The headlines it generated, not unnaturally, were derived from the final part of the speech, in which he revealed that the net operating allowance in this year’s Budget would be $2.1 billion.
The allowance equates to how much new spending the government is allowing itself for the coming year.
In December that figure had been pegged at $2.4b, but Finance Minister Nicola Willis has shorn a further $300 million from that sum.
While that means that, to a degree, she is walking the talk — during a cost of living crisis she has repeatedly said she will not splash out on new initiatives — it also runs the risk that the Budget will contain few initiatives to inspire voters to support the government.
Prudence is the stick which Willis is using to beat the supposedly profligate opposition parties, but in tough times it is not a galvanising refrain.
However, it was what Mr Luxon said prior to the Budget portion of the speech which was arguably more significant.
Given the recent supposed difference of opinion between himself and Foreign Minister Winston Peters on diplomatic policy in general and specifically how to respond to the Iran crisis, it was interesting that Mr Luxon opted to set out — at length — how he saw New Zealand’s place in the world.
Precarious might be the best way to describe it: the world was becoming more volatile and less predictable, and New Zealand had to adapt and secure the country’s future.
First the good news: the Indo-Pacific region was predicted to generate two-thirds of global economic growth in the coming years, and New Zealand was well placed to capitalise on that.
But on the negative side of the ledger, the old binds of international law were weakening and strong nations were throwing their weight around, to the detriment of places like New Zealand.
Mr Luxon called out Russia, the United States and China in particular — realistically but also somewhat courageously given the latter two nations are New Zealand’s biggest trading partners.
New Zealand needed to be willing to make different choices to what it had in in the past, Mr Luxon said.
While he was not going to be specific about quite what those choices might be between — that would show entirely too many of New Zealand’s diplomatic cards — Mr Luxon strongly suggested that trading alliances and self-reliance for vital supplies were two things that would be vital.
While he only mentioned them in passing, the just signed free trade agreement with India and the recently concluded fuel and food supply agreement with Singapore were obviously uppermost in Mr Luxon’s mind.
One confirmed a closer relationship with an emerging power, the other aligned New Zealand with another small but influential state: hedging one’s bets, one might suggest.
Perhaps most interestingly, Mr Luxon spoke at length about immigration — which both his coalition partners New Zealand First and Act New Zealand have made tough talking prouncements about in recent days — and something he termed ‘‘social cohesion’’.
‘‘Ultimately, our greatest strategic asset is the trust that New Zealanders have in each other and in our institutions,’’ Mr Luxon said.
‘‘Disinformation exploits division and adversaries will always probe our social fault lines looking for leverage.’’
He then referenced ‘‘failed immigration policies in Europe and North America, which had ‘‘stoked a politics of division’’, before pointedly praising the melting pot of nationalities who called his own electorate of Botany home — ‘‘Kiwis who work hard, volunteer, serve their community, and make a contribution’’.
While calling for ‘‘a smart, targeted, and fair’’ system, Mr Luxon also pledged a careful immigration policy from National,
‘‘My message to the business community is that when it comes to immigration, when faced with a choice between social stability and your bottom line, I will choose the former every single time.’’
Mr Luxon’s message was likely directed far beyond the business community, to those who might turn to phases like ‘‘butter chicken tsunami’’ to score political points.
National, mostly through speeches and comments by its deputy leader Ms Willis, has been throwing down the gauntlet to its coalition partners in recent weeks.
This speech suggests that Mr Luxon will also not be above the fray during the months leading up to the election campaign proper.
