Election 2023

National has dropped below 25 percent in the latest RNZ-Reid Research poll, and it's sparked concerns among the party.  Leader Chris Luxon broke his own rule and warned voters to not let this poll become a reality - and urged National faithful to get out and vote.  The party's campaign chair, Simeon Brown, says this result indicates the election will be a close one. "It's a very stark re...

It's likely two people who claim they voted more than once - which is illegal - would have been caught out even if they hadn't bragged on social media. The Electoral Commission has referred these two people to police. Constitutional law expert Graeme Edgeler says alarms are raised if a voter's name is crossed off more than once. "Someone's gonna find out, and they're going to start making inquirie...

National's Chris Luxon has spoken out about a poll result - breaking his usual rule. The latest RNZ-Reid Research poll shows National's support has fallen to 24.8 percent, putting the party below its 2020 election showing. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says this shows Luxon's worried, as he released a 'call to arms' to his voting base. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/liste...

Rollickin’ Gelato founder Jed Joyce joined John MacDonald in studio to give him a taste of the seven pun-filled flavours competing in the 2026 Rollickin’ Scoop Poll. Some of the flavours include Blueberry Lux (Christopher Luxon), Orange Choc Chippy (Chris Hipkins), and the current leader of the poll, David Smore (David Seymour). Joyce told Canterbury Mornings the Scoop Poll is all about having a b...

Winston Peters says the 2026 election campaign is one of the worst he's ever seen.  The New Zealand First Leader told Mike Hosking on the Leaders Breakfast people are sick and tired of it – the pettiness, the diversion, the misleading representation.  He says if you ask people in the audience, as he did at public meeting in the Hutt Valley last night, if they're sick and tired of it, the...

ACT Leader David Seymour is cautiously confident the coalition could have speedier post-election negotiations this year, compared to 2023.   National, ACT, and New Zealand First took 40-days to strike a deal after the last election.   Both the Leaders of National and Labour have promised to try to finish negotiations by Christmas, but no firm promises have been made.   Seymour told...

Greens Co-Leader Chlöe Swarbrick believes any dip in the polls as a result of the party’s association with gangs would have already been seen, but argues voters are more interested on other issues.  Two polls this week show the Green Party holding its 14-16% vote share of recent months. The polling period of both polls captured in its final days the saga concerning last week’s resignation of...

Labour has unveiled their new renters' policy - aimed at increasing protections for tenants and creating new standards for landlords. Landlords will be required to give more notice before ending a tenancy, rent rises would be limited to once a year and proper curtains and blinds would be required under Healthy Homes Standards. Labour Finance Spokesperson Barbara Edmonds says these changes will giv...

Opportunity leader Qiulae Wong says the party is considering ruling out working with New Zealand First after the release of a controversial ad - and Winston Peters' defence of it. The ad was posted to social media yesterday, and it featured candidate Ron Mark blaming the HMNZ Manawanui sinking on DEI. Mark says his statements reflect what the Government was thinking when they repealed the DEI mand...

One property management agency claims Labour's pledge to better protect tenants and demand more of landlords will hurt renters. Labour wants landlords to give more notice before ending a tenancy, requiring a valid reason, and would limit rent rises to once a year.  It would also introduce a duty of care obligation for landlords, and require proper curtains and blinds under Healthy Homes Stand...

The Reserve Bank Governor is defending voting to keep the Official Cash Rate unchanged for another six weeks. Three members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted to hike the rate to 3 percent. But four - including Governor Anna Breman - opted to stick at 2.75 percent. Breman says the effects of high fuel prices haven't been as severe as feared. "We've seen the indirect effects, so how fuel prices...

The Reserve Bank has opted to keep the Official Cash Rate on hold at 2.75 percent, but it's likely future hikes could come. This goes against the initial predictions by economists, who had expected another increase to the cash rate. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says the Reserve Bank wasn't required to take the election into account - and they shouldn't have to.  LIST...

