The kingmakers clash, the overhangers gnash, and the campaign candidates make a splash.
The Kingmakers’ Debate marked the highest-profile of a burst of events in the first full-throttle week of the 2026 campaign. How did the Press-Post event go down, which party leaders starred, and can somebody check on the worm?
In a new episode of Gone By Lunchtime, Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire gather around the roundtable to ferociously stare one another down in debating the debates.
Plus: What does new polling tell us about the way Māori are planning to vote? Now that John Key has knocked the overhang strategy down, is Harry Mowbray’s campaign a serious thing? Who are the breakout stars of the election to date? And a word on Adrian Rurawhe.
