Christopher Luxon

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

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

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