Jacinda Ardern not worried by lack of traditional post-election bounce

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says she is focusing on achieving a steady build of Labour's support but National leader Bill English says the Government's messy start was the reason it did not get the traditional bounce in support in the first poll since the election.

The combined support of the three parties of Government, Labour, New Zealand First and the Greens, is virtually unchanged from the election result - although Ardern is well ahead of English as preferred Prime Minister, 37 per cent to 28 per cent in the 1 News Colmar Brunton poll.

"What I will be looking for and tracking is whether we are steadily building that confidence in people," Ardern told the Herald. "That will be to me an indication we are fulfilling the things we said we would do, that we are focused on the problems they wanted us to be focused on.

"That over time will build their confidence and support."

"My expectation is that we will be a Government that will prove ourselves and I think voters will give us the chance to do that. The proof of course will be in what we deliver and so this will never be a Government that is complacent.

"I think a steady build will show we are doing that."

Labour, National and the Greens are up slightly in the first poll since the September 23 election, and New Zealand First is right on the threshold of 5 per cent.

Labour, New Zealand First and the Greens have 63 seats between them, and under the poll results would also have 63 seats.

1 News Colmar Brunton poll

National 46 per cent (44.4 in the Sept 23 election)
Labour 39 (36.9)
New Zealand First 5 (7.2)
Green 7 (6.3)
Act 0 (0.5)
Top 1 (2.4)
Maori 1 (1.2)

Assuming Act kept an electorate seat, the poll would translate to 57 seats for National, 48 for Labour, 9 for the Greens, 6 for New Zealand First and 1 for Act.

English said a new Government would normally get a bigger bounce.

"I think the Government would have expected that with a lot of favourable publicity from the formation of the Government and the newness of it, that they'd get a bigger bounce in support from the public but I think they have had such a messy start out of not being able to do things they'd do."

Labour has been at odds with its New Zealand First coalition partner on the nature of a 33-page document discussed by them during coalition talks and how to approach work schemes for unemployed youth.

New Zealand First held the balance of power and chose Labour over National to lead the Government. Leader Winston Peters is preferred Prime Minister by 5 per cent.

Green leader James Shaw said a lot of people were feeling their way into the new Government "and I'm quite happy for us to be judged on our record."

The poll also asked respondents if New Zealand was heading in the right or wrong direction: 51 per cent thought it was going in the right direction, 26 per cent thought the wrong direction and 23 per cent did not know.

• 1News Colmar Brunton poll of just over 1000 eligible voters was conducted between November 29 and December 5. Half of respondents were contacted by landline and half by mobile phone. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 per cent.