Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has dismissed results from a new poll that show the possibility of a hung parliament at the next election, saying he does not want to speak about himself and all Kiwis want is for National to fix the economy.
“I mean, I don’t go into polls because every time there is a different poll every week in this country, and people don’t want me to talk about myself or polls,” he told Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking.
“I think the big trend is pretty obvious. People expect us to fix the economy. It’s as simple as that. So fix it, and then in 2026, they’ll make their call.”
The latest Taxpayers’ Union-Curia Poll released this morning shows Labour as having overtaken National as the largest party, gaining 2 points to 33.6%, while National drops 2.1 points to 31.8%.
The Greens are up 0.4 points to 9.8%, Act is down 0.5 points to 8.6%, New Zealand First is down 2 points to 7.8% and Te Pāti Māori is down 0.3 points to 3.2%.
In preferred prime minister ratings, Luxon and Labour leader Chris Hipkins are level on 20.2%.
This morning, Luxon cracked jokes about Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick putting her hand up as Finance Minister.
Luxon said Hipkins did not rule it out when asked about it, nor did he defend Baraba Edmonds, Labour’s Finance spokesperson.
He also said he would be happy to run a campaign next year against a capital gains tax.
“I don’t know whether you’ve followed what’s happening in the UK. Some of the changes they’ve made with their taxes, they’ve had CEOs and wealthy people leave with capital very, very quickly, and that would happen here in New Zealand in a heartbeat.”
Meanwhile, Luxon’s Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese, wrapped up a visit to Queenstown yesterday, where he and Luxon discussed doing business across the ditch, lifting living standards, immigration and the war in Gaza.
Following a helicopter ride which took in the Remarkables, Cecil Peak and the Humboldt Glacier, Luxon told media the transtasman relationship is “as strong as it’s ever been”.
“That helps a lot when you’ve got good chemistry with the leader. We’re very aligned.”
It was Luxon and Albanese’s fourth face-to-face meeting as Prime Ministers. On Saturday, they released a joint statement urging Israel to reconsider its plan to take full control of Gaza.
The annual transtasman talks follow Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement on Friday that Israel plans to take full control of Gaza.
“Any attempt by Israel to escalate hostilities, including by taking control of Gaza City, would be wrong, risk violating international law and exacerbate the human catastrophe already unfolding inside the Gaza Strip,” a joint statement from Luxon and Albanese following their meeting said.
Albanese and Luxon also discussed recognising the state of Palestine, and their shared respective positions that it’s a matter of when, not if.
Australia has recently suggested it may be willing to make the recognition sooner rather than later, with Foreign Minister Penny Wong warning of a risk “there will be no Palestine left to recognise”.
Luxon also brought up the controversial and ongoing issue of 501 deportees to New Zealand from Australia, though there was no indication of Australia softening its stance.
The talks took place against a backdrop of a net migration loss of 30,000 people departing New Zealand for Australia in the year ended December 2024.
This comprised 17,300 migrant arrivals from Australia to New Zealand and 47,300 migrant departures from New Zealand to Australia.