Jacinda Ardern v Judith Collins – Third Leadership Debate in Christchurch

Jacinda Ardern accused Judith Collins of putting New Zealand’s “clean and green” brand on the line during a heated leaders’ debate in Christchurch last night.

But Collins has dismissed this as a “silly” line, adding that National’s promise to boost the tech sector, including science and engineering, would mean agriculture could grow while still meeting climate targets.

Labor and national leaders competed for votes during The Press leaders’ debate at City Hall, with memorable exchanges on the price of milk, respect for Samoa and comments on each other’s tax plans.

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But there was a particularly intense exchange on climate change and agriculture, where Collins praised the importance of the agricultural sector to the export economy.

“Get this: There is no free lunch for us in this world. We are a small country that has to fight for every trade deal,” Collins said.

“We have to wake up … we have to pay for health, we have to pay for education.”

Ardern replied that farmers were already participating in the climate change conversation, making New Zealand a world leader despite the country’s relatively small contribution to global emissions.

“Unless we move forward on this, we will fall behind and lose our brand. The dairy industry is doing well … as we work together on these environmental issues.

“It’s a sad day when we give up our reputation for being clean and green.

“We have the potential to export green energy. The opportunity here is huge for us.”

Ardern repeatedly asked Collins what National’s plan on climate change was, and Collins said the technology sector was the main driver of change.

“I don’t know how data centers will help climate change,” Ardern said.

Collins: “You don’t understand technology if you think it’s a data center. It should take it to some tech places.”

Collins emphasized growing the economy through a series of policies, including National’s temporary tax cuts, described by Ardern as “an unaffordable sugar hit.”

Ardern’s opening and closing remarks focused on Covid’s response to sway voters to choose stability, adding that the change could alter the gains that New Zealand had already earned.

He used his frequently used line of going hard and early, prompting a response from Collins that Samoa had left a month before New Zealand.

When Ardern said that was not correct, Collins said: “Actually, do not disrespect Samoa.”

Collins said Ardern was being “ridiculous” during a lockdown exchange, and said the second lockdown would have been avoided if personnel facing the border were being assessed as they should have been.

“I’m not going to allow Ms. Ardern to stand there and reinvent history,” Collins said.

When Ardern said there was no evidence that the outbreak came from the border, Collins said, “Where did it come from? A rock in your yard?”

Ardern then pressed Collins on the $ 800 million for new spending in his first-year budget, which he said was simply not enough to cover what a Covid world could shed.

“What will it be [National] “Cut?” Ardern said repeatedly, to which Collins replied that nothing would be cut.

When asked by viewers, Collins did not say whether National would ban gay conversion therapy, which is Labor policy, while Ardern did not say how he voted on cannabis legalization, which Collins is against.

Collins defined “awakening” as “a lot of nonsense”, while Ardern said it meant “great self-awareness.”

Then they were asked about the cost of living and the price of ordinary goods. They both hit the spot for the cost of Netflix, but fell short of the mark when it came to the price of two liters of milk and two kilos of lamb.

Both leaders agreed that it was too early to move to a republic when the Queen dies, although Ardern said she thought it could happen during her lifetime.

Before the debate, Collins had been on the defensive following a leaked email from National Representative Denise Lee.

Collins had said Monday morning that he wanted to review the Auckland Council, prompting an email from Lee to the caucus calling Collins’ comments “very troublesome” and a “nightmare”.

Lee added that the fact that Collins overlooked her when it came to a policy for which she is a spokesperson showed “an incredibly poor form and shows a surprisingly bad example of bad culture.”

Collins said the Auckland Council issue was something the campaign team had been working on for weeks, and she had talked to Lee about email.

Lee issued a statement yesterday saying it was an internal email, and he accepted Collins’ decision on the policy and fully supported the leaders.

After the debate, Collins again defended making “leader calls” in the election campaign, saying it was nothing unusual.

Collins thought that both she and Ardern had done well and that politics was the winner.

Ardern again refused to choose a winner.

There is one more leaders debate, moderated by TVNZ political editor Jessica Mutch McKay, taking place next week.