John Luxton

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The Hon. Murray John Finlay Luxton, QSO, (b. 1946) is a former New Zealand National Party politician, and a son of Jack Luxton who had previously held the same seat of Matamata.

He was educated at Hamilton Boys' High School and Massey University (B Ag Sci, Dip. Ag Science, Dip. Bus. Sc., M. Mgt.). He was a National Party MP from 1987 to 2002.

Luxton was first elected to Parliament in the 1987 elections as the MP for Matamata. He replaced his father Jack Luxton, who held the seat of Piako then Matamata for 21 years from 1966, and had been Chairman of Committees in Parliament.

Luxton held Matamata until the 1996 elections, when a boundary change caused him to stand in the seat of Karapiro. In the 1999 elections, he opted to become a list MP, leaving the Karapiro seat to newcomer Lindsay Tisch.

The National Party won the 1990 elections, and Jim Bolger became Prime Minister, Luxton was appointed to Cabinet. His ministerial roles have included Minister of Energy, Minister of Housing, Minister of Maori Affairs, Minister of Police, Minister of Commerce, and Minister of Agriculture. Luxton was regarded by many as one of the more economically liberal members of the National Party.

Luxton did not seek re-election in the 2002 elections. More recently he was one of the founders of the Open Country Cheese Company, located near Matamata, in the Waikato.