Good day/bad day: You had one job!

From small to smaller, from high to higher, we assess the performance of the leaders on Campaign Trail 2023 – and discover it's all music to the ears of one leader-in-waiting

National's Christopher Luxon sought to escape scathing criticism of his tax policy from Goldman Sachs, with a flight to remote Hokitika on the West Coast. He told local supporters his flight over the Alps from Christchurch was the best scenic flight in the world. “I sort of thought in my old mind at Air New Zealand, ‘we should be charging more for that flight’ – then I realised I’m not the CEO of Air New Zealand anymore so it’s not my worry or concern." His former employees won't appreciate him highlighting those prices, when the cheapest ticket out of Hokitika tomorrow is $297. Under his leadership (as one woman in the crown muttered) seven regional routes were axed and prices soared on the others.

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You thought Hokitika was small? Covid-stricken Labour leader Chris Hipkins took centre stage in New Zealand politics' smallest "townhall meeting" ever last night, by Zoom from his isolation office. Attendees were invited to vote for their favourite Chippy moment: "spread your legs", eating sausage rolls everywhere, his "Dirty Dog interview" after Jacinda Ardern announced her resignation, or his proclaimed "big debate win" over Luxon. Judging by the closed net curtains and stash of energy drinks in his darkened isolation office, Hipkins would like to don those Dirty Dogs again, knock back a glass of fizzing Berocca and take a lie-down on the office couch.

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NZ First held firm at 6 percent in last night's 1 News Verian poll, offering Winston Peters the gleeful chance of another protracted coalition negotiation – and New Zealanders the enchanting prospect of a summer break from politics for a month or three. (All the data from Peters' eight long weeks of coalition talks after the 1996 suggest the economy did pretty damn well without a government). National deputy leader Nicola Willis, though, isn't confident Peters would hold so firm in supporting a possible National/ACT coalition. "It's been 27 years since he's gone with us, so we've said, look, that's a last resort phone call we're prepared to make."

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Winston Peters may have climbed to third place in the preferred prime minister ratings in last night's poll. But he isn't the only leader to soar. David Seymour took flight in a classic Boeing Stearman bi-plane at the Classic Flyers Aviation Museum in Mount Maunganui. The leader of the well-funded Act Party already has recourse to a campaign Cessna 208B Grand Caravan that he affectionately calls “Flying Pinky”, the latest addition to a campaign fleet that also includes a bright pink bus (Big Pinky) and a van (Little Pinky). For the plane-spotters out there, the Cessna's rego is ZK-ROW, so you can see where Seymour is bound each day.

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Green Party leader-in-waiting Chloe Swarbrick got a shout-out at last night's 2023 APRA Silver Scroll Awards at Auckland's Spark Arena. It seems she was the only leading politician to make room in her calendar to attend, the NZ Herald reports, let alone send an RSVP. In a cheeky public call out, hosts joked the event was "not important enough" for Hipkins, Luxon or other leaders as they had not responded to their letters of invitation. "We invited everyone, well almost everyone, but judging by the lack of response or any really visionary arts, cultural or music policies from most of the parties we are clearly not a priority this time."

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Dunno why he's grinning. Voting began three days ago yet the Electoral Commission's orange man and his dog have failed to deliver EasyVote cards to an estimated 1.4 million Kiwis. “The Electoral Commission has one job, which is to run a successful election for all New Zealanders,” Hipkins said, during a call with reporters from his Covid sickbed.