With the National and Labour leaders absent, the debate put NZ First\u2019s Winston Peters, ACT\u2019s David Seymour, the Greens\u2019 Chl\u00f6e Swarbrick, Opportunity\u2019s Qiulae Wong and Te P\u0101ti M\u0101ori\u2019s Rawiri Waititi on one stage.<\/p>\n
The leaders pitched rival fixes for grocery and power bills, debated proposed wealth and land taxes, and argued over suggestions that prisons should be abolished.<\/p>\n
Here are the six moments and a few colourful answers that stood out.<\/p>\n
1 ‘You poor thing’ – Waititi on Peters’ reo complaints<\/p>\n
Waititi, who appeared without co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer while she cared for her mother, is campaigning for compulsory te reo M\u0101ori in schools. <\/p>\n
![\"Te](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/te-pati-maori-co-leader-rawiri-waititi-at-the-1news-multi-pa-U4CIMWUXKRCCBMBKNYYCYKSAFA.png\")
<\/p>\n
Te P\u0101ti M\u0101ori co-leader Rawiri Waititi at the 1News Multi-Party Debate. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n
He conceded New Zealand did not have enough teachers to deliver it.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, but we do need to build the capacity to be able to have more teachers in the classroom,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s nothing wrong with being bilingual … I\u2019m quite proficient, I would say, in the English language, but the majority of Aotearoa are not proficient in my language, so they only think in one world. I think in two.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peters, asked whether te reo was a taonga, said \u201cof course, all these things are a treasure\u201d, but called compulsion \u201ccoercion\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a fantastic idea until you make it coercive and force it down people\u2019s throats … If I\u2019m getting on a train downtown and I\u2019m in a hurry and I don\u2019t speak M\u0101ori, I\u2019m not going to know where to go to because they decided to change all the names downtown.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou poor thing,\u201d Waititi quipped back.<\/p>\n
The NZ First leader had previously been critical of the reo naming of new City Rail Link stations in Auckland’s city centre. <\/p>\n
The exchange soured when Waititi quoted a line about land and language loss leaving \u201ckhaki-coloured Europeans\u201d – a paraphrased line from Peters himself from 1975 when he was involved in M\u0101ori land rights as a lawyer and first-time political candidate.<\/p>\n
Peters fired back: “Here comes the racist!”<\/p>\n
2 Wong fires back at Peters over inexperience sledge<\/p>\n
Wong hit back at Peters after he mocked her political experience in a clash over the Treaty of Waitangi. The back-and-forth started when Peters dodged a question about whether the country\u2019s first M\u0101ori prime minister was on stage. <\/p>\n
![\"New](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/new-zealand-first-leader-winston-peters-and-opportunity-lead-KQQVDY3BT5HJPF4CGQSNLGR4BY.png\")
<\/p>\n
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters and Opportunity leader Qiulae Wong at the 1News Multi-Party Debate. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n
\u201cLook, why don\u2019t we get back to the subject of the Treaty of Waitangi?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Peters invoked the late Dame Whina Cooper, who he claimed believed the Treaty was signed \u201cto become one people\u201d.<\/p>\n
“We’ve got no chance unless we’re going ahead with unity. It\u2019s now become an industry. It\u2019s a make-work scheme. A great honourable cause has been perverted by a whole lot of radicals, and the cost is immense.”<\/p>\n
When Wong then accused NZ First of being one of the most divisive parties in politics, Peters said she had \u201cnever been here for five minutes\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have watched politics for the last 40 years, and that\u2019s why I\u2019m here, because it hasn\u2019t changed in all that time. And we haven’t made progress,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Seymour, who wants the tribunal wound up, said it acted as \u201ca kind of quasi Parliament\u201d. Waititi said settlements could not be \u201cfull and final\u201d when many iwi \u201conly got 1% of their total due\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about protecting everybody,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
3 Coalition partners square off on minimum wage<\/p>\n
Peters and Seymour, who sit together in the current coalition, split over the minimum wage, with the NZ First leader predicting his side would win the argument.<\/p>\n
![\"ACT](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/act-leader-david-seymour-at-the-1news-multi-party-debate-VGA4LXNTWFFFNKZOSN2INSVBLY.png\")
<\/p>\n
