A recent poll found that a majority of voters now hold an unfavourable view of Christopher Luxon's leadership, placing his approval rating at its lowest level during the current term. Labour leader Chris Hipkins also recorded his lowest polling figure of the current parliamentary term.
According to the most recent 1News Verian poll, Luxon's net approval rating stood at minus 23, with roughly one-third of voters viewing his performance as Prime Minister favourably and 55 per cent viewing it unfavourably. Hipkins, leading Labour in opposition, recorded approval from around 34 per cent of respondents, while 49 per cent expressed dissatisfaction, yielding a net rating of minus 15.
Luxon visited the Wellington suburb of Tawa to canvass for votes following the polling results for both leading parties. He directed criticism at Green co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick, who stated on a prominent news channel that her party was seeking the finance portfolio following its record polling performance.
Luxon argued that a Labour-Greens-led government dependent on two additional parties, with Swarbrick holding the finance portfolio, would increase spending, raise taxes, and take on greater debt. Swarbrick argued that by repeatedly invoking her name, National had inadvertently amplified a wealth tax she claimed enjoyed widespread backing across New Zealand.
Labour has also not embraced the prospect of a Green party member holding the finance portfolio. Hipkins stated that Barbara Edmonds would serve as finance minister in a Labour-led government.
Hipkins added that a single opinion poll should not be taken as a reliable indicator of an election outcome, and that it was too early for anyone to assume a change of government was imminent. He noted that the campaign still had a considerable way to run, urging all parties to concentrate on earning voter support and public trust rather than speculating about ministerial positions ahead of any ballots being cast.
The poll surveyed 1,004 eligible voters between 23 and 27 September 2026, with 503 contacted by mobile phone and 501 via online panels. At a 95 per cent confidence level, the poll carries a margin of error of roughly plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.
Figures for party backing have been expressed as rounded whole numbers, with values below 4.5 per cent shown to one decimal place. Survey figures were adjusted to reflect Stats NZ population distributions across age, gender, region, ethnicity, and educational attainment. Telephone respondents are recruited through random-digit dialling via probability-based methods, while web-based participants are drawn from a dedicated online panel. Respondents who were undecided, chose not to vote, or withheld their preference have been omitted from the party support figures. These figures capture party support at a particular moment, rather than forecasting future outcomes.
