NZ government rejects Samoan PM’s claim

Saturday, 14 March 2026

This story has been updated. The initial version of the story was based on comments given by the Samoan PM in local media. The New Zealand government says these claims are not correct.

The New Zealand government has rejected claims from the Samoan PM that Prime Minister Christopher Luxon asked to have honorary matai title bestowed on him during his visit to Samoa.

Speaking on the Samoan show, Fofola le Fala ma le Alii Palemia, and as reported by Samoa Global News, Samoa Prime Minister Laaulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao Fosi Schmidt said the High Commissioner of New Zealand to Samoa had told him that Luxon had requested a matai title.

The government says this is totally incorrect.

“As is normal in the preparation for a prime minister’s visit there were detailed discussions with the host government about arrangements,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said.

Divers survey the area around HMNZS Manawanui on the southern coast of Upulo, Samoa, after the Manawanui ran aground and sank there.

“The High Commissioner asked for advance notice of any important announcements or honours to ensure that the prime minister could be properly prepared.”

Luxon, in an earlier statement, said he was departing for Samoa and Tonga on Sunday, on a trip to “reinforce New Zealand’s commitment to two of the closest members of our Pacific family”.

“Both countries are integral to who we are as a nation. With more than 300,000 Samoan and Tongan New Zealanders, the family connection is woven into the fabric of our society,” Luxon said.

On the trip he would meet with the leaders of the two countries. “Through our longstanding ties, we have built enormous trust between our nations,” Luxon said.

“I’m looking forward to hearing my new colleagues’ points of view, and then agreeing how we can work together to build communities that are more prosperous and safer from threats like drugs,” the Luxon statement said.

The PM will also be joined on the trip by Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti, who this week announced he was retiring from politics at the general election, Police Minister Mark Mitchell, who was this weekend getting married for a fourth time, and MPs Tim van de Molen, Jenny Salesa, and Teanau Tuiono.

This story has been updated. The story was based on statements given by the Samoan PM. The New Zealand government says the claims are not correct.