While on the campaign trail in Matamata Judith Collins said she ‘really enjoyed’ last night’s debate. Video / Jason Walls
NZ Herald senior writer Claire Trevett picks the highlights of the week on the campaign trail.
Mistakes, a few:
On Sunday, National's Paul Goldsmith admitted to a mistake in National's books, and on Monday Labour leader Jacinda Ardern admitted it was a mistake to have been in a crowd selfieat Massey University during level 2.
Group selfies were technically back on the table as of Monday night after the decision to move all but Auckland back to level 1 but Ardern took the "better safe than sorry" approach of continuing with the elbow bump greetings.
The National Party clearly learned a thing or two from its dance with danger over the 'Eminem-esque' track of the 2014 campaign which landed it in the courts.
Its campaign launch on Sunday night featured Gray Bartlett's Hemingway's Theme. Bartlett is a New Zealand musician – and a former National Party candidate. It's understood leader Judith Collins herself decided to ring Bartlett to ask for a musical offering.
Act leader David Seymour took his mini-bus for a spin around the Highlands Motorsport circuit in Cromwell. Despite being restricted to 40km/h, Seymour still managed to send a chilly-bin hurtling down the aisle. A tin of Red Bull tipped out and Seymour leaned down, grabbed it, and took his hands off the wheel to open it. Living his mantra of 'hands-off' government.
May the force field be with you:
Campaign diaries are carefully co-ordinated to try to prevent run-ins with rivals on the campaign trail. However, on Friday both Ardern and Collins found themselves on the West Coast.
Asked if she expected to bump into Collins, Ardern said she did not: "But nothing will happen if we do have contact with each other. Our force fields will not create any sort of explosion."
They did run into each other – but not until the flight back to Christchurch at the end of the day. It's safe to say there was not much secret strategy discussed on that flight.
Contribution to the mining and extraction industry:
Finance Minister Grant Robertson for digging out the gold nugget of a $4 billion hole in National's books. National forgot to update a set of figures after the release of the Pre-Election Fiscal Update.
Farms were the theme of the week as both Ardern and Collins set out their agriculture policies in rural settings.
National Party leader Judith Collins at a stud farm in Gisborne. Photo / Facebook, supplied
Judith Collins announced National's on a stud farm in Gisborne, while on Wednesday Jacinda Ardern announced Labour's policy on a Waikato dairy farm.
The cows were listening in – and occasionally interjecting.
We do not profess to be fluent in Bovinese, but note that a chorus of "moos" sounds a lot like a chorus of "boos".
Typo of the week:
National's Tauranga MP Simon Bridges posted a photo of himself preparing to distribute flyers – apparently unaware of the typo in his own name.
The flyers were for a "Simon Brigdes" instead of Bridges.
National Party MP Simon Bridges. Or was that Brigdes? Photo / Simon Bridges' Facebook
Ribbed about it later, Bridges laughed, admitted he had not noticed it and said "Hakuna matata. Potato, potato."
Quotes of the week:
"They [Act] have two jobs: One is to win Epsom and the other is to take out the rest of the New Zealand First vote." National Party leader Judith Collins tries to stop Act poaching National's votes after Act hits 7 per cent in a 1 News Colmar Brunton poll.
"Sorry to all my political enemies - I survived." Act leader David Seymour after skydiving in Twizel.
