Summarised by Centrist
New Zealand First has surged past both ACT and the Greens in the latest Taxpayers’ Union-Curia poll, placing Winston Peters’ party just shy of 10 percent and possibly signalling a shift in political leverage within the governing coalition.
The poll, conducted July 2-6, shows NZ First jumping 3.7 points to 9.8 percent. ACT remains stagnant on 9.1 percent, while the Green Party trails slightly at 9.4.
It marks the first time this term that Peters has outpaced both his junior coalition partner and his most vocal critics on the left. The numbers would give NZ First 12 seats in Parliament, ahead of ACT’s 11.
National also edged up to 33.9 percent, retaking the lead over Labour, which dropped 3.2 points to 31.6.
In terms of preferred prime minister, Labour’s Chris Hipkins has nearly closed the gap with National’s Christopher Luxon, polling 19.6 percent to Luxon’s 19.7. Peters followed at 9.3 percent, up 1.3 points. Chlöe Swarbrick polled 7 percent, while Seymour slipped to 5.7.
The governing bloc of National, NZ First and ACT would command 65 seats, compared to a Labour-Green-Te Pāti Māori bloc with 57. The cost of living has overtaken the economy as the top concern among voters, up 3.5 points to 21.6 percent, while health ranked third.
