Christopher Luxon

Stories

New Zealand Parliament dissolved ahead of tight November election

Campaigning to retain power; National at 29% in the 1News Verian poll and 25.9% in the RNZ-Reid Research poll, its weakest since 2020

New Zealand's Parliament dissolved on October 1, opening the campaign for the November 7 election. This week's polls show a dead heat, with an RNZ-Reid Research survey putting National at 25.9% and Labour at 30.8% and a 1News Verian poll at 29% and 28%.

Updated Yesterday

Auckland's City Rail Link opens after a century of proposals

Built World

Officially opened the City Rail Link

For the first time in Auckland's history, trains run beneath the city centre. The NZ$5.5 billion City Rail Link carried its first fare-paying passengers on September 13, 2026, capping a project that survived a century of false starts and a decade of construction.

Updated Sep 13

India and New Zealand build a defence and trade framework in the Indo-Pacific

Rule Changes

Hosted Modi and co-signed the partnership

No Indian prime minister had set foot in New Zealand for 40 years. On July 11, 2026, Narendra Modi ended that gap in Auckland by signing a package that lets Indian and New Zealand warships refuel and repair at each other's bases.

Updated Jul 11

Nuclear fusion's levitated dipole dark horse emerges from New Zealand

New Capabilities

Publicly backed OpenStar at demonstration

For the first time, a commercial company has confined plasma in a levitated dipole reactor — using a single half-tonne superconducting magnet floating freely in a vacuum chamber, held aloft only by magnetic force. Superheated gas swirls around it at over one million degrees Celsius. On February 17, 2026, Wellington-based OpenStar Technologies publicly demonstrated this feat in its five-meter-wide "Junior" prototype, with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon triggering the final stage of the experiment.

Updated May 30

Deadly landslides hit New Zealand's North Island

Force in Play

Coordinating national response

Nine people died during storms that struck New Zealand's North Island from January 16–22, 2026. Three separate incidents account for the deaths: a campground landslide, a home collapse, and a river drowning.

Updated May 22

Notable Quotes

"We want to work with parties that want no new taxes. It's as simple as that." - Christopher Luxon, on ruling out the Opportunity Party, to 1News, October 6

from New Zealand Parliament dissolved ahead of tight November election · Updated Yesterday

CRL is a statement of ambition for Auckland and for New Zealand.

from Auckland's City Rail Link opens after a century of proposals · Updated Sep 13

"Extreme weather continues to cause dangerous conditions across the North Island. Right now, the government is doing everything we can to support those impacted." — Social media post, January 22, 2026

from Deadly landslides hit New Zealand's North Island · Updated May 22

"We are standing with these local communities in the response – and we will stand with them in the recovery too." — Statement from Mount Maunganui, January 23, 2026

from Deadly landslides hit New Zealand's North Island · Updated May 22

"The country is heavy with grief after the profound tragedy caused by the extreme weather in the last 48 hours." — Public statement, January 23, 2026

from Deadly landslides hit New Zealand's North Island · Updated May 22

"The people on the margins with their rhetoric, they need to just frankly keep it to themselves." — Responding to tree removal speculation, January 25, 2026

from Deadly landslides hit New Zealand's North Island · Updated May 22