In the preferred Prime Minister rankings, National’s Christopher Luxon takes top spot (18%, up two points). Labour’s Chris Hipkins fell three points to 16%.
Next in the preferred Prime Minister rankings was New Zealand First leader Winston Peters on 10%.
It is the first 1News-Verian poll since the Budget. The last such poll was published in the days before Luxon called a dramatic confidence vote in his leadership, which he survived.
The TVNZ poll comes in the context of several polls showing a tight election race.
The most recent NZ Herald-Motu Research Poll of Polls, which did not include this 1 News-Verian Poll, put Labour at 32.7%, while support parties the Greens and Te Pāti Māori were polling 9.9% and 2.2%, respectively.
Incumbent PM Christopher Luxon is in top spot in the preferred Prime Minister rankings, edging out Labour’s Chris Hipkins. Photo / Mark Mitchell
On the other side of the aisle, it calculated National was polling at 29%, while support parties NZ First and Act were polling 13.7% and 7.4%, respectively, giving the coalition 50.5%.
Those figures would give the coalition 63 seats and Labour 57. Overall, the poll-of-polls model calculated the coalition had a 74.3% chance of being re-elected.
Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.