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The election campaign is truly under way, as Labour and National kick off their appeals to voters while dealing with protests that are fast becoming a theme of this year\u2019s race to form the next government.\xa0

Both of New Zealand\u2019s major parties held their campaign launches in Auckland over the weekend, and the two leaders did their best to point out their opponent\u2019s flaws and expose holes in each other\u2019s policies.\xa0

Labour on Saturday unveiled its plan to provide\xa0free dental care for under-30s, starting in mid-2025, while National opted not to add to the 37 policies it has already announced - instead\xa0revealing a pledge card\xa0detailing the party\u2019s eight main commitments if elected.\xa0

Both parties were forced to deal with protesters from the Brian Tamaki-led Freedoms NZ party. Hipkins copped it the most as his speech was interrupted at least four times by people who had made it into the Aotea Centre, despite the launch being a ticketed event.\xa0

Protesters had also blocked the stairs of the venue, making it hard for Labour supporters to get through, and on Sunday, Hipkins was\xa0shouted at by the former owner of the New Lynn Lone Star cafe, which shut down during the pandemic.\xa0

Covid response critic Brendon Pascoe seeks to rebuke Labour's leader, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, at the Avondale markets. Photo / Alex Burton\xa0

Luxon\u2019s speech was not disrupted, but Tamaki himself appeared alongside about 100 protesters outside the Due Drop Events Centre in Wiri to call on the National leader to be more upfront about his Christian values.\xa0

While selling their party\u2019s vision for New Zealand was central to both leaders\u2019 speeches, attacking the other side was a strong theme in both campaign launches.\xa0

Hipkins on Saturday continued his criticism of\xa0National\u2019s tax plan, calling it a \u201ctax swindle\u201d and \u201csneaky\u201d, and questioned the costings, saying it had overstated the revenue it would get from a foreign buyers\u2019 tax and online gambling tax. He also hit out at National for using climate funding to pay for tax cuts instead.\xa0

Hipkins also pitched his own leadership style against Luxon\u2019s, saying he believed people should be treated with dignity for who they were.\xa0

\u201cI don\u2019t see that on the other side. I see people who want to win the election whatever it takes - and bugger the cost.\u201d\xa0

On Sunday, Hipkins deemed National\u2019s costings were \u201cfantasy-land stuff\u201d and believed Kiwis would be smart enough to see through the tax cut promise and consider the entire package.\xa0

Labour's leader, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, meeting with people at the Avondale markets on Sunday morning. Photo / Alex Burton\xa0

Luxon employed a similar tactic, warning the more than 1000-strong audience \u201cpower doesn\u2019t concede easily\u201d and National would be contesting Labour\u2019s campaign, which he claimed was based on \u201cfear and disinformation\u201d.\xa0

\u201cHang on, help is coming\u201d was a phrase Luxon repeated on several occasions when referencing different groups of people he felt were suffering through higher interest rates, rising violent youth crime, increased farming regulations and higher grocery prices.\xa0

Luxon echoed a phrase often used by Hipkins, which was that he believed Kiwis who worked hard should be able to prosper.\xa0

While Hipkins was supported by former Labour PM Helen Clark, National deputy leader Nicola Willis and Luxon\u2019s two children were tasked with warming up the crowd on Sunday.\xa0

Willis asked supporters how Kiwis had benefited from Labour\u2019s increased spending in Government, while also issuing a warning of how Labour would campaign.\xa0

\u201cLabour loves tax like a shark loves blood... and it\u2019s time for National to sort it out,\u201d she said.\xa0

\u201cAt this election, there will be some who seek to appeal to the worst in us, to fear, to envy, to spite. Well, we say no to that. We want leadership that appeals to the best in us.\u201d\xa0

Luxon\u2019s children, William and Olivia, spoke briefly about their father and said he was the same in public as he was at home.\xa0

National leader Christopher Luxon at his party's campaign launch in Auckland. Photo / Alex Burton\xa0

Both redheads, they joked that they didn\u2019t inherit their ginger genes from their father, who was blond prior to his current shaven state.\xa0

Speaking to media after the launch, Luxon was challenged on his proposed tax on foreign buyers of homes over $2m, which had been criticised by economists and Labour for unrealistic costings and potentially compromising tax agreements with other countries.\xa0

Luxon claimed National had received independent legal advice about how the tax could work alongside existing tax treaties, but was not clear on whether he would release it.\xa0

\u201cWe are very comfortable in our numbers.\u201d\xa0

In response to Labour\u2019s dental policy, Luxon said he would love to offer cheaper dental care, but there were more pressing priorities he wanted to address first.\xa0

Adam Pearse is a political reporter in the\xa0NZ Herald\xa0press gallery team, based at Parliament. He has worked for NZME since 2018, covering sport and health for the\xa0Northern Advocate\xa0in Whang\u0101rei before moving to the\xa0NZ Herald\xa0in Auckland, covering Covid-19 and crime.\xa0

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