'I got that wrong': Luxon apologises for remarks about small businesses

<p>Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has apologised to small business owners for remarks he made at a Rotorua event, conceding he "got that wrong" after telling a leader her concerns about business survival were "a negative view".</p> <p>Luxon told the media he was sorry if his comments, made last Friday, came across as failing to properly acknowledge the pressures small businesses faced.</p> <p>"I am sorry if my comments do not properly acknowledge the challenges that many small business owners are facing, and that I got that wrong," he said.</p> <p>"I know many small business owners are doing it tough right now. They're working long hours, they're managing financial pressures, looking after their staff, and doing everything they can to grow their businesses.</p> <p>"I have enormous respect and admiration for people who are out there backing themselves, taking a risk, and building a business. </p> <p>"Small businesses are the backbone of our economy."</p> <p>The apology came as the PM and Finance Minister Nicola Willis used a post-Cabinet media conference to spruik a run of positive announcements, including the Northland Expressway public-private partnership deal and a rise in business confidence.</p> <p>Willis also announced that the Government would keep its temporary fuel support measures in place, after petrol prices rose again following a brief dip in July.</p> <p>But Luxon also faced questions about why he would not rule out working again with Winston Peters – a man whose remarks about a Chinese MP the PM had himself <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/07/31/yes-i-do-luxon-asked-if-he-thinks-peters-remarks-were-racist/" target="_blank">called "racist" last week</a> – should National form another government after the election.</p> <h2>Luxon issues apology</h2> <p>Luxon said no one had pushed him to apologise this afternoon after he defended his comments about small businesses in a round of media interviews this morning.</p> <p>"No, no, I just feel that I could have expressed myself better in the way that my comments were interpreted," he said.</p> <p>"I didn't want to cause any offence. That's not what I intended to do. Clearly, people felt that I did, and I just want to acknowledge that wasn't my intention."</p> <p>Luxon said he had reviewed the transcript of the event before deciding to apologise and that his MPs had only mentioned the incident to him in a "cursory" manner.</p> <p>"I came in. I looked at the transcript. I thought, yeah, I could have expressed that better."</p> <p>The apology this afternoon marked a shift from Luxon's tone earlier today in interviews. </p> <p>Speaking this morning in an interview with RNZ's John Campbell, he had defended his handling of the event and said he was disappointed at how it was reported, arguing his point had been that Government and business "need to work together".</p> <p>"What I'm trying to say to you is, as a business owner, your job is to make sure that you actually have great commercial returns, build an awesome culture, have a great customer experience," he said in the interview.</p> <h2>PM refuses to rule out Peters as foreign minister again</h2> <p>The PM was also questioned about his Foreign Minister, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters, who last week <a href="1news.co.nz/2026/07/30/peters-jones-refuse-to-back-down-over-go-back-to-your-own-country-jibe/" target="_blank">told Green MP Lawrence Xu-Nan to "go back to your own country"</a> – comments Luxon himself has described as "racist" and "offensive".</p> <p>Luxon confirmed he had spoken to Peters, but would not detail what was said.</p> <p>"My conversation will stay between Winston and me," he told reporters. </p> <p>Pressed on whether he had effectively issued Peters a warning, the PM said: "I'm just not getting into it. That was a conversation between him and me."</p> <p>Luxon returned repeatedly to the looming election, saying voters unhappy with the rhetoric had their own remedy. "We're 90 days out from an election," he said. </p> <p>Asked whether Peters could keep his foreign affairs role in a future government, Luxon would not be drawn, calling it a "hypothetical" and urging voters to "party vote National" if they objected to the rhetoric ahead of the November 7 election.</p> <p>Labour has called on Luxon to sack Peters from his role after the comments drew international condemnation and comments from China.</p> <h2>Luxon railed against 'parent-child' small business </h2> <p>The apology followed the exchange at the Rotorua Business Chamber breakfast event, where the chamber's chief put a business pulse survey to the PM, asking how long members could "hang on" as costs rose and customer numbers fell. </p> <p>The Prime Minister responded that he thought it was "a negative view". According to a transcript of the exchange provided by his office, Luxon went on to tell the room that "if you're not retooling and radically disrupting your business, you ain't doing the job".</p> <p>He drew on his own corporate background, saying that as a chief executive based in the States he had never looked to the government for help.</p> <p>"The last person I wanted to ever talk to as a CEO was the government," he said. "I didn't sit there in Chicago saying I wonder what the government thinks ... Can I get some grant money to do something? No, no, I'm a business person. I'm building a kick-ass company."</p> <p>Luxon told the chamber there was "a parent-child mentality" in Kiwi boardrooms, and pressed those present on how many were using AI tools in their businesses.</p>