If Christopher Luxon called me tomorrow, I wouldn’t pick up

OPINION: If the phone rang tomorrow and the voice on the other end belonged to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, I’d let it go straight to voicemail.

Not because I’m busy and not because I dislike phone calls. I’d ignore the PM’s call for the same reason many New Zealanders have tuned out his government altogether. Communication is a two-way street, and Luxon has spent far too much time talking at people instead of listening to them.

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For a politician who constantly speaks about leadership, confidence, and delivering results, Luxon often seems remarkably disconnected from the people expected to live with the consequences of his poor decisions.

The problem is not a lack of words either as I think New Zealanders hear plenty of those at press conferences and the carefully managed TikTok soundbites. Corporate-style language about growth, efficiency, and fiscal discipline. The problem with Luxon is his authenticity.

When families are struggling with housing costs, rising rents, stagnant wages, and pressure on public services, they do not want a chief executive officer delivering quarterly updates. They want a leader who understands the reality of daily life and can communicate with empathy and conviction.

Luxon sounds like he is presenting a strategy document rather than leading a country.

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The frustration many people feel is about the sense that the government is failing to build a genuine connection with the people. Decisions are announced, defended, repeated. Concerns are acknowledged and then brushed aside with boring corporate-style talking points.

That approach does not satisfy people worried about paying their mortgage, accessing healthcare, or seeing their children’s future become more uncertain.

Image: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon speaks on the phone. Leadership is not about demanding attention, but earning it through engagement and listening. (Supplied / File.)

So if Luxon expects me to answer the phone tomorrow, my question is simple: Why should ordinary New Zealanders feel compelled to listen when they increasingly feel unheard themselves?

A successful leader earns attention and they do not assume they are entitled to it. If Luxon wants New Zealanders to pick up the phone, figuratively or literally, he first needs to demonstrate that he is willing to hear what is being said on the other end.

Until then, the call can go to voicemail.

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