Luxon’s first speech: ‘National is back’
Newly-elected National Party leader Chris Luxon made a direct pitch to the voters his party lost in the last election in his first speech.
‘‘National is back,’’ Luxon said, adding that he and new deputy leader Nicola Willis would be ‘‘drawing a line’’ under the last four years of chaos in the party. He said National was needed to take New Zealand off a ‘‘path to mediocrity’’ under the current Government.
‘‘If you are one of the 413,000 voters who moved away from us, my message to you is: from today, National is back,’’ Luxon said.
‘‘Today we are drawing a line under the events of the last four years, and we are putting them behind us.
‘‘We are the reset.’’
He said New Zealand was at a ‘‘crossroads’’ and needed to take a different path.
‘‘We have a choice: a choice between our current road to mediocrity, or a pathway to a more confident, aspirational and prosperous future.
‘‘New Zealand needs an alternative now more than ever to take us in the right direction – because frankly, the country is heading the wrong way.
‘‘I believe in a New Zealand that rewards hard work; a New Zealand that empowers Kiwis to take a punt and create prosperity for themselves and their families.
‘‘Most of all I believe in a New Zealand that while small in size is large in ambition.
‘‘Let’s rediscover that!’’ Luxon sought to make a virtue of his inexperience – he has been elected leader of a major