Two independent economists have been left disappointed by both Chris Hipkins and Christopher Luxon's performance in last night's election debate.
One of the major issues discussed in the debate was the state of the economy, with two independent economists saying both leaders failed.
Speaking to Breakfast this morning, independent economist Shamubeel Eaqub called the debate "grey, beige, horrid".
"I resented watching that debate."
He said almost everything proposed wouldn't actually help fix the economy, which has seen inflation skyrocket and the cost of living rise.
He called the debate "political points scoring", saying there was a "lack of coherence and ambition" from both leaders.
This sentiment was carried by The New Zealand Initiative executive director Oliver Hartwich, who said neither party brought anything surprising to the table.
"There was nothing surprising there," he said.
"If you've listened to interviews with both of the leaders before, you would've known all the lines.
"It was completely predictable they were both sticking to their talking points. There were absolutely no surprises."
Discussions around tax drew particular frustration from Eaqub, especially National's defence of their policy, which he called "b*******".
National aims to give tax cuts to Kiwis, in part funded by reopening the housing market to foreign buyers and taxing them 15% on purchases over $2m. The foreign buyer tax is planned to bring in a large source of revenue to pay for the party's income band adjustments and other spending in its tax plan.
It's come under fire from a number of economists, who say the numbers don't add up, with a shortfall of more than $500. Economists and media have called for the party to release its modelling but it is yet to do so.
In the debate, Luxon defended the plan, saying independent economists have verified it. Eaqub said this makes Luxon look "a bit shifty".
The National Party leader labelled last night's debate as "fun and quick".
"I think that it's b*******. These numbers don't add up. It's just extraordinary that they've come up with these numbers, and they're sticking with it," he said.
"The reality is that it's margin of error in the context of the wider plan. They just look like they're being a bit shifty.
"It would be much better if they just came out and said 'Look, we got that wrong — there's a whole bunch of other things we're trying to do. Hold us to account for the whole package.'
"And they haven't done that. I feel like that's going to be one of their weaknesses."
Labour's plan to remove GST from fruit and vegetables was also a hot topic, with Hartwich saying the policy wouldn't offer that much relief.
"This policy doesn't make sense, actually. It doesn't even reach the right people.
"If you're cutting the GST off fruit and vegetables, actually, people on higher incomes are set to benefit from that more than people on lower incomes."
He said that instead of offering tax cuts, both parties should be getting the Reserve Bank to work on bringing inflation down.
"What would really help is getting the Reserve Bank back to a single mandate where they focus on price stability, not on all the other things the Reserve Bank has recently focused on.
"And over the long run, I think that would actually bring inflation back to where it should be."
Former politicians react
Former deputy prime minister Paula Bennett and former minister Iain Lees-Galloway said both leaders had their ups and downs.
Former Labour MP Iain Lees-Galloway said the debate was "a really good demonstration of why the minor parties have been doing well in this campaign".
"People are looking at the two leaders and going, 'what's the difference between the two parties?'
"People want some flavour for this election."
However, he believes that when it came to outlining policy, Hipkins was better.
"He was able to articulate how the policy would affect people in their day-to-day lives and how it will achieve the outcomes we want in the future."
He said that what Luxon showed last night was that "National want to wind the clock back to the John Key days".
But former deputy prime minister Paula Bennett said Luxon came across as stronger.
"I sort of think Luxon came out really strong. He was eloquent, he was articulate, he got his message across.
"Hipkins had everything to lose, and he didn't step up to it."
She said he looked "flat".
Luxon says debate was 'fun and quick'
Meanwhile, Christopher Luxon himself reflected on last night, telling Breakfast the debate was "fun and quick".
The National Party leader said it was "amazing" how fast the debate went.
"You know, you think an hour-and-a-half is a lot of time to get into a lot of different topics and a lot of depth, but actually by the time you're moving through the topics pretty quickly. It's amazing how fast the time goes.
"But look, I really enjoyed it. I actually think what I want people to understand is you know the election really matters and is going to be about the economy. Who's best placed to get the economy sorted so that we can all get ahead and I think that's my central message."
Luxon said he would rate himself an "8/10" for his performance last night.
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