On Monday,Luxon and NZ Sport Minister Chris Bishop hosted the Australian and New Zealand cricket teams at the property in the Wellington suburb of Thorndon.
Premier House in the Wellington suburb of Thorndon is the official residence of New Zealand prime ministers.Ballofstring/CC
The festivities were held outside on the beautiful summer’s evening and included a Maori welcome and a backyard cricket game on a freshly mowed pitch.
Luxon,who described himself as a Test cricket tragic,conversed with players for an hour,telling Australia’s Usman Khawaja he was unable to live there.
“The prime minister said he couldn’t live in his place,” Khawaja said.
“He said it was condemned,the kitchen was condemned ... I said,‘Why don’t you live here?’ He said,‘I’m actually not allowed,it was condemned’.”
“I said,‘What?!’ You’re the prime minister,fix it!’
“He was like,‘Oh,that costs money’. I’m like,‘Surely there’s some money in the New Zealand system!’”
A spokesman for Luxon said the prime minister disputed Khawaja’s account,saying he never used the word “condemned”.
“He told them he was living in his flat as Premier House has well-known maintenance issues,” the spokesman said.
Luxon has been coy on his living arrangements since taking office in November.
Wellington newspaperThe Post reported earlier this month that Luxon was living at his Wellington apartment,one of seven properties the wealthy former executive owns without a mortgage.
The National leader faced criticism for accepting a $NZ31,000 ($29,000) annual allowance to live in his own house as an MP. As prime minister,he is eligible for a $NZ52,000 allowance if he does not live at Premier House.
The Post’s report said Luxon was considering a briefing received on work needed at Premier House.
“Premier House requires a significant amount of work so the prime minister will consider that before making any decisions around residing there,” a Premier House Board spokesperson said.
The decision to renovate the property would run counter to the coalition government’s pledges to rein in public spending.
Luxon’s government is engaged in a tough round of budget cuts,aiming to shrink the public service by $NZ1 billion ($943 million) annually,including expenditure on consultants.
It is long known the property needs renovations. In 2020,former finance minister Grant Robertson said it had “a slight 80s motel vibe to it”.
“On the night of the Netball World Cup final,I had a sleepover at Premier House and I can tell you that it is in severe need of an upgrade upstairs there ... it’s not up to scratch,” he said.
It underwent repairs in 2018 to the tune of $NZ3 million. Two years later theNZ Herald reported the property “would not have met the government’s own healthy homes standards without recent improvements”.
On the night,Luxon enjoyed time in conversation with Test captains Pat Cummins,Tim Southee and others.
In a short speech,he told players he was “probably the biggest Test cricket fan” of any New Zealand prime minister,saying he played corridor cricket with Bishop in Parliament House while in opposition.
“We were sort of imagining ourselves playing with you,” he said.
AAP
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