Peters hopes conversion therapy ban is revisited, Luxon says no change
Winston Peters says he hopes New Zealand's ban on conversion therapy is revisited. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says it will not be.
The exchange came in an interview with Family First's Bob McCoskrie. According to RNZ, which reported the interview on 8 October 2026, Peters was asked whether there should be moves to overturn or relitigate the law. He replied "I sure hope so".
Peters said New Zealand First would have fought the conversion practices law if the party had been in Parliament when it passed in 2022. He did not go further. He stopped short of making repeal an election policy, a formal promise a party campaigns on.
In the same interview, Peters set out his position on abortion. He said life begins at conception. He said abortion at its worst, depending on timing, shades into "murder or assassination".
Luxon ruled out change. Speaking to reporters in Kāpiti, according to the Otago Daily Times, he said the abortion and conversion therapy laws are settled. He said there will be no changes under him as prime minister. He said the conversion therapy ban will not be overturned.
That position sits alongside his own earlier comments. In 2021, Luxon said his pro-life position meant he likened abortion to murder, as reported by the New Zealand Herald. He later assured voters he would not touch abortion law.
The broader context here is the difference between a preference and a commitment. Peters expressed a hope. He did not set a bottom line, the non-negotiable demand a party takes into coalition talks. A hope can be aired to a sympathetic audience without binding a negotiating team. A policy would need drafting, numbers in the House and a place in a coalition agreement. Under MMP, the voting system where minor parties can hold the balance of power, it is common for small-party leaders to test ideas in public while large-party leaders rule them out early.
Looking at what this means for the campaign, the moves from both leaders are about containment. The interview gave Peters direct access to socially conservative voters without a formal announcement. The doorstop, a short stand-up interview with reporters, gave Luxon a clear denial on the record. Neither man proposed a bill. Neither proposed a review. For Beehive staff and the Press Gallery, the practical question is whether the issue runs for a second week or stalls once both positions are logged. Reporters will keep asking. Staff will keep preparing lines. Unless either leader shifts from words to paperwork, the law stays where it is.
