On the Campaign, October 2: What you missed on the election campaign today

National's campaign chair Chris Bishop. Photo / Mark Mitchell

One of only four leaders’ debates during the election campaign could be called off entirely, as the major parties struggle to agree to what should be done.

The Press debate was meant to be held in Christchurch tomorrow night. The debate has become a fixture on the campaign calendar after being introduced after the 2011 earthquakes, and is the only leaders’ debate held outside of Auckland.

However, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has been diagnosed with Covid-19 and is currently isolating until he returns a negative test.

Instead of an easy fix, though, both Labour and National are offering their own alternative arrangements. Labour has offered to hold the debate next week, with Finance Minister Grant Robertson telling media they could do most dates next week but he’d had not heard back from National, accusing National’s leader Christopher Luxon of “running scared”.

National’s campaign manager Chris Bishop hit back, saying there is already a leaders’ debate next week - the final televised debate on TVNZ 1 on October 12 - and he had suggested National’s deputy leader Nicola Willis could debate Labour’s deputy Kelvin Davis instead, which Labour had not replied to.

Both Chrises have put out separate statements on social media, with Chris Hipkins saying he is happy to do it over Zoom if an alternative date won’t work, while Christopher Luxon saying it is more misinformation from Labour.

NZ Herald deputy political editor Thomas Coughlan likened the disagreements to that of a relationship breakdown while talking to On the Campaign, the Herald’s daily election podcast.

“At the moment, National and Labour don’t appear to be talking to each other that much, and they are negotiating what to do next with The Press,” he said.

“It’s sort of like an angry couple refusing to speak to each other and having to go through a mediator, and The Press is in the middle of them and they are trying to work out a solution.”

At this stage, the debate is not happening tomorrow night.

Coughlan said that the timing of Hipkins’ Covid diagnosis could not have come at a worse time, with early voting opening today. However, with Hipkins now doing online town hall meetings instead of in-person events, Coughlan noted that this could provide an opportunity to speak with more voters at once.

Also on today’s episode, different parties raise concerns about campaign violence, and Winston Peters sparks headlines for the wrong reasons once again.

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

On the Tiles is available on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes are available evenings every weekday.