Poll: National is underwater on voters' top concern - the cost of living
Tuesday, 16 June 2026
New polling shows National is well-behind Labour on the issue voters say is their top concern - the cost of living.
The latest The Post/Freshwater Strategy poll with Infrastructure New Zealand found 40% of Kiwis naming “relieving cost of living pressures” as their single most important issue, well ahead of second-placed “ensuring the NZ economy is strong” at 13%.
Labour was well ahead on this issue. Asked who they would “trust most” to respond to the issue between “Chris Hipkins’ Labour Party” and “Christopher Luxon’s National Party,” 49% said Labour, compared with just 29% for National, with 22% unsure.
That puts National 20 percentage points behind Labour on the issue.
Read more:
The Post/Freshwater Strategy Poll: Is 30% now a ceiling for National, rather than a floor?
Nicola Willis says she didn’t put the Budget together thinking about ‘next week’s poll’
Labour has been beating the drum on cost of living and sought to paint its first policy of election year ‒ a public transport fare cap ‒ as direct cost of living relief not offered in the Budget.
But National was ahead when voters were asked about their second-most important issue, “ensuring the NZ economy is strong,” with 43% backing National, 33% backing Labour and 23% unsure.
Luxon refused to comment on the poll, which also showed National at 29% support in the party vote ‒ but retaining Government thanks to the strength of its coalition partners.
It suggested a widespread lead for Hipkins on general matters of leadership.
Voters were asked which leader best reflected a series of positive leadership statements, with Hipkins leading on all but one, including:
“They will understand what me and my family are going through best” (48% said Hipkins, 23% Luxon, 30% unsure)
“They will make decisions most likely to improve my life” (46% said Hipkins, 28% said Luxon, 26% unsure)
“They would respond best to a national crisis or natural disaster” (40% said Hipkins, 35% Luxon, 25% unsure).
Only on “They will ensure taxpayers’ money is spent wisely” did Luxon lead Hipkins ‒ by a single percentage point.
Hipkins said voters appeared to be backing his party on cost of living and he was hopeful they would on the economy once the party’s full policy platform was released.
“The economy, for most people, is their cost of living, and this Government aren't offering them any real solutions,” Hipkins said.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has sought to step up scrutiny of Labour’s economic policies in recent days, releasing a document on Sunday that described an $18.2 billion “gap”.
“Chris Hipkins seems to think he can go around making promises to New Zealanders while leaving out how it will be paid for – but that is a critical detail. The Government’s books are in deficit and trade-offs must be made for new spending,” Willis said.
Her document included some policies Labour has committed to ‒ such as a reversal of her pay equity reform ‒ but also policies Labour simply criticised without promising to reverse, such as changes to Income Related Rent Subsidies for public housing tenants.
Hipkins said Labour would release its full fiscal policy ahead of the election and would make clear how it would afford policies.
He said it was inappropriate for Willis to use the Beehive Theatrette to push the attack document.
“These aren't Treasury figures, these aren't Government figures, these are the National Party's own made-up fantasy land figures. She shouldn't be trying to give them the stamp of Government credibility.”
Asked about the poll, Willis said she hadn’t designed the Budget with “next week’s polling” in mind.
The Post/Freshwater Strategy poll showed Labour well ahead of National at 35%, but with its partners the Greens sitting at 10% and Te Pati Māori at 2%, the left lacked the numbers to come to power.
The results show the coalition would be returned with a narrow majority, assuming all parties that currently hold an electorate seat win at least one again.