Christopher Luxon tight-lipped on 3am bid to scrap matai title
Tuesday, 17 March 2026
APIA, SAMOA: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is refusing to explain why he reportedly tried to get his Samoan matai ceremony scrapped in the middle of the night.
Hundreds turned out for his bestowal ceremony in Apia on Monday morning that gifted him the title, Tu'isinavemaulumotootua.
The Samoa Observer has reported Samoan Prime Minister Laʻauli Leuatea Schmidt told guests at a welcoming dinner on Monday night the ceremony was nearly called off at the last minute.
Luxon and his wife Amanda were among the guests.
Read more:
Speaking in Samoa, Schmidt said he had received a phone call about 3am from Samoa Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade chief executive Peseta Noumea Simi, informing him Luxon did not want to proceed with the matai ceremony, the report reads.
The Samoa Observer reported Schmidt said he had asked why and was told Luxon had decided not to go ahead because of “too much interference on social media”.
By that stage it was T-Minus seven hours until Luxon's ava ceremony, an event those on the ground in Apia would have likely been working towards for weeks, if not months.
Dozens of Samoan chiefs sat in the blazing sun through the hours-long bestowal that ended with Luxon taking a sip of ava and dancing with his wife Amanda.
At that point it appeared the dust had settled on an earlier drama set off when Samoan media reported Schmidt said Luxon had personally asked for the honour.
The New Zealand Government refuted the claim and the Samoan Government later retracted it.
Luxon downplayed the incident on Monday, saying it was all a misunderstanding.
“We’ve worked our way through that issue … there was some miscommunication and all of that, but we've got ourselves to the right place,' he said in a joint stand-up with Schmidt.
Luxon was pushed to explain Schmidt's latest statements on Tuesday morning but refused to comment.
'The [Samoan] Prime Minister issued a statement yesterday morning and I've got nothing further to add to that.
'I'm sorry guys, I'm just not going to go there.'
Luxon and Schmidt watched a secondary school rugby league game at Wesley College this morning before returning to the Defence Force plane to fly to Tonga.
He will spend the night in Nuku’alofa, spending time with his Tongan counterpart Lord Fatafehi Fakafānua.