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The Prime Minister is talking up the conversations had behind the scenes at Waitangi as he comes under fire for what he said publicly. \xa0

Christopher Luxon used extracts from last year's speech, which he says he has no regrets for.\xa0

He expects to do the same in the future such as his Anzac Day speech.\xa0

Luxon told Mike Hosking that while in Northland, he had some good conversations on housing and water storage in the region.\xa0

He says there was some pretty inspiring conversations about problems and then potential solutions.\xa0

He's also standing by a statement criticising China. \xa0

The joint statement by Foreign Minister Winston Peters, Defence Minister Judith Collins and their Australian counterparts criticised China for eroding freedoms in Hong Kong and the repression of the Uyghur people. \xa0

The Chinese Embassy in Wellington says it strongly deplores and firmly opposes the statement. \xa0

But Luxon told Hosking that he supports the statement. \xa0

He says New Zealand's been consistent in its position both publicly and privately, and he thinks it's a good statement.\xa0

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