PHOTO: ODT FILES The only semi-public event on his schedule was to present the certificates to the deserving winners of the Otago Daily Times’ Class Act awards. This annual celebration of southern scholastic excellence is a terrific event and for every one of its 25 years the prime minister of the day has come to Dunedin to celebrate with them ..
. barring the Covid year, when Jacinda Ardern zoomed in for a virtual ceremony. A few dozen protesters were waiting outside the venue to give Mr Luxon a warm southern welcome but he caused some consternation by slipping in via a back entrance.
The police and the prime minister’s office only rarely comment on security measures, but it would be safe to say that the parameters of where a prime minister can roam are set by their protection officers rather than the prime minister themselves or their staff, and they are defined by the known risk on any given day and the location of any scheduled events. As an example, on one visit to Dunedin by Dame Jacinda her detail was content to let her mix and mingle with Otago Polytechnic students on an impromptu walkabout. But on another visit the only glimpse of her that the general public got was a fleeting one as she slipped out of the Glenroy Auditorium and straight into a car.
Mr Luxon’s speech was an interesting one. As befitted the audience he steered well clear of his usual stump speech and eschewed political rhetoric, instead opting for some thoughtful pieces of advice to the young ach.
