The Front Page: Simon Wilson and Heather du Plessis-Allan debate the battle between Luxon and Hipkins

Today marks the one-year anniversary of NZ Herald podcast The Front Page with Damien Venuto.

In that time, we’ve touched on the biggest news stories from around the world, ranging from the death of the Queen to the political chaos in the US, UK, Ukraine and Sri Lanka.

We’ve also dug into some of the biggest problems facing New Zealand’s future. In addressing topics as varied as crime, the ports, superannuation, infrastructure and immigration, a common theme has emerged: Aotearoa seems unwilling to address big, long-term issues.

Yet, as we head into the election cycle, our main parties seem utterly fixated on one issue, and one issue only: the cost of living. So are we at risk of again kicking important cans down the road, no matter who gets elected?

Joining The Front Page podcast for our anniversary episode, NZ Herald senior writer Simon Wilson and Newstalk ZB Drive host Heather du Plessis-Allan engaged in a sometimes-heated debate about the big issues ahead for Labour leader Chris Hipkins and National’s Christopher Luxon.

Currently, we have Hipkins on the one side slashing policies, while National on the other has been slow to release its major policy ideas – heaping pressure on both politicians to deliver something substantial in the coming months.

Wilson says we can expect Hipkins to announce new policies when the Budget is announced in May.

“It’s clear he’s not going to do much before Budget,” says Wilson.

“Budget will be when we really discover what’s there.”

National is similarly tied to this timeline, with du Plessis-Allan suggesting that Luxon may be tempted to wait until after the Budget to unleash National’s thinking on the big issues.

“Obviously, the Nats are going to come out with policy, the question is how much and when,” says du Plessis-Allan.

“They are leaving it until after the Budget, I think. But if I was their strategist, I would tell them not to leave it much longer because it is starting to do real damage to the brand of Luxon. I’m not sure if they leave it much longer after Budget, they’ll have time to repair the damage that his brand is suffering.”

With both parties grappling for the centre vote, the major parties are fiercely focusing on the economy and what they can do for New Zealanders right now. Wilson and du Plessis-Allan agree that the area we should perhaps be paying more attention to is the main coalition parties on either side, Act and the Greens.

“This will be an election where people really should be thinking about Act and Greens because they are the ideas backbone of the two potential coalitions,” says Wilson.

So which of those coalition parties will be more likely to bend the major parties one way or the other? Are smaller parties better served by being on the cross benches or in Government? Who between Luxon and Hipkins is more likely to persuade voters? Who will likely win the next election? And what does urgent climate action actually look like in practice?

Listen for the full discussion on The Front Page to hear the full debate from both sides.