Christopher Luxon
Prime Minister of New Zealand since 2023
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| June 17 2025 | Reinstated 'three-strikes' legislation comes into effect, covering 42 qualifying offences and increasing mandatory sentencing for repeat serious offenders. |
| May 2025 | Luxon's government abolished Fair Pay Agreement laws and pay equity laws, a move criticized by unions as being anti-worker. |
| May 7 2025 | Luxon and Tourism Minister Louise Upston announced the government would end the requirement for overseas visitors to provide certified translations of supporting documents, aimed at boosting international tourism. |
| April 2025 | Christopher Luxon announced a significant $12 billion defence spending allocation over four years, aiming to increase New Zealand's defence spending to 2% of GDP from the previous 1%. Luxon stated this was necessary for New Zealand to 'pull its weight' internationally. |
| April 26 2025 | Attended the funeral of Pope Francis in Istanbul, Turkey. |
| April 22 2025 | Visited London, confirming New Zealand would extend deployment of 100 military personnel to train Ukrainian forces and continue providing intelligence support to Ukraine until December 2026. |
| March 2025 | The Firearms Prohibition Orders Legislation Amendment Act 2024 came into effect, empowering police with greater authority to search gang members for firearms. |
| March 25 2025 | Signed a partnership agreement with Papuan Prime Minister James Marape marking 50 years of bilateral relations between New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. |
| March 15 2025 | Led a trade delegation to India with Trade Minister Todd McClay, agreeing to enter free trade negotiations and signing a bilateral defence agreement with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. |
| March 15 2025 | Attended a virtual summit for international leaders discussing potential peacekeepers deployment to Ukraine. |
| March 4 2025 | During a press conference, Luxon controversially suggested parents dissatisfied with the school lunch programme should 'make a marmite sandwich and put an apple in a bag', which drew significant criticism from educational leaders and child poverty advocates. |
| March 1 2025 | Christopher Luxon commented on school lunch programme, describing its implementation as experiencing 'teething issues' and suggesting Associate Education Minister Seymour would work to resolve delivery and quality problems. |
| February 28 2025 | Reiterated New Zealand's support for Ukraine following the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting, calling on Russia to cease its war. |
| February 27 2025 | The government introduced legislation to conduct a referendum on extending the parliamentary term. |
| January 19 2025 | Luxon announced the appointment of Simeon Brown as the next Minister of Health, succeeding Shane Reti. |
| January 2025 | Implemented new welfare policy requiring jobseeker beneficiaries to reapply for their benefit every six months instead of annually, and introduced a new community work sanction aimed at skill-building and confidence development. |
| 2024 | Multiple high-profile resignations occurred in the health sector, including the Director-General of Health, the Chief Executive of Health NZ, and the Director of Public Health. |
| 2024 | Health New Zealand (Te Whatu Ora) faced significant financial challenges, with reports of overspending $130 million per month and a projected $1.4 billion deficit by year-end. The government replaced the health board with a commissioner to improve performance and accountability. |
| 2024 | Luxon publicly commented on health sector challenges, suggesting patients could see nurse practitioners instead of GPs for simple treatments like antibiotics. |
| 2024 | Luxon's government reinstated the 'three-strikes' legislation, increasing mandatory sentencing for repeat serious offenders and providing funding for rehabilitation programmes for remand prisoners. |
| 2024 | Luxon's coalition government introduced comprehensive anti-gang legislation, including banning gang patches and insignia in public places, making gang membership an aggravating factor in sentencing, and increasing penalties for gang-related offending. |
| 2024 | Attended Auckland FC's first ever match in the A-League Men, where he was pranked by a fan who flicked his nose while posing for a photo. |
| December 19 2024 | Confirmed he would not attend events at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds on 4 February 2025, stating his intention to celebrate Waitangi Day with different iwi around New Zealand. |
| December 2 2024 | Confirmed New Zealand would comply with an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visited the country. |
