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Labour remains ahead on most of the key issues in the latest Ipsos Issues Monitor, but National has improved its ratings on the economy and the cost of living.
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The rating of the government’s overall performance has also rebounded from its record low in the previous survey.
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The quarterly survey asks a thousand New Zealanders what they think are the three most important issues facing the country, and the political parties they believe are most capable of handling them.
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Labour is seen as most capable on three of the top five issues, and equal with National on a fourth.
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In total, Labour leads in 14 of the top 20 issues.
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Respondents believed Labour had the best handle on inflation/the cost of living, healthcare, and housing.
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National is still seen as most capable on law and order.
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While Labour overtook National on the economy in the previous survey, the parties are now neck and neck.
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Photo: IPSOS Issues Monitor
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In the rest of the top 20, Labour is also ahead on unemployment, poverty/inequality, drug/alcohol abuse, petrol prices/fuel, education, immigration, household debt/personal debt, race relations/racism, transport/public transport/infrastructure, taxation, and population/overpopulation.
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National is seen as most capable on defence/foreign affairs/terrorism, the Greens are ahead on climate change and environmental pollution/water concerns, and Te Pāti Māori is seen as most capable of handling issues facing Māori.
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Photo: IPSOS Issues Monitor
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The cost of living and inflation remains New Zealanders’ number one concern, with 59 percent of people identifying it as a key issue, down from 61 percent in the previous survey.
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35 percent of people believe Labour is the best party at handling the issue, a slight dip of one percentage point.
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National has risen to 28 percent, up from 24 percent.
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Photo: IPSOS Issues Monitor
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Healthcare is still the second most important issue, but decreasing again on previous surveys, with Labour on 37 percent.
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National is on 25 percent, closing the gap from 19 points in the previous survey to 12.
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On the economy, both Labour and National are on 32 percent.
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Petrol prices has entered the top 10 issues, while immigration has risen four places to joint 11th.
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Despite the country being affected by devastating weather events over the summer, there was no increase on climate change as an issue.
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Overall, the government’s performance was rated 4.2, up from a record low of 3.9 in the previous survey.
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This brings the government back to the same rating as the February 2025 and August 2025 surveys, though still not as high as the 4.7 it rated in October 2024, and well off the survey’s record high of 7.6, which the Labour-led coalition reached in May 2020.
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Photo: IPSOS Issues Monitor
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The study was conducted using online research panels between 11 and 18 February 2026, with 1,000 New Zealanders aged 18 and older asked what the top three issues were facing the country today. Quotas were set to ensure representativeness.
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The total New Zealand results have a credibility interval of +/-3.5 percentage points.
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Source : RNZ
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