‘No good options’: Fieldays voters frustrated with election options

Friday, 12 June 2026

Young farm workers Lucas Cederman (L) and Sean Leslie aren’t fans of the current coalition and want a government which will cater to everyday Kiwis.

The suits were out and the pristine party-branded Swanndris were in - but despite the effort from politicians, many Fieldays attendees were unimpressed with the options ahead of the general election.

A raft of new policies and commitments were announced by National and their coalition partners, and MPs and candidates from across the political spectrum could be spotted out and about chatting to attendees and vendors.

Prme Minister Christopher Luxons speaks with attendees at Fieldays.

But many patrons who spoke to the Waikato Times said while they were unimpressed with the coalition Government, they didn’t think the other options looked too good either.

Farm workers Sean Leslie, 25, and Lucas Cederman, 18, told the Waikato Times they didn’t feel represented by the coalition Government.

“They don't really care about young farmers,” Leslie said, adding they were only focused on farm owners. He said owning his own farm one day felt completely out of reach because of the cost.

MPs from across the political spectrum could be spotted out and about at Fieldays. Pictured here is Labour leader Chris Hipkins talking with Dr John Roche, the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor.

“You can work your way up the ladder, but you still [have] to get pretty lucky with it.”

He wanted to see a government that “gives a f… about the people”, but didn’t think there were any good options. At the election he’d likely be voting for Labour “just to get rid of the … National Government”.

Asked what he’d say to a politician if he got the chance, Leslie said he’d query what policies they were planning to introduce to help everyday New Zealanders.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at Fieldays.

While Cederman wasn’t “much one for politics”, he agreed there weren’t any good options. He was undecided who to vote for at the election - or whether he’d vote at all.

Murray McFarlane and Bryce McIntosh, who had come up from Te Kūiti for Fieldays, were also unimpressed by both the current Government and the parties in opposition.

“I think our prime minister’s full of shit,” McIntosh said.

Plenty of people turned out to the Fieldays Rural Advocacy Hub to hear what politicians had to say. Pictured here is Agricultural Minister Todd McClay.

He felt too many politicians had gone to university and seemed to think they knew it all.

“It's about time they had lived life and found out about life from the people that don’t got all that money, all that education,” he said.

“Wake up.”

Politicians swapped suits for party-branded Swanndri jackets as they descended on Mystery Creek looking to drum up support from rural voters. Pictured here is Fnance Minister Nicola Willis at the opening ceremony on Wednesday.

He wanted to see more support for people who were homeless alongside an overhaul of the tax system and an increase to superannuation.

“I broke bones and sweated for years trying to make money. Quite frankly, I didn’t make much.”

“People [should] get a bit more out of what they're doing, plain and simple … change the tax regime, you know, if the guy sweats, give him more money.”

Many patrons who spoke to the Waikato Times said they were unimpressed with the coalition government - and they didn’t think the other options looked too good either.

Asked who they would be voting for in November, McIntosh said if the McGillicuddy Serious Party - a satirical political party that ran from 1984 to 1999 - was still an option, he’d be voting for them.

Otherwise, he had “serious doubts” he would be voting in the election.

McFarlane reckoned National would get back into Parliament, adding that Labour hadn’t come up with any substantial policies so far.

There were plenty of policies and coalition commitments rolled out at Fieldays.

He said he thought Winston Peters would do well, and he would likely be voting for NZ First himself.

“I’ve never voted for the main ones, really.”

Retired building contractor Clyde McIndoe was over from the Bay of Plenty. He had a lot to say about the state of politics in New Zealand, telling the Waikato Times there were “more than enough fingers in the pie”.

“Every day the Parliament is sitting, they should be there the whole time,” he added.

McIndoe said he was mainly worried about social cohesion and family values. His daughter, a primary school teacher, often told him about children coming to school who weren’t toilet trained, and others worrying if there would be food for them at home.

He wanted to see bipartisan agreement on which direction the country went in rather than changing every three years.

“Our political period of three years is too short - it wants to be either four or five.”

He was undecided how he would be voting at the general election.

“There’ll be a lot of people like me, I think.”

While plenty of punters were unimpressed with political parties, some turned out to hear what politicians had to say.

Rainez Kraceets had spent plenty of time at the Fieldays Rural Advocacy Hub listening to MPs from across the political spectrum set out their plans for the rural sector. When he spoke to the Waikato Times, he was waiting for Opposition leader Chris Hipkins to take the stage.

Others weren’t so keen. One man who left ahead of Hipkins’s talk told his mate, “I don’t really want to hear some Labour f…ing bullshit”.

For Kraceets, though, it was “quite important to see what the party stands for”.

“We haven't heard too much from Labour, but in terms of their policies, they’re developing,” he said.

“Other parties have been a bit more upfront about what they stand for, so it'll be interesting to see how these policies start to compare closer to the election.”