Several climate change protesters have been ejected out of the audience after calling out Seymour an unveiling a "Restore Passenger Rail" banner.

The most tense point of the night has come with questions about the current conflict in Israel and Palestine, after a horrific attack by Hamas followed by heavy retaliation from Israel.

Moderator Tova O'Brien asked the panel if Hamas, a political and militant organisation that controls the Gaza Strip, should be designated a terrorist organisation.

Peters, a former foreign minister, said he wanted more evidence but it “seems where we are going”.

He said there had always been agreement across the political divide here in the two-state solution but the attack by Hamas had clearly broken the “rules of engagement”.

Davidson said the loss of life was “completely unacceptable” - calling out Hamas and the Israeli Defence Force.

She said all have the “right to security and life”.

She said any designation needed to be applied equally to all terrorist acts, saying the IDF had caused “decades of violence”.

“Children in Gaza are being flattened right now and that is completely unacceptable.”

Seymour said he agreed with the designation and thought New Zealand’s international response so far had been weak and wanted the country to stand more with “traditional allies”.

Not only Israelis but Palestinians were suffering under Hamas, he said.

Tākuta Ferris appeared to gain support through the evening, shining in the line-up with passionate responses rooted in his party’s “unapologetic” approach to advocating for Māori.

On addressing youth crime and responses from National, Act and NZ First, he said they could not “incarcerate your way” out of the issue. He also called out the disproportionate impact it would have on Māori.

“Anyone who thinks ramping up the prisons … is out of their minds.

“All we need is for people in power to stop bashing us,” he said to loud cheers.

NZ First leader Winston Peters kicked off tonight’s Press Leaders Debate by taking a dig at leaders of the two main parties who were absent.

Peters said it was not good enough for Labour leader Chris Hipkins and National leader Christopher Luxon to skip the debate, saying it was not “first past the post” anymore.

The original debate was meant to take place between Hipkins and Luxon last week but was cancelled after the Labour leader came down with Covid-19. Luxon then turned down the opportunity to debate Hipkins after he came out of self-isolation.

Instead representatives of the main minor parties stepped up.

Peters has long called for the two leaders to join the minor parties - something both Hipkins and Luxon ruled out.

Peters was joined tonight at the Christchurch Town Hall by Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson, Act leader David Seymour, and Te Pāti Māori candidate for Te Tai Tonga Tākuta Ferris, who was standing in for his co-leaders who could not make it.

The debate so far has seen tension between the parties over wealth creation and its distribution.

Seymour has hit out at both Ferris and Davidson over their parties’ wealth tax proposals, labelling them “vilification”.

Peters called it “voodoo economics” saying they had plenty of ideas about how to spend money but not how to make it.

Peters, full of his usual one-liners, also branded it as a “pinko, communist-style approach” saying they had “1000 ways to spend money not one way of making it”.

Ferris said New Zealand was one of the wealthiest countries in the world and had plenty of wealth to share around.

Davidson, who has plenty of supporters in the audience, received the loudest cheer of the evening when discussing her party’s wealth tax plans.

Are you confused about why we are having a by-election next month when the election isn't over? 

Did you know that there's an overhang rule that can increase the size of our Parliament? 

And what do you know of the algorithm that determines how parties are represented? 

If you need an explainer on the strange electoral laws that have emerged in the last 24 hours, listen to the latest episode of On the Campaign for all the answers! 

He responded by inventing a fake dinosaur bamed after tax cuts.

Internet rumors had been swirling that Luxon’s Christian beliefs meant he did not believe dinosaurs were real. 

Comedian Guy Williams filmed a segment on it.

He said he wanted the government to "do deals" with local governments on infrastructure needs.

"We need to find funding mechanisms. Our message is simple, we'll have a 30 year pipeline of infrastructure projects.

"We'll have a national infrastructure agency, and we'll have an ability to get funding and financing in place.

Regarding Israel, Luxon said all New Zealanders were shocked at what they had seen.

"We support Israel's right to defend itself.

"We look to continue the long-standing policy that is to see a two-state solution emerge.

"I want to be crystal clear, the attacks by Hamas on Israel is unjustified.