National gains polling lead as New Zealand election voting begins

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 20 Oct, 18:02 · Archive

New Zealand's National party has opened a five-point polling lead over Labour as overseas voting begins.

Overseas voters in Australia and elsewhere can begin casting ballots in New Zealand's election following the final leaders' debate on Tuesday night. Prime Minister Chris Luxon's National party has enjoyed a four-point polling bump, capturing campaign momentum. In the TVNZ-Verian poll released on Tuesday, National reached 32 per cent, opening a five-point lead over Labour on 27 per cent—National's best lead since May 2025. Labour leader Chris Hipkins won the debate three-from-three by the judgment of political analysts and the public.

National's coalition partners ACT and NZ First polled at 11 and nine per cent respectively. Labour's potential coalition partners, the Greens and Maori Party, were on 16 and one per cent. Politics-watchers attributed National's gain to renewed focus on law-and-order issues, an area the party dominated in 2023 when retail crime was elevated following the pandemic.

The shift followed a visit by Greens and Maori Party MPs—Labour's would-be coalition partners—to a south Auckland gang meeting. National and its allies used social media selfies from the visit as evidence the left was soft on crime. Mr Luxon told Mr Hipkins in the debate: 'You've got partners that want to be in coalition with the Mongrel Mob, mate.' Mr Hipkins criticised the visit as an error of judgment and said it made the parties unfit to hold justice-related portfolios.

How it is being reported

• Poll bump for National as voting begins in NZ electionOverseas voters, including those in Australia, can begin casting ballots in New Zealand's election after the leaders squared off in their final debate.The West Australian · 20 Oct, 17:36
• Poll bump for National as voting begins in NZ electionOverseas voters, including those in Australia, can begin casting ballots in New Zealand's election after the leaders squared off in their final debate.Perth Now · 20 Oct, 17:36

In this story: Chris Luxon · Chris Hipkins · National · Labour · ACT · NZ First · Greens · Maori Party

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem