KEY POINTS:
Two polls in the past 24 hours have National steaming ahead and well on course to govern alone.
Just weeks out from the election, the polls by Morgan and Fairfax Media-Nielsen have National leading Labour by 14 and 19 percentage points respectively.
The Morgan poll showed Labour on 34 per cent and National at 48, while the Nielsen poll had Labour sitting at 35 per cent and National at 54, the voters appearing to disregard the controversy over the secret recordings at the Nats party conference.
Under the Nielsen poll, none of the minor parties reached the 5 per cent threshold needed without winning an electorate seat.
The Nielsen findings had the Green Party suffering its worst result this term, dropping to 4 per cent, NZ First on just three per cent, the Maori Party steady on 2 per cent, ACT just registering on 1 per cent and United Future not even making an appearance.
The parties fared better on the Morgan poll, with beleaguered NZ First making a surprise leap up 1.5 points to 6.5 per cent,
The Green Party lost half a point to sit on 7.5 per cent, the Maori Party and ACT lost a point each to hold 2 and 1.5 per cent support respectively.
Translated into seats at Parliament, the Nielsen results would see the disappearance of the Greens and New Zealand First and leave National with a majority 70 seats, 24 seats ahead of Labour on 46.
National leader John Key also won hands down in the preferred prime minister stakes, according to Nielsen, moving up four points to 43 per cent with Prime Minister Helen Clark down one point to 31 per cent.
Winston Peters was down one point to 2 per cent.
Nielsen surveyed 1102 people between Wednesday, August 6, and Tuesday, August 12. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 per cent.
The latest New Zealand Morgan Poll surveyed 834 voters during July 28 to August 10.
- NZPA
