Final debate turns feisty as interruptions double and Luxon dominates speaking time
Christopher Luxon and Chris Hipkins interrupted each other far more often in the final leaders' debate than in the two earlier debates.
RNZ data analysis counted 114 instances of interruptions or cross-talk in the Stuff debate, compared with 59 in the first debate and 27 in the second. RNZ
The debate was the final leaders' debate before the general election. It pitted Prime Minister Christopher Luxon against Labour leader Chris Hipkins. Stuff
It was moderated by Paddy Gower alongside Luke Malpass of The Post. The format included three head-to-head face-off sections and two rounds led by Malpass.
Luxon spoke the most. He spoke 6,360 words, or 44 percent of the total, up from 6,031 words in the TVNZ debate and 6,255 words in the NZ Herald debate. Hipkins spoke 29 percent of the total words in the final debate.
Gower spoke 22 percent of the words, down from 37 percent when he moderated Newshub debates in 2020 and 2023. By comparison, moderators Ryan Bridge spoke 39 percent of words and Jack Tame spoke 34 percent in this year's other leaders' debates. Malpass contributed 4 percent.
Luxon had 156 speaking turns of six or more words, compared with 114 such turns for Hipkins. He averaged 32 words per speaking turn, compared with 26 words for Hipkins, a pattern consistent across the three debates.
The longest single answer in the final debate was Luxon's 245-word answer on climate change adaptation. Hipkins' longest answer was 208 words about education.
In the quickfire round, Hipkins said 'yes' twice to banning gambling ads next to sport, 'no' to needing a bill to define a man and a woman, and 'no' on whether the Dame Julie Christie documentary on Tom Phillips should go ahead. Luxon gave a single one-word answer in the quickfire round, saying 'yes' to being willing to buy a Chinese-made electric vehicle.
Gower cut off Luxon at one point to pivot the debate elsewhere. He asked Luxon whether his rule-out of working with the Opportunity Party meant he would rather resign. Before the debate, Luxon, Hipkins and Gower were joking amiably with each other. Afterward, Luxon and Hipkins lined up for photos with Gower and Malpass.
