Prime Minister Helen Clark was prepared to put a dollar figure on her promises whereas the only figures National Party leader John Key had in his speech were dates.
Infrastructure spending emerged as the big-ticket item for Labour yesterday with Miss Clark promising to spend millions on rail access, roading, sewerage infrastructure, school property upgrades and catchment management initiatives in hill country.
Some of the money had previously been released in the May budget.
However, Miss Clark said since the budget, the international financial crisis had erupted and the world economic outlook was significantly worse.
The New Zealand economy was in a strong position to ride the downturn through with minimal disruption.
"But the down-side risk is now in our view much greater and is therefore prudent to investigate an additional fiscal stimulus package which can be implemented if the projected impacts on the New Zealand economy deteriorate further."
A reading through of the list of projects released by Miss Clark yesterday showed there was not much being funded south of Christchurch - only an upgrade of the Fairlie School of $465,000 and of the Kaitangata School costing $205,000.
About $250 million to be spent on two rail upgrade projects in the North Island were the major items of expenditure.
More than $43 million would be spent on subsidisingsewerage upgrades.
The $1.7 billion on roading to be spent over the next 10 years could be brought forward.
Nearly $20 million would be spent on upgrading schools and a further $26 million on building new schools, two in Christchurch and 10 in the North Island.
In his 11-point plan to save the economy, Mr Key said a National government would maintain and build New Zealand's asset base by increasing investment in infrastructure such as roads, broadband and public transport and by not selling Kiwibank or any other state-owned company.
"I'm not interested in selling assets.
"I'm all about building assets.
"We need to unblock the bottlenecks in New Zealand's economy.
"We need to make sure there aren't barriers in the way of productive growth.
"We need to invest in the breakthrough technology that will get us up to speed with the rest of the world."
Other parts of Mr Key's plan included strengthening the economy, increasing after-tax incomes and ensuring Kiwis got ahead under their own steam by reducing personal income tax.
National would also ensure government spending was focused on front-line services, such as health and education, by capping the number of bureaucrats and putting "real discipline" around government spending.
Mr Key pledged to bring the chief executives of government departments together if elected and give them the message they were to enable the development of a more successful, prosperous nation and not to stand in the way of those who sought to create that prosperity.
The message to government employers would be just as clear.
They must focus taxpayers' money on the front-line services that New Zealanders had a right to expect.
Public servants must scrutinise every dollar to make sure it was money well spent, he said.
Miss Clark repeated her campaign slogan of "trust" while Mr Key campaigned on bringing a fresh set of policies cross many areas of government.
"Most importantly, I am campaigning on bringing much needed economic leadership to the Beehive," he said.
Miss Clark said leadership was about the ability to stay the course, to be resolute, steadfast and utterly determined.
"That's the kind of leadership I and the New Zealand Labour Party offer New Zealand - as we have in our past, as we do in the present, and as we will in the future."