ACT leader David Seymour at the 1News Multi-Party Debate. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n
NZ First wants the minimum wage to rise with inflation for at least the next three years while ACT wants to freeze it.<\/p>\n
Peters said the country needed \u201ca high wage regime, not a low wage regime\u201d to grow the economy and catch up with Australia. He also proposed tax credits for companies to help lift wages.<\/p>\n
Asked who would win an \u201carm wrestle\u201d on minimum wage if the coalition returned, Peters said: \u201cWell, we\u2019ll get more votes in this election. We\u2019re going to win that debate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seymour said that outcome was \u201centirely up to the voters\u201d, but defended ACT\u2019s policy after what he called \u201creally excessive increases in the minimum wage that put huge pressure on small business\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t get higher wages from the government passing a law. You get it from risk taking and investment and innovation, people upskilling so they can produce more and get paid more,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
4 Swarbrick hits out at Opportunity for wanting Luxon<\/p>\n
The Greens and Opportunity split sharply over whether to work with National, with Wong saying the Greens could have stopped some of the Government\u2019s \u201cmost egregious\u201d moves if they had been willing to make a deal post the 2023 election.<\/p>\n
![\"Green](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/green-party-co-leader-chloe-swarbrick-at-the-1news-multi-par-JXPQEYZNGZD3FGQMSFDTXDT3Q4.png\")
<\/p>\n
Green Party co-leader Chl\u00f6e Swarbrick at the 1News Multi-Party Debate. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n
Asked to spell out the difference between the two parties, Swarbrick said it came down to who would be in power.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s clear that the Green Party want to change the government. We are not interested in reinstalling Christopher Luxon as Prime Minister,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not so much a cost of living crisis as it is a cost of greed crisis, and the Greens are ready, willing and able to take on corporate vested interests.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wong said the Greens\u2019 refusal to work with National had cost them influence.<\/p>\n
\u201cImagine how many of those most egregious things that have happened in the last three years the Greens could have stopped if they were willing to work with National,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is what we need, a more pragmatic environmental party that can work across the political spectrum to make progress and keep the extreme ideas out of Cabinet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd allow the vulnerable to be punched down upon,\u201d Swarbrick shot back.<\/p>\n
Opportunity was the only party on the stage willing to negotiate with anyone, though Luxon has ruled out talking to the party.<\/p>\n
But Wong said she did not believe him. \u201cI think he\u2019s playing politics,\u201d she said, and added that she would reach out if National won the most seats. Swarbrick said the Greens would work with Labour, Te P\u0101ti M\u0101ori \u201cand it\u2019s becoming clear with TOP\u201d.<\/p>\n
Neither leader would say whether they would settle for Labour\u2019s capital gains tax.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t negotiate before you get to the negotiating table,\u201d Swarbrick said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we have to get around the table and see how the votes fall,\u201d Wong said.<\/p>\n
5 ‘Leading a corrupt party’ – Wong and Seymour spar<\/p>\n
Wong was questioned about Opportunity\u2019s plan to cap political donations at $30,000 despite the fact that her party has received numerous large donations. <\/p>\n
“You’ve got parties being able to raise millions to spend on numerous billboards and social media ads, instead of actually sitting here and debating the issues,” she said.<\/p>\n
“We need to make this a contest of ideas, not about who has the deepest pockets.”<\/p>\n
Seymour, whose party has received more than $2.3 million in donations, said his donors \u201cwant to see the ACT Party win\u201d and \u201clock Labour out\u201d. <\/p>\n
He then turned on Opportunity\u2019s origins.<\/p>\n
\u201cOpportunity was founded by one person giving $3 million. That\u2019s Gareth Morgan, the biggest political donation in New Zealand history,\u201d Seymour said.<\/p>\n
She fired right back: “That proves just how hard it is to break in.”<\/p>\n
Seymour continued: \u201cIf Qiulae is right that that somehow corrupts you, then she is leading a corrupt party.” Wong responded: “I haven’t said that you’re corrupt.”<\/p>\n
He added: “If she’s wrong, then actually maybe she doesn’t need the policy.”<\/p>\n