| November 16 2024 | Met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the APEC Summit to discuss human rights, South China Sea tensions, and accepted an invitation to visit China in early 2025. |
| November 10 2024 | Delivered the national apology to survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care at Parliament, announcing legislation to combat abuse. |
| November 10 2024 | Delivered the New Zealand Government's national apology to survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care, and announced legislation to combat abuse including banning strip searches on children. |
| September 2024 | Witnessed China's Ambassador to the Pacific successfully lobby for removing references to Taiwan from the Pacific Islands Forum's final communique during the leaders' summit in Tonga. |
| September 2024 | Shifted New Zealand's foreign policy away from China, seeking to diversify diplomatic and trade relationships with traditional Five Eyes partners. |
| September 20 2024 | Christopher Luxon announced that the coalition government was open to holding a referendum to extend the parliamentary term from three to four years at the 2026 general election. |
| September 2 2024 | Arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for a three-day official visit, meeting with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to discuss strategic partnership. |
| August 2024 | Luxon and Louise Upston introduced a new 'traffic light' welfare regime with escalating consequences for beneficiaries who do not meet job-seeking obligations. |
| August 2024 | Christopher Luxon, alongside Education Minister Erica Stanford, announced plans to introduce a new mathematics curriculum aimed at raising student standards and achievement, set to be implemented in early 2025. |
| August 2024 | Announced plans with Education Minister to introduce a new mathematics curriculum from early 2025, aimed at raising student standards and achievement. |
| August 2024 | Expressed support for Taiwan's participation in the Pacific Islands Forum, countering Chinese plans to exclude Taiwan. |
| August 25 2024 | Two Northland iwi (Ngāti Hine and Ngāti Manu) issued a joint letter rebuking Luxon's sovereignty claims, reinforcing that northern chiefs never ceded sovereignty based on the Waitangi Tribunal's Te Paparahi o Te Raki Inquiry. |
| August 21 2024 | At Local Government New Zealand's annual conference, called on councils to focus on core infrastructure and confirmed Cabinet's plan to revise the Local Government Act. |
| August 20 2024 | During a Parliamentary Question Time, Luxon asserted that Māori ceded sovereignty to the New Zealand Crown through the Treaty of Waitangi, sparking a debate with Green co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. |
| July 29 2024 | Commenced a three-month boot camp at an Oranga Tamariki youth justice facility in Palmerston North, to be followed by a nine-month community phase. |
| July 11 2024 | Attended a White House dinner, spoke with US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during an Indo-Pacific 4 meeting. |
| July 10 2024 | Met with US Administration and Congressional members, committed NZ$16 million to support Ukraine. |
| July 9 2024 | Visited Washington, D.C. to attend the 2024 Washington summit as an Indo-Pacific ally, meeting US Administration and Congressional members. |
| June 5 2024 | Visited Premier of Niue Dalton Tagelagi and announced an agreement to enhance free association relationship, investing NZ$20.5 million in a renewable energy project. |
| May 2024 | Christopher Luxon highlighted a significant increase in crime rates, reporting violent crime was up 33% and retail crime had more than doubled since 2018, positioning law and order as a key government priority. |
| May 6 2024 | Announced an allocation of NZ$1.9 billion in the upcoming budget to train 470 new corrections officers and add 810 beds to Waikeria Prison. |
| May 5 2024 | Jointly announced with Auckland's Mayor that the city would avoid a 25.8 percent rates increase through the Government's Local Water Done Well plan. |
| April 2024 | Conducted a cabinet reshuffle, stripping Melissa Lee of her Media and Communications portfolio and Penny Simmonds of her Disability Issues portfolio, and making new ministerial appointments. |
| April 2024 | Christopher Luxon publicly stated he was open to revisiting the tax-exempt status of churches and charities, sparking criticism from Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki. |
| April 18 2024 | Met with Philippines President Bongbong Marcos to discuss bilateral defense, trade, people-to-people, and climate cooperation. |
| April 16 2024 | Met with Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin during a Southeast Asian tour to promote bilateral business links and trade. |
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