Helen Clark’s ‘restraint’ lesson for Christopher Luxon - Fran O’Sullivan

Opinion byFran O'SullivanHead of Business·NZ Herald·7 Aug, 2026 07:00 PM6 mins to readHead of Business, NZME‌Speaking on Newstalk ZB this morning, Luxon made the statement in response to a listener's text asking whether the PM would address the power held by minor parties in government.One word from the Right Honourable Helen Clark has stayed with me for almost two decades: “Restraint”.She offered that advice after I wrote a particularly excoriating column about Right Honourable Winston Peters in 2008. At the time Peters was serving as Foreign Minister outside Cabinet while New Zealand