in Auckland and left it at that. 

Luxon laid out to the crowd some of the Government’s successes in crime, education and the economy - explaining its simple method of identifying a problem, coming up with a common sense plan and seeing a result. 

He used crime as an example, saying there was a 30% rise in violent crime under the Labour Government. 

A common sense plan was to “go after” gangs. He said gangs were only 1% of the population but contributed to 25% of serious violent crimes, including murders and muggings. The plan to “go after gangs” included banning patches and targeting guns. 

Luxon said the result was 46,000 fewer individuals who were victims of violent crime compared with three years ago. 

McClay and Luxon spoke about the problem with Rotorua and emergency housing, mainly on Fenton St. The plan was to rid the city of emergency housing and the result was a return of visitors and locals reporting they felt safer walking down Fenton St. 

The public meeting ran relatively smoothly, as host McClay avoided the “hand up” from a man in the audience wanting to ask something during question time. 

When it was time for Luxon to mix and mingle, the man made a beeline for him. 

As the man’s voice became louder, McClay stepped in between him and Luxon and gently pushed him back before security and police escorted the man outside to his vehicle. The man wasn’t arrested but was told to leave. 

Luxon was to speak to business leaders in Rotorua this morning before travelling to Tauranga for another public meeting at midday at the Tauranga Racecourse. 

Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.