It's been 21 months since Christopher Luxon’s National-led government was elected, yet the Prime Minister seems incapable of taking responsibility for his own policy decisions. His latest gaffe, blaming Labour for the booing he copped at a recent netball event, isn't just a laughable misstep...it's a stark reminder of his inability to own his government’s numerous failures.
Luxon’s attempt to deflect criticism onto his predecessors is as transparent as it is desperate. It paints him as a leader out of touch with a public growing weary of his hollow rhetoric. At the netball event, Luxon faced a chorus of boos from the crowd, a visceral expression of discontent that should have been a wake up call. But rather than reflecting on why he might be so unpopular, Luxon defaulted to his worn out playbook: blame Labour. It’s a tired refrain that’s starting to sound like a broken record.
Yesterday, RNZ reported:
Watch: Christopher Luxon booed at netball premiership finals
Prime Minister Chrisopher Luxon appears to have been booed by spectators at the ANZ Premiership netball finals over the weekend.
Luxon was on stage to present awards after the final game.
Loud jeers from the crowd could be heard as Luxon was introduced, video from the official broadcast shows.
What prompted the crowd's reaction is unclear.
The Mainland Tactix broke their ANZ Premiership drought, dethroning two-time defending champions Northern Mystics 58-46 in the grand final at Auckland's Trusts Arena.
Comment has been requested from the prime minister's office.
He's due to speak to reporters at the Beehive about 4pm for this regular post-Cabinet press conference.
When pressed on the issue at his standup yesterday, Luxon proceeded to blame Labour for the crowds discontent. However, the crowd wasn’t booing Labour; they were booing Luxon’s leadership, or lack thereof. From slashing public services to pushing regressive tax cuts that favour the wealthy, his government’s policies have hit ordinary New Zealanders hard. The boos likely stemmed from specific grievances: the gutting of health and education funding, the cancellation of infrastructure projects, and the relentless cost-of-living squeeze that Luxon’s promised tax relief has done nothing to alleviate.
To suggest Labour, out of power since 2023, is somehow responsible for the public backlash isn't just dishonest, it’s downright delusional.
Luxon’s penchant for pointing the finger at Labour isn’t unique to him; it’s a National Party hallmark. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has repeatedly blamed Labour for the “bare fiscal cupboard,” whenever there's something the government doesn't want to fund, conveniently ignoring that her government’s choice to prioritise $2.9 billion in tax breaks for landlords instead of investing in frontline services has driven New Zealand backwards.
National MPs like Chris Bishop have often dismissed Labour’s critiques as the whining of a “failed team,” yet it’s National’s policies, like public sector cuts and a failure to address housing affordability, that have deepened the economic malaise. The Stats NZ data is damning: Real GDP per capita in New Zealand has declined by approximately 3.4% since National took power, with a technical recession directly linked to their neoliberal policy direction. Around 138,670 New Zealand citizens have emigrated away from New Zealand (a net loss of approximately 98,000 Kiwi) since Luxon took office. Unemployment has climbed to 5.1%, with over 15,000 public sector jobs axed under Luxon’s watch. This has had far reaching consequences for the New Zealand economy.
Yesterday, RNZ reported:
One year, 27,850 jobs gone Stats NZ latest data shows
New data shows there were 27,850 fewer jobs in New Zealand in June compared to the year before, and young people are feeling the impact of the weak labour market.
Stats NZ's latest data shows the number of filled jobs was up 0.1 percent month-on-month but down 1.2 percent year-on-year.
Compared to the year before, construction had lost 12,169 jobs, or 6 percent, manufacturing 5850 jobs, or 2.5 percent, professional, scientific and technical services 5150 jobs, or 2.7 percent, and admin and support services 4860 jobs, or 4.7 percent.
Education and training and primary industries added jobs.
People aged 15 to 19 had 10 percent fewer jobs, those 20 to 24 had 3.5 percent fewer and those ages 25 to 29 had 3.9 percent fewer.
These aren’t Labour’s numbers; they’re the direct result of National’s austerity obsession. Luxon’s claim that Labour’s “economic vandalism” is to blame for the downturn, and subsequently his unpopularity, is particularly galling when you look at the facts. Nearly two years into his first and hopefully last term as Prime Minister, and the statute of limitations on blaming the previous government has well and truly expired.
Data from Stats NZ today demonstrates how far we have fallen in the labour market. Between June 2019 and June 2023, we put on 225,000 new jobs. Since then, we have lost 31,216 jobs. A job lost every 34 minutes. A thread pic.twitter.com/Oq6cBtHTzB
— Craig Renney (@CLRenney) July 28, 2025
This blame-shifting is also endemic of Luxon’s campaign of misinformation. During the 2023 election, he promised tax cuts that would magically fix the cost-of-living crisis. However, the promised relief pales against soaring rents and astronomical grocery bills. We're seeing thousands of businesses close, not just because of unaffordable power, but because National is sucking billions of dollars out of the economy. His rhetoric about “getting New Zealand back on track” rings completely hollow when his government’s actions, such as cancelling social housing projects, unfair pay equity changes, and disenfranchising hundreds of thousands of voters will leave millions of struggling Kiwis worse off.
The boos at the netball event weren’t about Labour; they were about a Prime Minister who overpromised and underdelivered, all the while pointing the finger elsewhere when the cracks in National's propaganda are evident for all to see. Luxon’s leadership is looking increasingly like a corporate PowerPoint presentation: rehearsed, and devoid of any real substance or value.
Luxon's refusal to own his government’s numerous failures, whether it’s the economic downturn, job losses, or his own declining popularity, makes him look not just out of touch but downright foolish! Kiwis deserve a leader who takes responsibility, not one who hides behind tired excuses. The netball crowd knew it, and so does the rest of New Zealand.
