Luxon rolls into Hawke’s Bay on campaign bus for final election push

For the second election in a row, Christopher Luxon brought his campaign to Hawke’s Bay with just three days to go before polling day.

This time, though, the National leader is campaigning to remain Prime Minister rather than become one.

Luxon arrived in the region on Wednesday aboard the party’s big blue campaign bus, retracing a final-week campaign stop he made on October 11, 2023, three days before that year’s general election.

And, just as he did three years ago, Napier MP Katie Nimon’s father Bill Nimon was behind the wheel.

Katie Nimon with her father, Bill Nimon, three days out from the 2023 election (left) and today. Photos/Hawke's Bay News

It was familiar territory for the family. Katie Nimon worked in the family bus business before entering politics, eventually becoming general manager of Nimon and Sons.

Bill Nimon told Hawke’s Bay News he took over driving the National campaign bus in Wellington on Tuesday and was due to continue north through Taupō, Rotorua, Matamata, Morrinsville and Hamilton before it reached Auckland.

This time, however, he planned to get off before the end of the journey.

“Last time I stayed and I really struggled to get to Katie’s election day, so I need to be back here to support her,” he said.

Nimon did make it back for election day in 2023, but said cancelled flights made the journey difficult.

“I just do it because somebody’s got to do it,” he said of taking the wheel again.

Asked about his daughter, Nimon said he was “very impressed with her”.

“She’s certainly a people person and very intelligent.”

The bus arrived in Havelock North late on Wednesday afternoon, where Luxon was welcomed by around 100 supporters near the cenotaph.

The gathering was about 180 metres from a voting place at the Havelock North Function Centre.

With Saturday’s election approaching, Luxon told supporters the contest would be close and urged them to give their party vote to National.

“We have to stick with the plan,” he said.

“The plan is working and we just need another three years to get it bedded in and to get the job done for New Zealand.”

Luxon said National should not “leave the job half done” and repeatedly argued the Government needed another term to continue its work.

He also warned against strategic voting.

“Do not do any of this split voting or strategic voting malarkey,” he said.

“We just need a straight party vote for National.”

Luxon singled out New Zealand First, criticising its record in the previous Labour-led Government on oil and gas exploration and the One Billion Trees programme, as well as its opposition to the India free trade agreement.

He also urged supporters to return Tukituki MP Catherine Wedd to Parliament.

Wedd told Hawke’s Bay News the final week of campaigning had been “super energised” and “super positive”.

“I’ve been knocking on thousands of doors, handing out flyers and campaigning, sign waving, and we’re just getting an incredible response,” she said.

“There’s a huge visibility for National, we’ve been getting honks and toots and feeling really confident leading into Saturday.”

The campaign then moved to Napier, where supporters gathered at the Hawke’s Bay Club for the final Hawke’s Bay stop of the day.

Nimon said the final days before an election still felt unusual despite this being her third campaign.

“It’s a weird feeling. I’ve got to say, this is my third election. It doesn’t get any more normal,” she said.

“You do everything you can. You deliver the last flyers. You knock on the last doors. You make the last phone calls. And you just get out there and see as many people as you can.

“Honestly, the feeling is really positive.”

Asked about the similarities between Luxon’s visit this week and his final-week stop in 2023, Nimon said the difference was what National could now point to after three years in government.

“I think he made the point really well, mirroring the difference,” she said.

“Talking last time about the state that we were in with crime out of control, with a real deficit in infrastructure spending, education stats and reform, and now to be able to talk about where we are with what we’ve done in the last three years.

“I think it’s a great reflection of the last three years and not leaving the job half done.”

At the Hawke’s Bay Club, Luxon also looked back to the campaign three years earlier.

“This time, when I came to this stage three years ago, we were talking about law and order being out of control,” he said.

He pointed to the Government’s record on crime, education and the economy as evidence, in his view, that National’s programme was working.

Luxon said National had made difficult decisions during its first term and repeatedly returned to the message that it needed another three years to continue its programme.

Throughout both Hawke’s Bay stops, his closing argument remained largely the same: stick with National’s plan, avoid a Labour-led government and make sure National supporters voted.

As the Napier rally ended, Luxon urged supporters not just to talk about the election but to cast their ballots.

“You have to get your A into G and get down to the polling booth and actually vote,” he said.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins was last in Hawke’s Bay over Labour Weekend, visiting the Hawke’s Bay Chamber of Commerce, EIT and the Hawke’s Bay A&P Show.