𝔽𝕚𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕔𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕤 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕘𝕠 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕕-𝕥𝕠-𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕒𝕥 𝕕𝕖𝕓𝕒𝕥𝕖

𝔸 𝕗𝕚𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕒𝕟𝕒𝕝𝕪𝕤𝕚𝕤 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℕ𝕖𝕨𝕤𝕙𝕦𝕓 𝕃𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕕𝕖𝕓𝕒𝕥𝕖.

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here were fiery clashes over crime, health, education and the economy on Wednesday night as the National and Labour party leaders went head to head in the Newshub Leaders' Debate.

Political editor Jane Patterson spoke to Corin Dann.

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𝔼𝕝𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕔𝕒𝕞𝕡𝕒𝕚𝕘𝕟 𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕦𝕡 𝕒 𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕔𝕙 𝕒𝕥 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕤' 𝕕𝕖𝕓𝕒𝕥𝕖

Chris Hipkins and Christopher Luxon have cranked the election campaign energy up a notch.

The two leaders went head-to-head in an electric leaders debate Wednesday night, hosted by Newshub's Patrick Gower.

Both leaders committed to a myriad of new policies - some accidentally.

Political reporter Katie Scotcher has more.

𝔸𝕟𝕒𝕝𝕪𝕤𝕚𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕦𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕒𝕥 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕤' 𝕕𝕖𝕓𝕒𝕥𝕖

Last night the two Chris' went head-to-head in Newshub's leaders debate, clashing over crime, health, education and the economy. 

And while the winner might be up for debate, one word came out on top; the word "actually" was uttered by National's Christopher Luxon a total of 76 times. 

RNZ's data journalist Farah Hancock has been busy analysing the debate; and not just what words were spoken, but who spoke the most - and you might be surprised it wasn't Chris Hipkins or Christopher Luxon.

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𝔽𝕚𝕟𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕤' 𝕕𝕖𝕓𝕒𝕥𝕖

We're a little over two weeks out from the election and both major parties have given their pitch to voters to ease the cost of living.

The question is, what will voters go for? Will it be GST-free fruit and vegetables, or a tax cut?

National Party finance spokesperson Nicola Wills is in Auckland, and Labour Party finance spokesperson Grant Robertson is in Wellington.

Corin Dann hosted the debate.

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