# Christopher Luxon meets Bay of Plenty residents

> National leader Christopher Luxon addresses toll roads, agriculture education and land use concerns with Bay of Plenty residents.
- Title: Christopher Luxon meets Bay of Plenty residents · RNZ
- Summary: National leader Christopher Luxon addresses toll roads, agriculture education and land use concerns with Bay of Plenty residents. National Party leader…
- Keywords: christopher luxon, bay of plenty, national party, toll roads, year 11 agriculture, solar farms, land use, politics, news, Christopher, Luxon, meets
- Source: RNZ — https://rnz.co.nz/news/politics_election-2026/2067967/christopher-luxon-fronts-up-to-bay-of-plenty-residents
- Author: RNZ | Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa
- Published: 2026-10-21T15:40:19+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: christopher luxon, bay of plenty, national party, toll roads, year 11 agriculture, solar farms, land use, politics, news
## Luxon tours Bay of Plenty
National leader Christopher Luxon visited Pongakawa, Edgecombe and Whakatāne on Wednesday.
## Toll roads debate
One resident called the Bay of Plenty home to two out of three of New Zealand's toll roads.

> are we being taken for suckers in the bay of plenty are we subsidising other people
## Toll roads policy
Luxon said toll roads would speed infrastructure development by learning from countries like Denmark.

> i've looked at how denmark has done it i've looked at other five million people countries and it's quite a normal feature
## Agriculture education concerns
Federated Farmers president Brent Mountford questioned why Year 11 students lose agriculture classes.

> we've got 2200 boys 300 in agriculture but with the new changes year 11 it's not going to be a stand-alone subject
## Literacy policy
Luxon proposed a foundational literacy and numeracy award for Year 11 students.

> we need the foundations to work well because actually we haven't got our kids even really doing that well enough
## Solar farm land use
Residents reported solar farms taking up productive land near Edgecumbe.

> anything can be grown here
## Land use policy
Luxon said government policy drives land use to its highest value.

> government policy hasn't driven that
## Key takeaway

National Party leader Christopher Luxon discusses toll roads, Year 11 agriculture classes and solar farm land use with Bay of Plenty residents.