Contenders square off in Auckland and Wellington

Finance Minister Michael Cullen and National's finance spokesman Don Brash will square off at a special breakfast function in Auckland this morning to launch the Mood of the Boardroom report.

This is the first time the two finance supremos have debated publicly in Auckland this year.

A top-flight audience of prominent chief executives and company chairpersons, together with many of the city's leading SME players, will be present. The New Zealand Herald and Business New Zealand, in association with EMA Northern, are co-hosts.

Hot issues such as tax - where Brash has stated he will not cut the top rate - will be top of mind.

Tomorrow in Wellington, Small Business Minister John Tamihere will square off against United Future leader Peter Dunne.

Tamihere, who was passed over for Commerce in Helen Clark's latest Cabinet reshuffle, will pit his combative style against Dunne, a former Inland Revenue Minister, at a lunch at the Hotel InterContinental.

Their debate will be hosted by EMA Central.