6 Swarbrick: \u2018He’s talking about the Hunger Games!\u2019<\/p>\n
Seymour\u2019s plan for a cancer hospital funded partly by wealthy donors sparked one of the night\u2019s sharpest exchanges, with Swarbrick likening it to the Hunger Games.<\/p>\n
Seymour said the hospital would not treat its first patient until 2035. <\/p>\n
He said one donor had already put up $5 million to explore the idea, and ACT\u2019s alternative budget set aside money for construction.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an unfortunate thing to get cancer, but you shouldn\u2019t feel that it was bad luck to be born a Kiwi,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Swarbrick said a wealth tax would mean health did not depend on benefactors.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe could just implement a wealth tax so that we don\u2019t have to have our public services relying on the charity and therefore the discretion, the choices of incredibly wealthy people about who survives and who does not,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Seymour said New Zealanders had long “got together” and built \u201cschools, hospitals, right since the first settlers arrived\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough taxation and public investment,\u201d Swarbrick interjected.<\/p>\n
\u201cActually, no. Often through charity and people getting together, mucking in and building a community together,\u201d Seymour replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s talking about the Hunger Games!\u201d Swarbrick said.<\/p>\n
Seymour hit back: \u201cThe implication that somehow a New Zealand doctor who is there to treat people in a New Zealand cancer hospital is going to treat it like the Hunger Games is either ignorant or offensive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Knighthoods and Luxon\u2019s phone number<\/p>\n
Asked what they would hold a referendum on, Seymour and Peters both said \u201cgoing to a four-year term\u201d. Wong chose a citizens\u2019 assembly on superannuation, and Swarbrick chose a wealth tax. Waititi said “entrenching Tiriti o Waitangi”.<\/p>\n
In lighter parts of the debate, the leaders also showed off their personalities. <\/p>\n
TVNZ has extensive coverage of the election campaign. (Source: TVNZ)<\/p>\n
Peters, who will become the longest-serving MP if he wins one more term, said the record \u201cdoesn\u2019t mean a thing\u201d to him, and claimed he had turned down a knighthood.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve turned everything down \u2014 knighthoods and embassies and high commissions and being a diplomat and what have you,\u201d the NZ First leader said. <\/p>\n
\u201cFrankly, I\u2019m happy to do the job properly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked whether they would also turn down a knighthood, Waititi said: \u201cAbsolutely.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seymour said, to audience laughter and doubts from at least one of the other leaders: \u201cI\u2019ve never thought about it, to be honest. Are you offering one?”<\/p>\n
Peters said any oil and gas windfall from exploration should go into a sovereign wealth fund run on a Singapore-style model, not by \u201cinexperienced politicians\u201d. <\/p>\n
Asked whether he expected to still be in Parliament when that happened, if it happened, he said: \u201cThat\u2019s quite possible. Yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wong, who says she would still try calling National’s Christopher Luxon after the election even though he has ruled out working with her, admitted she didn\u2019t have his number. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure anyone can hand it over,\u201d she said, gesturing to the other leaders.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, when the Greens\u2019 15% poll result came up, Waititi claimed some of the credit, saying Te P\u0101ti M\u0101ori\u2019s campaign to focus on electorates only had helped. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo you\u2019re welcome,\u201d he told her.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Five minor party leaders fought over major election issues in tonight\u2019s 1News Multi-Party Debate, from supermarket prices and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":629352,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[111,43,139,69,135,270122],"class_list":["post-629351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-politics","tag-vote-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=629351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629351\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/629352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=629351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=629351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=629351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}