Skipper speaks out after Manukau Harbour rescue, health experts warn of a measles epidemic and Hamas considers Israel’s latest cease-fire offer in the latest NZ Herald headlines.
A new poll, five months after the last general election, shows voters seriously unhappy with the new coalition Government.
The 1News Verian poll commissioned by TVNZ has New Zealand First falling to 4.2 per cent in the party vote. If an election were held today, that result would knock it out from Parliament again and, with it, the Government’s numbers to govern.
The poll found if an election were held today, National would still be the biggest party in Parliament with 36 per cent of the party vote, down 2 per cent on the last 1News Verian Poll.
The numbers show National and Act would have 57 seats in the House - falling 10 seats short of the number of seats needed to form a majority in the 121 seat Parliament - 61 seats.
National leader Christopher Luxon, Act leader David Seymour, and NZ First leader Winston Peters.
The poll, surprisingly, given it is only five months since the last general election, showed Labour could theoretically form a coalition with the Greens and Te Pāti Māori. Labour has 30 per cent of the party vote, up two points. The Greens are up two points to 14 per cent, while Act is down one point to 7 per cent. New Zealand First was down 1.8 points, thus below the 5 per cent threshold to return to Parliament.
Luxon down a bit, Hipkins up a bit
Te Pāti Māori held 4 per cent of the party vote but it holds six of the seven Māori electorate seats. Of those polled, 8 per cent didn’t know which party they would vote for or refused to answer.
Te Pati Maori caucus December 2023: from left: Te Tai Tonga MP Takuta Ferris, Te Tai Tokerau MP Mariameno Kapa-King,; Hauraki-Waikato MP Hana Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, Te Tai Hauauru MP and co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Wairiki MP and co-leader Rawiri Waititi and Tamaki Makaurau MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp. Photo / Te Pāti Māori
Those numbers meant in an election scenario National and Act would have a total of 57 seats in the House - falling short of the 61 seats needed to win government.
Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori - if they negotiated a coalition deal - had a total of 64 seats and would have the numbers to form a government.
Such a strong reaction by voters for a government has only occurred before for the Key and Clark governments in their third terms.
In addition, National leader Christopher Luxon has fallen in the preferred prime minister stakes, at 23 per cent, down two percentage points.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins has picked up one percentage point to 16 per cent.
Swarbrick, Seymour up
In the first poll since she replaced James Shaw as Greens co-leader, Chlöe Swarbrick is up 2 per cent as the preferred prime minister at 6 per cent.
Act’s David Seymour and New Zealand First’s Winston Peters - are the preferred prime minister for 5 per cent (up 1 per cent) and 4 per cent (down 2 per cent), respectively.
In the lead-up to the poll, Peters gave a state of the nation speech in which he compared co-governance to Nazi Germany, and another at the UN criticising its security council for their use of veto powers and its failure to act decisively in Gaza.
Public submissions for the Government’s controversial Fast-Track Approvals Bill also closed.
