Sungmi Kim/Stuff
National Party leader Christopher Luxon. (file image)
National Party leader Christopher Luxon says it was a mistake to post on social media suggesting he was in Te Puke, when he was holidaying in Hawaii.
“We made a mistake, we own up to it and front it,” Luxon said, on Tuesday afternoon.
Luxon spent five days with his family in Hawaii last week, a trip that was no secret. However, when he was away, a video posted to his Instagram account suggested he was in Te Puke, meeting “hardworking Kiwis”.
The video, which featured Luxon shaking hands and viewing businesses to a folksy soundtrack, began with the National leader saying “Listen, today I’m in Te Puke”. The caption on the photo did not mention when the visit occurred, however, it had taken place the week prior.
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“As you’ve seen, we posted that video, we should have actually captioned it differently to make clear that it was in recent days, not on the day, and we’ve learned from that, and we’re going forward,” Luxon said.
A member of his team posted the video on his Instagram page, he said, but he took responsibility for this.
“The media knew that I was away last week and [deputy leader] Nicola Willis did all my media engagements for me, and it was well known,” Luxon said.
“It’s [been] a pretty intense job the last seven months and I think when you work as hard as we do, that to get some personal leave with your family for five days is actually really important.”
Luxon said he was “not losing sleep” over the matter.
Finance Minister Grant Robertson said all politicians needed a break, “it’s just a matter of being up front with people about that”.
“A post that says you’re in Te Puke on a particular day, published on a day when you’re actually in Hawaii is misleading.”
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