Christopher Luxon is defending his use of an Air Force flight after attending a National Party fundraiser, saying he has a "busy job" and "full schedule".
By Craig McCulloch of RNZ
Labour on Wednesday accused the Prime Minister of using the Defence Force as a "personal taxi service" for campaigning purposes.
Luxon flew from Whanganui to Auckland on a six-seater NZDF King Air plane on the evening of July 23 after attending a National Party fundraising dinner.
Speaking to reporters at Parliament, Luxon said he needed to get back to Auckland for a meeting the next morning and no Air New Zealand or Jetstar flights were available.
He said he had brought the meeting forward to 7am so he could also attend the funeral of former National MP Bill Birch that day.
"I needed to get back to that meeting... I couldn't catch a commercial flight to get there after a full day in Feilding and Whanganui," he said.
"Those planes need to be flying, and the pilots need the hours and the training anyway. It's not costing the taxpayer any additional money."
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said Luxon could have easily skipped the National fundraiser and caught an earlier commercial flight from Whanganui in order to make the next meeting.
'Absolutely unjustifiable' – Labour
He said instead Luxon appeared to be using the Defence Force like a "personal taxi service".
"It's absolutely unjustifiable. Attending a party fundraising event is a bright line," he said. "Air force planes should not be used to support that."
Hipkins said only a select group of people, including the prime minister, had access to those planes.
"It's really important for the political neutrality of the Defence Force that they are not used by those people for campaigning purposes."
Luxon has come under pressure in the past week over his use of NZDF flights. Previous prime ministers also made use of such facilities, though Hipkins argued that was never for party purposes.
Luxon said his job as prime minister was a busy one and so he used military assets "if and when it's appropriate".
"It's an extreme job. It has a lot of commitments. They're long hours. Commercial flights don't always work from different parts of New Zealand.
"You want to use my time efficiently, so I can do as much as I possibly can."
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