“No doubt about it.”

That was Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s emphatic answer when asked whether he could guarantee he would lead the National Party into the election.

Speaking to Chris Lynch in Christchurch in his first one on one interview since the challenge to his leadership, Luxon also dismissed the prospect of another attempt to remove him.

“We’ve got a very good team. We’ve got a very good plan,” he said.

Luxon described the turmoil as a “pretty full on 48 hours” and admitted it had been a challenging week.

“We all came together and sorted the issues out,” he said.

“I leave that room very confident in our team. We’re very focused on what’s coming forward in this election, and there’s a lot at stake.”

Luxon declined to say what responsibility he accepted for losing the confidence of a senior minister.

“I’m not going to go into it. I’ve addressed it over the last few days, and obviously we have a caucus meeting and what we discuss in caucus, we leave there.”

He was challenged over his repeated insistence that National remained united despite two confidence votes in recent months.

Luxon said he understood how the events could appear to voters, but believed confronting internal problems was evidence of strong leadership.

“When there’s an issue, we talk about it, we get in a room, we hammer it out and we deal with it,” he said.

“I think it’s a sign of a strong leader and a good leader that you actually can address those issues up front with your team and have the honest, real conversations with each other.”

Asked whether relationships with his senior ministers had become awkward, Luxon said: “Not at all.” “We’re a very tight team, but when we have an issue, we’re going to deal with it.”

Luxon conceded it had been one of his most difficult periods since entering politics. “It’s been a challenging week, by my own admission, but the reality is every week in politics is hard. It’s tough. You’re dealing with big issues and you’ve got a lot coming at you.”

He denied ever considering walking away from the leadership. “I came to politics five or so years ago because I believe in the innate potential of this awesome country,” he said.

“Irrespective of the noise, irrespective of the media, irrespective of the commentators, we are here to make sure this country is going to realise its potential.”

Luxon said his focus was on ensuring younger generations had better opportunities than their parents. “I’m connected to the mission and the purpose, which is to build the best small country on planet Earth,” he said.

Is the South Island missing out?

The interview also turned to concerns the South Island was missing out on its fair share of government funding.

An advocacy report claimed the region had received about $1.8 billion less in transport funding than it should have based on its share of the population.

Luxon rejected the suggestion there was a funding gap.

He said government transport spending across the South Island had increased by 42 percent compared with the previous period under Labour, while spending in Canterbury had increased by more than 50 percent.

“Judge us by our record,” Luxon said. “You don’t just step change South Island investment in transport up 42 percent.”

Luxon pointed to work on the Pages Road Bridge and Ashburton bridge projects, along with investments in hospitals and schools.

He said the government was building a new hospital in Dunedin, redeveloping Nelson Hospital and fitting out the third tower at Christchurch Hospital to provide 96 additional beds.

Questions remain over how several major South Island road projects will be delivered when construction funding has not yet been allocated.

Luxon said the absence of construction funding did not mean the government had abandoned projects such as the Hope Bypass. “Don’t misread the fact that we haven’t started construction, or there may not be construction funding in place, as not a commitment to do the project,” he said.

Luxon said major projects moved through different stages, including property acquisition, consenting, technical assessment and design, before construction funding was required.

He described Christchurch as an important part of New Zealand’s economic future and rejected any suggestion the city had been overlooked.

“I think Christchurch is the model city for New Zealand,” Luxon said. “The city is booming. It has an energy. Yes, there’s always more for us to do.”

Luxon said Christchurch had benefited from more permissive planning rules following the earthquakes, along with strong education and technology sectors.

“When I say we’re fixing the basics and building the future, this is the model of what we’re talking about,” he said.

The Prime Minister also defended National’s decision to rule out working with The Opportunity Party, despite its recent rise in the polls.

“A vote for The Opportunity Party is a vote to put Chris Hipkins, the Māori Party and the Greens into government,” Luxon said. He attacked the party’s proposed land tax and universal basic income policies, calling them “complete insanity”.

Luxon would not speculate on why the party had attracted more support.

“I don’t comment on polls because I’m pretty focused on there being only one poll that matters, which is November 7,” he said.

Asked whether the timing of recent television poll coverage had added to the pressure surrounding his leadership, Luxon refused to criticise the media. “A politician complaining about the media is a bit like a farmer complaining about the weather,” he said. “I don’t get distracted by the noise because I know what the job is and what we have to do.”