Winston Peters joins the Kingmakers' Debate

It is just a week until the first major political debate of the 2026 New Zealand election campaign, and Winston Peters has confirmed he will join the leaders of the Greens, Opportunity, ACT and Te Pāti Māori.

The Press Kingmakers' Debate, hosted by Stuff, will take place at Stuff's broadcast studio in Auckland on October 1 in front of a live audience. The debate is being moderated by Stuff Political Editor Jenna Lynch and The Post's National Affairs Editor Andrea Vance. It will be simulcast on stuff.co.nz, thepost.co.nz and thepress.co.nz.

Originally NZ First had planned to send deputy leader Shane Jones to line up against the Greens' Chloe Swarbrick, ACT's David Seymour, Opportunity's Qiulae Wong and Te Pāti Māori's Rawiri Waititi, but this month the country's most experienced parliamentarian confirmed he will join the debate.

"This is a brilliant opportunity to see the increasingly influential leaders of the minor parties debate each other on the issues that really matter to New Zealanders," says Stuff Owner and Publisher Sinead Boucher.

"We are thrilled that the Rt Hon Winston Peters has decided to joust with the other parties who are all vying to be the powerbrokers."

The October 1 debate will feature a 2026 version of The Worm - a live ranking of each party leader's performance delivered by Stuff's online audience.

An expert panel hosted by Samantha Hayes with The Post Editor Matthew Hooton, The Press Editor Kamala Hayman and Te Ao Māori Editor Māni Dunlop will analyse the parties following the one hour debate.

While Thursday is the first of the debates involving multi-parties, it will be followed by Stuff hosting the final debate of the campaign on October 20, when Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins face off in the Stuff Leaders' Debate, just before voting opens.

The Press Kingmakers' Debate, hosted by Stuff, is on Thursday October 1 in Auckland. It will be livestreamed from 7.30pm on stuff.co.nz, thepost.co.nz and thepress.co.nz, with expert panel analysis to follow from 8.30pm.