Christopher Luxon Tells Off David Seymour Over Letter To United Nations
Regulations Minister David Seymour has been given a telling-off by the prime minister for sending a scathing letter to a United Nations official about his red-tape-busting legislation.
Speaking to media on Tuesday morning, PM Christopher Luxon said, while he "fully agreed" with the content of Seymour's message, the responsibility for engaging with the UN lay with Foreign Minister Winston Peters.
Luxon said he had not asked Seymour to retract his letter but had spoken with him directly.
"I'm not going into those conversations," Luxon said. "I've just made it clear that I expect Winston Peters to be the person that engages with the UN."
In a statement to RNZ, Seymour said he stood by the contents of his letter but acknowledged he had been "too efficient" in his correspondence.
"One response should come from the Minister for Foreign Affairs on behalf of all ministers," Seymour said.
"Winston and I have fixed the problem. I'm going to withdraw my letter so that the government can send one response. I expect that letter to make the same points."
Last month, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, Albert K Barume, issued a letter to government ministers expressing a number of concerns, including about Seymour's Regulatory Standards Bill.
One of his criticisms was that the legislation excluded Māori traditions and failed to uphold principles guaranteed by the Treaty of Waitangi.
As first reported by the NZ Herald, Seymour fired back, in his capacity as Regulations Minister, describing the UN letter as "presumptive, condescending, and wholly misplaced".
He said Barume's description of the Regulatory Standards Bill's approach to tikanga was "not only incorrect but offensive".
"As an indigenous New Zealander myself, I am deeply aggrieved by your audacity in presuming to speak on my behalf and that of my fellow Māori regarding legislation that aims solely at ensuring clarity, consistency, and accountability in regulatory processes."
Seymour signed off his letter: "We neither require nor welcome external lectures on our governance, particularly from bodies whose understanding of our nuanced historical, cultural, and constitutional context is so clearly deficient."
Luxon said he agreed with Seymour that the UN letter was "a total waste of time" but stressed proper processes needed to be followed.
"All of us in government can read the letter and say, hey, it's total bunkum," Luxon told reporters.
"But our response will come from Winston Peters... he will have a comprehensive reply in due course."
Also speaking on Tuesday morning, Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the events proved the "dysfunctional" nature of the coalition and were "downright embarrassing".
"Most days, it doesn't appear that Christopher Luxon is actually in charge of his own government," Hipkins said. "Winston Peters and David Seymour seem to do whatever they like."
Foreign Minister Winston Peters said the matter of who replied to correspondence from the UN had been resolved.
Peters said experience matters in the business of diplomacy and "fixed" the issue after speaking to Seymour.
He said he was still consulting affected ministries, and would craft a response when that's complete.
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