Asked if his comments had been misreported or if he over-spoke, Luxon said it could have been “either or”, adding that “there was certainly no intent to cause offence”.
“I said up front, I’m a great admirer of business people because they’ve led through difficult times, they’ve got a lot of people to lead. I’ve been in that situation as a business leader myself.”
He said the “vast majority” of Kiwis wanted to “get out there and make things happen”.
“I think they need a government that gets the settings right, gets out of the way and lets them get on with it.”
Luxon said he had been trying to communicate – “maybe poorly” – that the economy was moving in the right direction, although he acknowledged there were pockets where families and businesses were still struggling.
Labour has called those comments “out of touch” and patronising, while the PM’s office later told RNZ his comments had been “mischaracterised”.