National leader Christopher Luxon says he has been practising with a “pretend” Labour leader Chris Hipkins as part of his preparation for tonight’s first leaders’ debate between the two people vying to be Prime Minister.

Hipkins, meanwhile, appears to be playing it casual, saying he had not done quite as much preparation as that but had been spending most of the day swatting up on facts and figures.

Tonight’s debate comes after a couple of weeks of intense campaigning by Labour and National, with Hipkins and Luxon travelling the country trying to get the necessary votes to form a government after voting day on October 14.

For Luxon, a first-term MP and relative political novice compared to Hipkins, it is his chance to prove to the public he can handle the top job.

For Hipkins, it will be his moment to attempt to turn around a run of poor polls recently that wouldn’t see his party back in government, and convince the public why they should continue supporting Labour.

The 90-minute debate kicks off at 7pm and will air on TVNZ1 and TVNZ+. The Herald will also be live-streaming and providing live updates here, so join us online for all the action as the two leaders face off.

After the debate, the Herald will live-stream the media stand-ups with the two leaders.

There are several big issues to cover, from the cost-of-living crisis to crime, climate change and the housing shortage, among other topics.

National’s tax plan and spending cuts are likely to be a focus of attacks from Hipkins, with many economists coming out against National’s numbers. In recent media appearances, Luxon has even refused to answer specific questions about the plan, nor release the figures and costings.

TVNZ’s political editor Jessica Mutch McKay will be moderating tonight's debate.

Hipkins, meanwhile, is likely to address Labour’s spending and recent spikes in crime, with new justice figures out today and him revealing Labour had dropped its target of reducing the prison population by 30 per cent. The population had decreased by about 25 per cent since 2018, which Hipkins said was significant and retaining a target was unnecessary.

Moderated by TVNZ’s political editor Jessica Mutch McKay, this will be the first time that New Zealand voters see the leaders of the country’s two main parties going head-to-head in a prime-time debate.

Luxon has repeatedly lauded Hipkins’ debating ability, seemingly in an attempt to lower expectations of his performance this evening, despite Luxon himself having been a champion debater at school.

Hipkins told reporters today he hoped people tuned into the “substance of the debate rather than the sport of it”.

“I know there’s a big undecided vote out there at the moment. So there’ll be people tuning in tonight to make up their minds about how they’re going to vote. And I’m looking forward to being able, through the debate, to speak to those people.”

Hipkins said he and Luxon were “both new at this”, both going into it for the first time. He said he would aim to stay “true to myself” and his values, rather than chasing “gotcha moments”.

“I think democracy relies on people making informed decisions when they vote. And a leadership debate is an opportunity for them to be more informed about what we’re proposing, what the National Party is proposing, what the issues are that are at stake.”

Luxon said he had never done a leaders’ debate, so he will “do my best”.

“The choice is pretty stark and simple,” Luxon said with regard to viewers of the debate.

“I just observe he’s a 20-year career politician,” Luxon said of his regular comments on Hipkins’ skills in debating.

Luxon’s debate preparation included someone pretending to be Hipkins - but he wouldn’t say who.

Earlier, Hipkins said he had spoken to MP Michael Wood about an incorrect post on social media that National would get rid of winter energy support payments.

National had claimed the post was another form of misinformation by Labour, and set up a webpage called “Get Back on Facts” with a list.

Hipkins said he accepted Wood got it wrong, but accused National of its own misinformation by claiming its tax plan added up.

Hipkins was speaking after the opening of Auckland University’s refurbished Faculty of Education and Social Work (EDSW) building.

The building received $200 million through the Government’s Covid-19 Infrastructure Recovery Fund - the largest project out of the $3 billion fund.

Hipkins also revealed that Labour had dropped its target of reducing the prison population by 30 per cent, as it had now reduced by about 25 per cent. He said when Labour came into Government in 2017 the country had among the highest incarceration rates in the OECD.

Hipkins said the party still believed in seeking alternatives to prison where safe and practicable, but there would always be a need for prisons for some offenders.

The Green Party, meanwhile, is promising to make free school lunches permanent and immediately expand the programme to cover another 135,000 children across another 400 schools.

The party says it will fund the programme - which when expanded would reach nearly 400,000 children across nearly 1400 schools - through its wealth tax plan.

The policy is costed at nearly $200m extra a year. The current scheme cost $263m in 2022/2023. The party estimates in three years, it will cost $544m a year.

Co-leader Marama Davidson launched the policy at Hay Park Primary School in Mt Roskill, Auckland.

She said the policy would include addressing waste issues and ensuring it was better targeted.

Labour has committed to funding another year of the policy, but Hipkins said today he would unveil the party’s future plans for the programme shortly.

National has said it would continue the programme, while Act wants to scrap it.