New Zealand has a new government after six weeks of wrangling to form a coalition. Christopher Luxon, the new PM is former CEO of Air New Zealand, an evangelical Christian and social conservative, against abortion, euthanasia, legalising recreational cannabis, against affirmative action for Māori and co-governance, for strong government, low taxes and establishing military-style boot-camps for young offenders. Once installed today it was announced that there were plans to scrap the nation’s world-leading smoking ban to fund tax cuts.
The swearing in took place at 11.18am 27 November 2023 giving an ambitious, combative Sun Mars in Sagittarius in the 10th but that squares Saturn, so forward progress will be hindered by setbacks and delays. Mercury squares Neptune for indecision or evasion. And there are two yods – one onto focal point Uranus and the other onto Venus. The Uranian yod suggests more than a usual degree of strain with outer events blowing the best laid plans awry, which may in part be a reaction to the government’s intolerance of convention. The Venusian yod could suggest a government out of step with the social goals of the electorate. Tr Uranus moving into Gemini in 2025 will give the government chart a sharp elbow in the ribs as it squares the Saturn and opposes the Mars and Sun.
Luxon was born the same day as Scotland’s Nicola Sturgeon so has an assertive Cancer Sun conjunct Mars at zero degrees Leo trine Neptune, sextile Pluto – super-ambitious though he is hitting an awkward patch for his premiership with tr Pluto opposing his Sun/Mars now and then opposition his Mars in 2024 which will be stuck and frustrating; with tr Neptune undermining his power and influence opposition his Pluto. And with tr Uranus conjunct his Saturn and then opposing his Neptune he’ll be tossed around by events for the next two years and not rising to the challenge.
New Zealand, 17 January 1853 12 am Wellington, is going through a massively difficult phase with tr Pluto conjunct its Capricorn Sun Mars and square Pluto over last, year and 2023/24. Setbacks and difficulties are arriving exactly now with the SA Saturn square the Mars exactly which does not augur well for a government carrying the same accident-prone Saturn Mars signature.
Luxon’s relationship with NZ indicates the next fourteen months will be aggravated and unpopular with tr Pluto square the composite Mars.
It would be really heart-warming to see a country that is doing well over the next few years.
Hi Marjorie – I think that you may be calculating New Zealand’s Birth from the wrong time and date. Try Feb 6, 1840 4 pm Russell (that’s a bit north of Auckland). This is the date/time that some NZ Astrologers use – it may give you a different perspective. One way or the other NZ is in for a fairly rocky time – especially for the next 6 moths or so…..
Thanks for your article, here in NZ, its nice to read a perspective from the other side of the world.
Some years ago I tried out a couple of charts for NZ and the 1853 one worked much better for the shock of the UK joining the EEC in 1973 which disrupted the old NZ connection. There are always arguments about which charts to use so I test them out against events and stick to the one which is most illuminating.
Hamish, interesting…I am a Kiwi living abroad for 50 plus years, was it only CALLED the Treaty of Waitangi, I thought it had been signed there…..I knew someone who told me a huge secret before I left NZ (well, we had a huge drunken knees up!) ..this family personally owned the table it had been signed on! He swore me to secrecy, I didn’t believe it, but all the Maori chiefs put their mark on the table, which was then carved into it. I looked frequently on the net but no info at all there – ever. I looked about 5 years ago to see that it surely must be in a museum – but no! I am very sad about this…..
Maggie, the Treaty of Waitangi really was signed at Waitangi – I grew up in Waitangi. Russell is mentioned probably because that is the nearest geographical coordinates routinely listed – only 2-3 miles across the harbour. Events of the day were well documented. It was signed by the northern maori chiefs, who by this time had had decades of interaction with the pakeha (whites), then later taken south were some of the more southern maori were sort of coerced into signing. A very good history of nz book mentions ‘ NZ was settled by treaty in the north and conquest in the south’.
Hardly anyone smokes in New Zealand it really is frowned upon, its real issue is with alcohol abuse. A difficulty I see for the new PM is trying to keep it all together with his coalition partners.
The previous government’s proposed smoking ban applied only to youth, is really a red herring and not in any way central to the campaign. The new government does Not encourage smoking quite the reverse but it also recognises the inevitable peril of handing profits to criminal bootleggers under prohibition.
Thank you for this Marjorie. I have doubts this coalition will stay together. Luxon made pointed remarks at his swearing in regarding the honour of public service and I’m pretty sure they were aimed at his two coalition partners, David Seymour and Winston Peters. Both will put their own interests ahead of NZ as long as this deal holds.
Fascinating to see a politician of a small, damp, sometimes chippy, country on the edge of a larger continent being born on the same day as a politician of a small, damp, sometimes chippy, country on the edge of a different large continent. Luxon was born earlier in the day and may have a Capricorn moon while Sturgeon has an Aquarian one. Sturgeon is on the receiving end of a large claim against her and the Scottish Government by Alex Salmond, one of those cases where no-one is going to emerge well, while large sums of tax-payers’ money is wasted. Luxon looks as though he may have a few fights on his hands as well.
It will be most intriguing to see to what extent, if any, they have similar problems or successes.
I dare say Luxon will find, as a number of similar right-wing prime ministers are discovering, that socially and economically simplistic attitudes and intentions attract a good deal of attention, but implementation is another matter. It’s also a shame about rowing back on the smoking ban. Who seriously would encourage their child to smoke?
Thanks for the commentary Marjorie!
To be fair, the final vote tally for overseas and special votes was not finalized til Nov 3, and deadline for final application vote recount was not til Nov 8th. So actual party negotiations did not start in earnest until after those dates – in reality, around 3 weeks not 6.
“New Zealand smoking ban: Health experts criticise new government’s shock reversal”
“https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-67540190”
All the reversals really make me want to move to NZ… NOT!!!
The smoking thing no doubt got canned because Winston Peters is a lifelong smoker, and, although I have not been able to find online confirmation, word is that Seymour also smokes.