On the one hand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern spoke of wanting to change things for future generations, but on the other she emphasised the party's responsible management of the nation's finances.
Between "huge systemic problems that we all know we need to address'' and "we can't do everything at once'' sits quite a gulf, summed up in the political cliche of "managing expectations''.
However, there were some clues offered as to Labour's transformative ambitions, most notably in Finance Minister Grant Robertson's address on Saturday.
While it would be easy to dismiss his announcement of the "Wellbeing Budget'' as rhetoric - especially as in almost the same breath he warned any details of what that might mean were at least a month away - Mr Robertson did offer enough to draw some conclusions about Labour's intentions.
He wants to move away from hard fiscal data such as Gross Domestic Product as the be-all and end-all when it comes to measuring New Zealand's economic performance.
Instead, he wants to introduce a range of wellbeing indicators to sit alongside traditional economic statistics, with the intention of offering a more well-rounded view of how the country is performing.
This is not a new idea: there has been debate among economists for decades as to whether figures such as GDP are too crude, and periodic calls for more intangible information - such as the value of voluntary or unpaid work to the economy - to be factored in.
Several countries, notably Scotland, France and Italy, have made moves in that direction.
What is new, however, is the degree to which New Zealand seems about to embrace this new way of thinking about the economy.
Treasury is already working on a "Living Standards Framework'' whereby measures of human and environmental achievement will be considered alongside the standard financial indices.
Mr Robertson singled out mental health as one specific criterion the Government wished to be graded on, although how that would be measured and by whom remains unanswered.
In fact, how, what, and from what base these soon-to-be created indices will measure things remains to be thrashed out.
This will pose considerable difficulties for Mr Robertson.
The response rate for this year's census was alarmingly low, which has raised doubts about the credibility of the exercise.
The census provides a crucial foundation for almost all long-term governmental planning, but if the numbers the Living Standards Framework begins with lack trustworthiness, the information they eventually provide will be greeted with scepticism.
Mr Robertson is confident Stats NZ can provide reassurance on that score, and says he is happy to include alternative data in drafting the indicators - one source he mentioned was the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study.
If the framework lacks a solid base, it runs the risk of being perceived as spin rather than being a substantial reference point as to the country's health.
Mr Robertson's desire to have more information available when deciding policy is commendable: the Government can never have too many facts and figures when it comes to deciding what is best for New Zealanders.
Important questions remain, though, about what those figures will be, what they will mean, and whether they deserve precedence over the existing benchmarks by which New Zealand measures itself.
Mr Robertson will hope his new framework will go some way to bridging the gap between the poetry of Labour's campaign and the prose of actually governing.
The Finance Minister promises big, bold change - but the devil will very much be in the still-to-be revealed detail.
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Comments
I do not believe New Zealand has huge systemic problems. Most of the country is ticking along fairly well. We do have problems that need at looking and perhaps Government can set the tone by talking about wellbeing but this recent rhetoric that the country is broken is a lie.