‘They’re eating each other’: Luxon and Peters in ‘quite extraordinary’ clash over Iran war

Thursday, 30 April 2026

Former prime minister Helen Clark has described the latest standoff between Christopher Luxon and Winston Peters as “quite extraordinary”, saying she was not surprised the foreign minister pushed back “very hard”.

Luxon and Peters met at the Beehive on Wednesday night over the release of emails discussing New Zealand’s position on war in Iran, in the early days of the conflict following the US and Israeli attacks on 28 February. In a statement about that meeting, Luxon said “Peters acknowledged he made a mistake”.

In the emails, released under the Official Information Act, Luxon was said to have had a “preference for more explicit public support of the US’ action”, though the position of the Government had remained a “careful line”.

Helen Clark: ‘‘In the end … Winston Peters wins’

Speaking to Ryan Bridge Today on Thursday morning, Clark said it had been “clear for some time” that the foreign minister had more power than the prime minister.

“Because Winston Peters has been able to articulate what the position is, which was that, in effect, they were silent on the question of the legality of the war and someday the court might rule all of it, but Christopher Luxon has huge problems with that,” she said.

“He clearly wanted to say he supported it, but he couldn’t because his foreign minister said ‘you can’t do that’.”

Clark’s comments came after emails were released suggesting Luxon considered “explicit public support” for the military action in the early days of the conflict. Documents show that position was resisted by Peters and advisers, who argued for maintaining a more cautious line that stopped short of endorsing the strikes.

“MFA [Minister of Foreign Affairs] does *not* wish for NZ to move towards explicit support, like Australia/Canada have expressed,” a released email from March 2 said.

“This is a time to closely observe what unfolds over the next week or two,” it said.

“Overtly supporting the US position will expose even further the position put to the PM this morning on ‘Morning Report’ about the legality of the action (i.e., Helen Clark’s position). That debate is beginning to take shape in Washington.

“We should hold our nerve and exhibit prudence here, not panic.”

‘They’re eating each other’

Clark on Thursday morning explained on Ryan Bridge Today there was politics behind the messaging, saying it was clear the one thing in Luxon’s mind for the last two and a half years has been “how can I keep this coalition together?”.

“And in the end that means Winston Peters wins in this case. That was quite helpful, even though Winston’s position didn’t go as far as it should have.”

Clark described the coalition relationships as “rather fractured”.

“They're eating each other. It's clear Winston Peters is taking a lot of the National Party's vote right now,” Clark said.

“I couldn't look you in the eye and say I thought the government would last till the seventh of November. They may stagger on but it's going to be increasingly fractious with less and less agreement internally.”

Meeting at the Beehive

It was understood the issue came to a head with a meeting at the Beehive on Wednesday night.

Luxon’s office has pushed back on the portrayal of events, saying the emails “mischaracterise the PM’s position”, and that the Government’s public statements ultimately reflected his view.

“If they didn’t, they would not have been made,” the Prime Minister’s office said in the statement.

Luxon’s office said the release of the emails “clearly put politics ahead of the national interest” and the PM expected “better judgment [sic]” from Peters given his decades in politics. Peters acknowledged he had made a mistake, a spokesman for Luxon said.

“We were surprised to see Winston Peters’ office release internal discussions like these to the media, as our office was not consulted on this.”

Nicola Willis: ‘I just sort of sigh’

Finance Minister Nicola Willis told Newstalk ZB on Thursday morning there were going to be political debates right up to election day “because we want New Zealand First supporters to vote for us, New Zealand First wants National voters to vote for them”.

“He's [Peters] a pain in the arse, isn't he, in election year?” host Mike Hosking asked.

Willis said she didn't think some of the statements made by Peters had been helpful.

“I have been critical of New Zealand First in recent days and he'd say that that's probably a pain, so all that goes on.”

Willis said there was a part of her that said “New Zealanders are not interested in this argy bargy”.

“I just sort of sigh and say, ‘this is just another silly debate about nothing’”.