Look, prime minister, we get it. Nobody wants to get up early on a Sunday morning.
On Sunday morning, Q+A presenter Jack Tame addressed the nation. It was the final episode of 2025 for TVNZ’s award-winning political current affairs show, but before the interview with former police commissioner Andrew Coster, Tame wanted to let us know who wouldn’t be appearing on Q+A this year: prime minister Christopher Luxon.
Tame explained that in March this year, Luxon gave an interview with 1News political editor Maiki Sherman during a trip to India, and Q+A was assured that Luxon would later join the programme for a broad-ranging interview. “Those assurances have continued all year,” Tame said. “We check in with the PM’s team regularly, but despite a standing invitation, they told us last week that actually, the prime minister would not be fronting here this year.”
Luxon joined foreign minister Winston Peters and social development minister Louise Upston in refusing to be interviewed on Q+A this year, Tame continued. “We think there is a vital democratic function in interviewing and challenging politicians of all stripes in a longer and more sustained format than the standard daily news cycle allows. We hope they will agree to come on Q+A in 2026.”
We can but hope, but it’s clear that 2025 is ending with an emphatic “not on your nelly” from the man who once accused New Zealanders of embracing a culture of no. Look, prime minister, we get it. Nobody wants to get up early on a Sunday morning, and going on live TV is an absolute bum clencher of a time. The lights! The make-up! The media’s unrelenting obsession with the rising unemployment rate, the exodus to Australia, the economy being shit, the “broken” health system, the increase in poverty, worsening racial discrimination and the existential threat of climate change. Ugh, so annoying!
Last week may have been scrutiny week for some of our politicians, but not so much for the prime minister. Throughout 2025, other politicians including David Seymour, Chris Hipkins, Chris Bishop, Erica Stanford, Mark Mitchell, Karen Chhour, Jan Tinetti and Chris Penk have all managed to appear on Q+A to answer questions about their political responsibilities. Holy moly, even the Vatican astronomer fronted up, and we all know how much the Vatican loves a Sunday morning.
Q+A is the last mainstream broadcast TV news show that offers lengthy and in-depth interviews with politicians and public figures, allowing viewers to gain a deeper understanding of the government’s actions and how these decisions affect their lives – but hey ho. The PM is a busy guy, and why sit in a dark TV studio when you could be exchanging high fives with an inflatable gingerbread man at the local Christmas parade instead? Let’s squint our weary eyes into life’s wacky telescope and look back on some of the other things Christopher Luxon did last week instead of going on Q+A.
He went wild for meatballs
Ikea opened in Auckland last Thursday, and Luxon was right in the middle of all the batshittery. He helped cut the opening ribbon and held a live stand-up from outside the big Swedish shop, where journalists asked questions about school lunches, failing small businesses and puberty blockers. The PM wanted this to be a good news day, and said the arrival of this large multi-national company was all about more competition, better deals and making money go further. He shook lots of hands, and got a new bucket hat.
He went wild for Christmas
On Friday, Luxon popped into Newstalk ZB to swap Christmas gifts with broadcaster Mike Hosking. “Is that the Treaty of Waitangi? Is this handcuffs? A muzzle?” Hosking asked as Luxon handed over a small gift bag. “I don’t know, what do you think?” Luxon teased, not once, not twice, but three times. His gift bag contained a black rubber lanyard that held a wine glass, so that Hosking could survey his vast estate hands-free, as well as a set of wine glasses. Where did the glasses come from? “Yesterday you might have heard that I went to Ikea, because apparently it was on CNN,” Luxon explained. “I was the first person in the country to make a physical purchase in the store at Ikea.”
He went wild for Spotify
It’s the most wonderful time of the year when Spotify Wrapped drops, and the prime minister was thrilled to discover what his 2025 music tastes revealed about him. From the back seat of his ministerial limo, Luxon shared that his listening age was a youthful 27. His top song was ‘Nine Ball’ by Zach Bryan, which he listened to 142 times. “I thought it would be that,” Luxon said.
He dug a hole
On Friday, Luxon joined a lot of other men wearing suits to stand on a red carpet and dig a little hole with a brand new shovel, to mark the symbolic turning of sod for the development of a new medical school at Waikato University. It’s not clear why they needed so many men to stand and watch two other men dig a hole, but that’s progress for you.
He celebrated blueberries
Blueberries. Big blueberries. Boxes and boxes of big, blue blueberries. Exports are yum.
He went wild for Santa
Santa is the ultimate good news story for a politician. Nobody’s ever mad at Santa, even though he never fronts up on Q+A either, so it’s no wonder Luxon was so happy to attend the annual Howick Christmas parade on the weekend. “Just how I remember it as a kid!” Luxon wrote on Instagram, as footage showed him waving enthusiastically to the Grinch and Mrs Claus. Does the Grinch even get to vote? Fingers crossed Q+A has all the answers in 2026.
