Learning to Say Yes to Mining the Key to Higher Wages, New Zealand PM Says

New Zealanders need to embrace mining the way Australians have if they want their incomes—and that of the country—to rise, Christopher Luxon said.

Prime Minister and National Party leader Christopher Luxon speaks during a media stand-up at Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand on Nov. 3, 2023. Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

It is easy to want a sovereign wealth fund and higher incomes, but New Zealanders need to begin showing support for mining to pay for it, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told New Zealanders in his State of the Nation speech today.

He added that “too often, when it comes to economic growth, we’ve slipped into a culture of saying no.”