Summarised by Centrist
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says he “didn’t get that one right” when he failed to give a straight answer on whether he would have sacked former minister Andrew Bayly over a workplace incident earlier this year.
In a new podcast interview, Luxon says he now believes he should have said yes.
In February, Bayly resigned after an incident involving a staff member, which he described as placing a hand on someone’s upper arm.
Reports suggested the contact occurred during a heated exchange about work. At the time, Luxon was pressed by Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking on whether he would have dismissed Bayly if he hadn’t stepped down. Luxon dodged the question, prompting widespread criticism.
Appearing on Dom Harvey’s podcast, Luxon said he avoided a direct answer because he “didn’t want to put the boot in.”
The Prime Minister described his response at the time as a misstep: “I probably didn’t get that one right. I should have answered more definitely.” Still, he defended his instinct to show empathy: “You all have feelings, you all have families… Is this really what this individual needs right now?”
Luxon’s reluctance to “pile in” came under fire at the time from journalists like Paddy Gower, who said the Prime Minister had fumbled what should have been a straightforward moment of leadership
