It has been another busy Sunday on the campaign trail, with politicians spread out across the motu making policy announcements and meeting supporters as election day draws closer.
There have been significant announcements from National and Labour regarding children’s screentime and justice, but the minor parties also had plenty to say.
Here’s everything you need to know about what happened on the campaign trail on Sunday, 18 October.
NZ First leader Winston Peters speaks in Christchurch on Sunday, 18 October.
RNZ/Keiller MacDuff
NZ First commits to 12-month commuter rail trial in Canterbury
New Zealand First says it will commit to a 12-month trial of commuter rail in Canterbury, as well as bringing back the Southerner Train that connected Christchurch with Dunedin and Invercargill, if re-elected.
Winston Peters said the party’s ambition was to get passengers from Rolleston to central Christchurch in around 20 minutes by train, instead of spending up to 50 minutes on the road.
He said travelling from Rangiora into Christchurch by train would be faster than driving too. Currently, the KiwiRail train that covers that stretch of track takes about 30 minutes to get from Addington in Christchurch to Rangiora.
It would give Cantabrians a real alternative to sitting in traffic every morning and every evening, he said.
You can learn more about NZ First’s announcement here.
Labour announces its screens policy on Sunday.
RNZ/Baz Macdonald
Labour pledges $7m to get kids off screens
Labour wants to get kids off screens and “back to being kids” by making after-school activities more affordable, setting “healthier” boundaries in schools and providing better support for parents when it comes to online safety for children.
At a cost of $7 million per year, Labour would invest in programmes that offer grants to help children take part in sport and recreation, and in community groups running after-school sport and activities for kids.
Labour Leader Chris Hipkins says too much of childhood is being spent on screens, while sport, hobbies and other after-school activities are out of reach for too many families.
You can read our full coverage of the policy announcement here.
The Greens’ Chlöe Swarbrick speaks to media on Sunday.
Nick Monro/RNZ
Opposition parties raise concerns over what they say is voter suppression
Opposition parties are raising concerns over what they call voter suppression by the government, as the enrolment deadline draws near.
Recent figures from the Electoral Commission show that as of the 15 October only 65.5 percent of 18-24 year olds are enrolled to vote.
It also comes as RNZ revealed Prime Minister Christopher Luxon picked a “challenging” election date, despite the Electoral Commission favouring two other options.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said he was “very concerned” about enrolments, particularly about youth enrolments, as well as people being moved onto the dormant role.
The Greens’ Chlöe Swarbrick was also “incredibly concerned about this government’s moves to actively suppress voting in this country”.
You can read RNZ’s full coverage of their comments here.
Paul Goldsmith says too many children die at the hands of those who should be protecting them.
RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
National would remove right to silence in cases of child murder
National says it will take away a person’s right to silence when a child is murdered if the party is re-elected.
Justice spokesperson Paul Goldsmith announced on Sunday morning that the party would make it a Crimes Act offence not to disclose information to police when a person has been present at the location where a child under 12 has been killed.
It would carry a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.
“Too many children in New Zealand die at the hands of, or with the knowledge of, people who should be protecting them. The right to silence should not be abused to the extent that these horrific crimes go unpunished,” Goldsmith said.
Read more about the policy here.
ACT leader David Seymour campaigns on Sunday.
Lauren Crimp/RNZ Political Reporter
ACT pledges $400 million to get more doctors
The ACT Party plans to keep more general practitioners in New Zealand and attract more from overseas with a $400 million funding boost.
Announcing the policy on Sunday morning, ACT’S Tāmaki candidate James Christmas says the money would increase the supply of appointments by keeping the doctors NZ already has, rather than subsidising demand.
“That means a parent can get a sick child seen more quickly, that means the cough that won’t go away or the lump that you’re concerned about can get checked early before it becomes serious. And it means that we keep more people out of our emergency departments, where they don’t need to be.”
You can read more about the announcement here.
See how the day’s events unfolded with RNZ’s live blog:
Follow our daily live coverage of all the happening on the 2026 election campaign trail. We’ll have updates, breaking news and analysis from Political Editor Jo Moir, Deputy Editor Craig McCulloch and their team through to election day on 7 November.