Ramesh Thakur needs no formal introduction to this podcast. But just in case, Ramesh is a Professor Emeritus after having taught at Otago, ANU and Canberra After an initial 24 hour delay due to a power failure (at his end) we had a very varied discussion.  We analysed  climate, socialism, trust, ethics and more, principally  with the election in mind. We visit The Mailroom with Mrs...

Labour’s idea of helping people living in state houses get into the property market is one of those things that might sound good or feel good, but doesn’t take into account a whole lot of practicalities. Which anyone who has actually owned a home will know about. Anyone taking part in Labour’s scheme would have $100 from their state house rent deposited into a trust account each week and, once the...

When I look at Labour's campaign and I look at National's campaign, it's like, look, I'll do it for you next time. Seriously, when something is being done so badly, you think, you know what? I can do that so much better. They've had shocking campaigns, both of the main parties. Just negative, silly stuff. And yesterday, Labour had an absolute clanger. Of all the issues and all the policies that La...

The figures keep defying the reality.  68,000 votes were cast on Monday.  That day was a problem according to the conspiracy theorists who suggested that not only had enrolling closed early, but the opening day of voting was a public holiday and for some reason voting on a day off may prove to be some sort of issue.  At 68,000, that is more than in 2023. So what does that mean? Noth...

It's Politics Wednesday, which means Mark Mitchell and Ginny Andersen are back with Mike Hosking to dig into the biggest stories of the week thus far.  With the election just under two weeks away, they discussed how things are faring in their electorates and the ongoing drama around voter registrations.  They also touched on the situation around Rakesh Naidoo and the resignation of Fire...

National's Christopher Luxon says it's great to see so many people already showing up to vote.   Nearly 70 thousand people cast their ballots on day one of advance voting.   That's slightly more than the same time at the last election.   Luxon told Mike Hosking he's hoping that's a sign people are going to give his government another crack.   He says people understand it's been...

The Wellington City Missioner says Labour's rent-to-own scheme could help more people own a home.  The party wants $100 of Kainga Ora tenants' weekly rent put towards a home deposit.  Labour would also expand eligibility for 5% home deposits by increasing the income threshold to $300,000.  Wellington City Missioner Murray Edridge told Mike Hosking this could help make people's dream...

The gap between the two major parties has narrowed again, leaving people speculating about how the election could go. According to the latest 1News-Verian poll, National has dropped to 29 points and Labour is holding steady on 27. Meanwhile, the Greens have dropped to 15, ACT is on 12, NZ First has gone up to 10 and Opportunity has fallen to 6.  The Country's Jamie Mackay unpacked the results...

Okay, you want to know what a party sounds like when it's preparing to lose an election? Check out Labour. They've started to ramp up their complaints about so-called voter suppression. Now, to be fair, this is not a new complaint. It's been going on all campaign. It goes back more than a year. But it really went up a level with Ayesha Verrall complaining that the first day of voting would fall on...

National, ACT and New Zealand First have moved closer to securing a coalition for a second term in power without needing Opportunity's help. In the latest 1News-Verian poll, National has dropped three points to 29, while Labour remains steady on 27. ACT's up one point to 12, while New Zealand First climbed two to 10. With voting starting up this week, National's Nicola Willis says these results ar...

The Sensible Sentencing Trust has temporarily taken down digital billboards displaying the leaders of the Green and Labour parties with the line - 'Backing the Gangs'. Greens, Labour and Te Pāti Māori candidates have met with gang members during the campaign, with the Labour candidate resigning in the fallout. The Greens have lodged a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority over the bil...

Labour wants to help state tenants to get a foot on the property ladder. It's proposing a rent-to-buy scheme, with Kainga Ora putting aside $100 rent a week, working up to a deposit. The party would also lift the income cap for five percent deposits, to $300,000, making more buyers eligible. Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty says getting these renters out of the 'poverty trap' will benef...

Every week until the election The Front Bench will take on the biggest talking points of the election campaign. Heather du Plessis-Allan, Newstalk ZB Senior Political Correspondent Barry Soper, Sherson Willis' Trish Sherson and Childfund CEO Josie Pagani have the insight and analysis as the campaign rolls on.  This week on The Front Bench, Heather asks her panel whether the claims of Donald T...