John MacDonald: Drop the sniping and buy a plane for the PM
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Do we need a dedicated plane for the Prime Minister? I’m starting to think that we do.
Before now, though, I’ve been of the opinion that we’re New Zealand for goodness sake, we’re not the United States, so why should we blow money on a plane?
But, after listening to Sir John Key talking to Heather last night about Christopher Luxon using the Air Force to get him around a bit, I’m thinking it would make sense.
Heather was talking to him after Chris Hipkins ripped into Luxon for getting the Air Force to fly him from Whanganui to Auckland after being at a National Party fundraising dinner.
Which was kind of dodgy. Because, if Christopher Luxon was going there as the National Party leader as part of his campaign to get re-elected in November, then he shouldn’t be using the Air Force to get him there.
Which is why Labour’s Chris Hipkins is accusing Luxon of using the Defence Force as his own “private fleet”.
But the way the Prime Minister’s Office explains it, is that he got to the fundraising event on a commercial flight. But left afterwards on the Air Force flight, so he could get to Auckland for prime ministerial commitments.
What happened is that he needed to get to Auckland for Sir Bill Birch’s funeral. Which meant some re-arranging of the schedule and him needing to travel sooner than was originally planned.
You could say he flew there as the National Party leader and left with his Prime Minister’s hat on. So, a bit of dancing on the head of a pin there.
The reason we’re talking about this is because this wasn’t just a one-off. It follows a string of times the PM has used the Air Force to get him around.
Generally, it’s accepted that during a civil defence emergency, for example, the PM will jump on a Defence Force plane or helicopter.
John Key flew to Christchurch in a Defence Force plane pretty much straight after the 2011 earthquake.
Christopher Luxon’s been doing the same sort of thing during more recent emergencies.
But, in the last week or so, there have been reports about him getting the Air Force to fly him to non-emergency events such as an event he went to at Mystery Creek in 2024 and a trip in 2025 to visit the Kmart distribution hub in the Hamilton area.
Overall, since becoming Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon has flown 41 domestic flights with the Air Force, which, according to official documents, weren’t part of a disaster or civil defence emergency response.
I’m with Sir John Key on this, whose view is that it makes sense for the PM to use the Air Force planes because they’re there, anyway. The crew have to be paid, anyway.
And what would you rather? A plane and crew sitting on the ground doing nothing? Or a plane and crew helping the Prime Minister make the most efficient use of his time?
What’s more, it hasn’t just been the Prime Minister on these flights. There are staff and security and all the usual hangers-on. So pretty cost effective when you consider that we’d, otherwise, be buying all these people tickets to fly on commercial flights.
So, when you consider that, doesn’t it make sense for the Prime Minister to have a dedicated plane available at all times? I think it does.
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