PremiumThomas CoughlanPolitical Editor·NZ Herald·1 Sep, 2026 05:00 PM6 mins to read‌Prime Minister Christopher Luxon during a Pacific Islands Forum meeting in 2024. Photo / Adam PearsePrime Minister Christopher Luxon during a Pacific Islands Forum meeting in 2024. Photo / Adam PearsePrime Minister Christopher Luxon says joint United States and New Zealand funding for a port upgrade on the island of Penrhyn in the northern Cook Islands has nothing to do with critical minerals. This is despite a senior US official suggesting the opposite.

Luxon made the remarks in an