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Prime Minister Chris Hipkins says he knows there is a lot riding on his performance in tonight\'s first leaders debate as Labour needs to make up ground in the polls.

The PM told Newstalk ZB\'s Mike Hosking his party can be trusted to deliver on its election promises, will tackle crime and that the economy will bounce back.

When asked by Hosking if the leaders\' debate was his to lose, Hipkins replied he "wouldn\'t go that far".

"They are often more difficult for incumbent Prime Ministers than leaders of the opposition," he said.

"But I\'m looking forward to the debate because we actually don\'t get much time in these election campaigns to talk about issues."

"And the leaders\' debates are one of the times when you actually get to explore issues in a bit more depth."\\xa0

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