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A politician respected for his courtesy

– By Richard Swainson

John Luxton

politician/dairy leader b September 14, 1946 d November 16, 2021

The worth of a person can often be measured by the calibre of their argument. To be respected by those who agree with you is one thing. To be respected by those whom you oppose is quite another, especially if you are a politician.

In the tributes that flowed after the death of John Luxton, one stood out. Matthew Robson, a former Alliance and Progressive MP, sat opposite the treasury benches during his time in Parliament, yet found common ground with Luxton, a National Party Cabinet minister. ‘‘I remember his courteousness, approachability, and that he always respected opposing views,’’ wrote Robson, who noted how Luxton put a high price on human rights ‘‘and held the view that public service was both a responsibility and a privilege’’.

From a young age, Luxton had a firsthand vantage point on the privileges and responsibilities of power. He was born Murray John Finlay Luxton, one of four children of Jack and Margaret Luxton. The family had a dairy farm in Waitoa, near Morrinsville.

Jack Luxton played a prominent role in the Waikato branch of Federated Farmers, serving as dominion councillor. He was also active in the Tatua Dairy Company, including several years as a director of the co-operative. In 1966 he was elected to Parliament as the National member for Piako.

Son John was to demonstrate that the apple did not fall far from the tree. Educated at Hamilton Boys’ High, his tertiary studies were at Massey University. With an eye to his future career, degrees and diplomas were attained in agriculture and agricultural science. He also completed a masters in management studies.

Early employment was secured at the Ministry of Agriculture, where his expertise in the dairy industry stood him in good stead. He was soon to swap the desk job for the real thing, taking up dairy farming with first wife Merryl. Over the next decade, Luxton alternated between consultancy work on projects in Africa, Asia and the Pacific and ongoing farming in New Zealand.

In 1987, he was elected to Parliament as the National Party member for the Matamata electorate, replacing his father, who had held the seat since the Piako constituency was abolished in 1978. With National’s landslide win in the 1990 election, under Jim Bolger, a fellow farmer, John Luxton was elevated to Cabinet.

He was to hold a wide variety of portfolios: energy (1990-94), housing (1990-93), Ma¯ ori affairs (1993-96), police (1994-96), lands (1996-98), commerce and consumer affairs (1996-98), fisheries (1996-99), customs (1998-99) and agriculture (1998-99). He was also an associate minister of education and of overseas trade.

When the Matamata boundary was redrawn before the 1996 election, Luxton stood for and won the Karapiro seat. His tenure as a Cabinet member survived his party’s leadership transition, as Bolger was replaced by Jenny Shipley in December 1997. At the 1999 election, he stood aside in Karapiro, electing to stand as a list MP only, and was again returned to Parliament despite a decisive change of government.

Declining to contest the 2002 election, Luxton denied his decision had anything to do with a demotion on his party’s list. He conceded that he found being in opposition difficult, in that ‘‘you have to be negative about everything’’. Then National Party leader Bill English declared that ‘‘John has always been an anchor in caucus, reminding us of the clear principles of private enterprise’’.

Luxton had retained his business interests in the dairy industry, again following in his father’s footsteps as chairman of the Tatua Dairy Company at various stages between 1978 and 1990, and was a director between 2001 and 2016.

Taking advantage of the deregulation of dairy exports, he was a co-founder of the Open Country Cheese Company at Waharoa, which today is New Zealand’s second-largest processor and exporter of dairy products.

From 2008 until 2015, he served as the chairman of DairyNZ, the first dairy industry body of its kind. Advocating for all dairy farmers, he had a decisive influence on policy and legislative change, which led directly to the formation of Fonterra and the deregulation of producer boards. Current DairyNZ chairman Jim van der Poel says Luxton made an ‘‘unfaltering contribution to the rural section’’.

Luxton led the industry through a significant growth phase, representing it as part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement negotiations. He also helped launch new strategies for sustainable farming and championed research, development and education within the industry, establishing the Waikato Dairy Leaders’ Group and chairing the Industry Leaders’ Forum.

From 2010 until 2020, he served as cochair of the Waikato River Authority. Bob Penter, the organisation’s chief executive, says this Crown appointment was ‘‘very much at the statesman level’’. Requiring a sensitivity to the diverse interests of six distinct parties – five iwi and the Crown – Luxton’s work was a ‘‘governance masterclass’’, Penter says.

The establishment of the authority’s growth portfolio to a figure of more than

$80 million will stand as one of Luxton’s legacies, allowing restoration work on the Waikato River to continue well beyond

2037, when central government’s commitment comes to an end.

Luxton’s association with Asia was a long and personal one. Having lived and worked in the region, his chairmanship of the Asia NZ Association, which began in

2015 and ended with his illness-related resignation in 2021, drew on direct experience. He led delegations to Asia and hosted sector groups, engaging in dialogue across a wide range of subjects, including media, business and informal diplomacy.

In the 2003 Queen’s Birthday honours, he was appointed a Companion of the Queen’s Service Order for public service. In the 2017 New Year honours he was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the dairy industry. He was also the recipient of the 2013 Sir Geoffrey Peren Medal from Massey University, and was awarded an honorary doctorate by Lincoln University in 2016.

Judith Collins, National leader until this week, described Luxton as ‘‘affable and courteous to a T’’, stating he ‘‘will be remembered for his keen sense of humour and kindness’’. Such sentiments were widely held by friends and nominal political foes alike.

Luxton is survived by wife Mary Scholtens, QC, four children, and nine grandchildren.

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