Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has made clear he won’t waste breath on Brian Tamaki, after the Destiny Church leader sparked outrage with social media comments suggesting Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims should be purged from New Zealand.
“I just don’t listen to Brian Tamaki, for God’s sake,” Luxon said plainly.
Tamaki’s remarks, posted last week, were swiftly condemned by the Minister for Ethnic Communities and the Federation of the Islamic Associations of New Zealand, a rebuke that crossed political lines without hesitation.
Rather than dignify the comments with a lengthy rebuttal, Luxon used the moment to champion the migrants who’ve built lives in New Zealand through sheer graft. He pointed out that ethnic communities arriving in the country have sacrificed enormously to get here, leaving behind language, family and community, and “they work damn hard,” often juggling multiple jobs to get ahead.
“Our ethnic communities have come to this country, having left everything behind: their language, their family, and their communities,” Luxon said, adding that he was a “huge supporter and admirer of our migrant Kiwis.”
“They’ve chosen to come here because they think they can build a better future, so frankly, I’m not interested in anything Brian Tamaki says.”
Some of Tamaki’s broader commentary had touched on the India Free Trade Agreement, an area where Luxon was equally dismissive, saying Tamaki “absolutely” had nothing useful to add to that debate. The Prime Minister’s message was simple: he doesn’t take offence from people whose advice he wouldn’t take in the first place, a sensible standard that avoided elevating a fringe figure into a national controversy.
Even Labour leader Chris Hipkins, no natural ally of the government, found himself in rare agreement when asked whether Luxon had handled it correctly.
“Yeah, by and large,” Hipkins said, adding bluntly: “I think Brian Tamaki’s a thug, and I don’t intend to spend any more time giving him any more oxygen than he just doesn’t deserve.”
While the political class was united in condemning Tamaki, the Free Speech Union struck a notably more measured tone, rejecting the comments themselves while pushing back against any rush to hand the state greater censorship powers in response.
CEO Jillaine Heather didn’t mince words on the substance, calling the remarks “divisive and inflammatory and run contrary to the principles of a free and pluralistic society.” But she was equally firm that outrage alone isn’t grounds for legal action, noting that free speech in New Zealand isn’t “absolute” and that the real test is a legal one, not a popularity contest.
“If comments amount to incitement, threats, or encouragement of criminal offending, existing criminal law may become relevant,” Heather said.
“The question is whether the legal threshold has been met, not whether the views expressed are unpopular or offensive,” a distinction Heather clearly felt was at risk of being lost amid the rush to condemn.