Election 2020: shots and political statements in the second televised debate of a minor party

ANALYSIS: In an election in which political parties now struggle to change the ballot box, few voters will have been swayed by the latest minor party debate.

A high-flying ACT leader, David Seymour, backed its “austerity budget,” Greens co-leader James Shaw said a Labor majority government would be a “risk”, and Advance NZ leader Jami- Lee Ross, misrepresented the Covid-19 death rate.

The TVNZ The minor party debate, which took place without a studio audience in Auckland on Thursday night, was an ever-changing feast of gunfire and political statements.

There was no clear winner, although Seymour was encouraged by his continued success in the polls. Maori Party co-leader John Tamihere, almost excluded from the debate, took the opportunity to speak forcefully to his constituency.

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An hour before the party leaders took the stage, a 1 News/ Colmar Brunton’s poll showed Seymour’s small libertarian party had consistent support of 8 percent, while the Green Party was down one point to 7 percent.

Shaw, who opened by saying New Zealand “was at risk” of a Labor majority government without the Greens, said he would be more comfortable if his party had another percentage point or more at this point.

Seymour did not protest when the moderator, TVNZ political editor Jessica Mutch-McKay, described his economic platform as an “austerity budget”, saying that reducing debt for future generations was a “bottom line.”

His clear, forward-looking message avoided further mentioning the government service cuts. NZ First leader Winston Peters said Seymour’s speech consisted of neoliberal ideas from the 1980s.

“I can’t believe Winston Peters is calling me out of date,” Seymour said.

Tamihere also took the opportunity to hit ACT, saying the party’s view was “one of privilege and entitlement … it comes out all the time.”

Peters and Seymour clashed over the government’s response to Covid-19, with Peters defending the government’s record while at the same time saying it would have been “tougher” on the military and wearing the mask.

Seymour said New Zealand needed to get “smart in Taiwan” with contact tracing technology, leading to a question whether it still had libertarian values.

“Clearly there will be a compromise between privacy and public health,” he said.

When asked for a new idea for the economic recovery from Covid-19, all the party leaders played with their constituencies.

Shaw said it was infrastructure spending, Seymour said that spending was not a “silver bullet” and that a GST cut was needed.

Peters said that government debt was the big question and that the huge social spending promised by some would be disastrous.

Tamihere said that 80 percent of Maori children were in decile three or lower schools and she wanted equity in education.

“I am not interested in innovative ideas, because we cannot participate in the economy,” he said.

Ross said he wanted more quantitative easing, as the other parties would “run up debt.”

Ross, the current Botany MP at the helm of his new political party who has campaigned in part on conspiracy theories, had largely to answer for his actions in the past three years.

You have faced accusations of intimidating your staff, were you a suitable candidate? Held a rally in central Auckland during Covid-19 alert level two, was that responsible?

And a question for all the candidates, apparently with the intention of making a difference between Ross and the others: would they take a Covid-19 vaccine?

“I wouldn’t take a hasty vaccine,” Ross said, before proceeding to misrepresent the Covid-19 death rate.