Face of the Day

Labour has unveiled its 2026 campaign slogan: 'Better starts now.'

Leader Chris Hipkins made the announcement at a suburban home in Christchurch after taking a tumble in the latest poll.

The party has been repeating ad nauseum its focus on "jobs, health, homes and the cost of living" for the coming election campaign.

The announcement follows the latest RNZ-Reid Research poll showing Opportunity in a kingmaker position, and Labour down 1.8 points to its lowest result since the election.

Hipkins' preferred prime minister ratings also fell 2.6 points to 21.3 - leaving the opposition leader in the lead over National's Christopher Luxon but the gap narrowing with Luxon falling just 0.1 points to 19.9 percent.

"Labour's campaign obviously kicks up a gear today," Hipkins told Midday Report. "We'll have signs going up all over the country over the next two weeks and we've got more policy announcements to come.

"My message to Kiwis is pretty clear - better is possible, and better starts as soon as we change the government."

RNZ