On the Campaign, September 19: What you missed on the election campaign today

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and National leader Christopher Luxon will face off in the first televised debate of the 2023 general election tonight. Photo / NZ Herald

The first televised leaders’ debate won’t exactly be the most important debate New Zealand has ever seen - but it will have a big impact on undecided voters.

Chris Hipkins and Christopher Luxon will square off in their first televised debate of the election campaign on TVNZ 1 tonight, for a 90-minute showdown.

Speaking to On the Campaign, the Herald’s daily election podcast, NZ Herald political editor Claire Trevett told host Georgina Campbell this debate probably won’t rank in the top five debates, and that these debates tend to be more important when the race is closer.

Trevett said the importance of this debate is it will likely be the only chance for the leaders to appeal to undecided voters, who will likely tune in to this first debate and make up their minds now.

“It’s a little bit unfortunate because as a general rule, [potential leaders] tend to be more nervous for the first one, so they don’t perform at their best. The second and the third ones tend to be a bit more relaxed - they’ve got their lines pat, they know what they did wrong in the first one, and they tend to be a bit punchier.”

She said Luxon will be looking to be competent over likeable, pushing his business skills, while Hipkins has to dent Luxon while winning back love for Labour by focusing on his trustworthiness.

Luxon has spent much of the last week talking down his own debating skills while talking up Hipkins’, but Trevett said Luxon has been “so obvious” in his intentions that his gambit likely won’t work.

“It’s all games, it’s smack talk. He’s trying to make Hipkins look like he’s going to trounce him, so when Hipkins doesn’t mop the floor with him everyone is pleasantly surprised and thinks that Luxon won it, but it’s all smack talk.”

Listen to the full episode of On the Campaign for the full rundown of today’s big election stories.

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