We infiltrated the Press Leaders Debate - Here’s what we saw
Daisy Francis (left) and Anisha Satya.
The Press Leaders Debate, held this past Tuesday, gave Christchurchians a chance to judge the leaders of our minor parties. It was a night of comedy, chaos and slight confusion.
Winston Peters (NZ First), Marama Davidson (Green Party), Tākuta Ferris (Te Pati Māori), and David Seymour (Act) were questioned by adjudicators Kamala Hayman, Tova O’Brien and Luke Malpass. Topics ranged from the cost of living crisis, to crime reduction, climate change and the health system.
Daisy is a Political Science and Communications student. I (Anisha) study journalism. When I first heard about the debate, I instantly thought of Daisy. She’s my go-to person for political news. Direct quote from our dms: “I wanna go and you know your shit and I think you'd enjoy this [debate] a lot”.
With our powers combined - her wealth of knowledge and my ear for drama - we decided to face the wet weather and experience the debate for ourselves.
Our notes from the night - guess who wrote what? PHOTO/Anisha Satya.
The first thing we heard upon arrival was the Circus Theme Song. The first thing we saw were the protestors - soggy clown hair and makeup beginning to run in the rain. There were Restore Passenger Rail protestors and some Extinction Rebellion flags - regardless of where you sit on those groups, you gotta respect their commitment.
The circus awaits - protestors outside the town hall ahead of the Debate. PHOTO/Anisha Satya.
Security was tight at the door. Daisy had to hand in a water bottle, umbrella and speaker before entering. They almost took my camera too, but I threw Canta under the bus and said I worked for them (sorry Maddy). Without much hesitation, they handed us a media badge and boom! We were official (thanks Maddy).
Our general seat wristbands, which promptly became redundant when we got our media lanyard. Cute photo though. PHOTO/Anisha Satya.
Our badge got us sat alongside a host of reporters, who were super encouraging, and excited to see young people showing interest in the Debate.
People begin to pile into the hall. PHOTO/Daisy Francis.
As people piled in, it became pretty clear who’d rallied supporters to attend the Debate - monochromatic splotches of green sat amongst a business casual audience. The lights dimmed and we settled in for two hours of hot takes, virtue signalling, and some occasional policy discussion. The game was on.
*Note - no one, not even the journos up top, were allowed to take pics during the Debate. Ian McGregor was the designated photographer and did a stellar job - check out his shots here!
Cost of living was the first topic pitched to the parties, immediately met with a heckle - “Change the Government!”. Seymour said Kiwis “can’t carry on the way we are” - a phrase he repeated many times over the debate, like an idle character’s voice line.
Davidson wins best fanbase for the night. Not only were they matchey-matchey, but they applauded and stomped at her every phrase. Crowd control on another level.
At one point, O’Brien asked Peters when he’d last used his gold card - he replied “that’s private” with a coyness that made everyone laugh. Peters elicited the most room-wide laughs of the night. At him or for him… that’s a little less certain.
On that, the crowd was fun to watch from above through the night. There were a lot of heckles - “Change the Government!”, “Go back in your hole!” - and a guest appearance from the very protestors security was screening for. How were they able to hide and stealthily unfurl a banner that big?
Tākuta Ferris, candidate for Te Tai Tonga, impressed with his no-nonsense, clear cut answers during the first half. His korero around the prison system and “early intervention, not early incarceration” seemed to earn the whole audience’s respect.
During the breaks, these spinning lights blinded all the journos - we counted 8 Mississippi’s between each attack. 0/10 lighting. PHOTO/Anisha Satya.
We chatted to some other students during the break, most of whom were there “for the drama”. One student, Levon Stone, suggested an inter party lazer tag event for the next cycle.
Levon Stone (sorry we didn’t include more of your quotes :( word counts are tough). PHOTO/Anisha Satya.
Round two bought double the drama with heated, overlapping arguments. “Winston Peters is the most untrustworthy politician,” David Seymour said, which everyone laughed at. There was a lot more squabbling and virtue signalling, and less constructive discussion this time around. Nothing to report.
The hours were up and Daisy and I left the building buzzing, and with pages of observations. We’re glad we went together, and could genuinely write so many pieces on what we’d watched.
A photo of a happy Daisy and Anisha, with our well-earned media pass. PHOTO/A nice security guard.
Our impeccable humour aside, it’s so important for young people to engage with politics during an election. It’s our chance to better what’s broken, and create opportunities for us as we enter the wider world.
Politics is complicated, and sometimes difficult to understand. But events like the Leaders Debate give us a chance to watch how politicians present themselves when under a microscope. Aotearoa is the way it is because of the policies that have shaped it, and those policies, ultimately, come down to you.
Winston Peters (right) as he leaves to catch a cab. We just wanted to flex this somewhere. PHOTO/Anisha Satya.