Latest news with #Taxpayers'Union-Curia
Scoop
12-08-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Christopher Luxon Shrugs Off Polls Showing Tight Electoral Race
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has shrugged off two polls showing a tight electoral race, promising to stay the course with the coalition's plan to fix the economy. The Taxpayers' Union-Curia poll on Monday showed Labour overtaking National as the most popular party and no clear path to power for either side. TVNZ's 1News-Verian poll was more forgiving to the coalition parties, returning them to government. But it also saw Luxon sink to just 20 percent as preferred prime minister, a two-year low. On his way into a morning caucus meeting on Tuesday, Luxon told reporters the polls would not be a topic of conversation in the meeting, nor should they be. "No, no, not at all," he said. "I'm not focused on polls or talking about myself. What I'm focused on is New Zealanders and making sure we've got the right long term economic plan in place." Luxon said his MPs continued to be provided internal polling through "a regular process" and discussed them "from time to time" in line with "normal practice". Asked whether he was meeting his own high standards, Luxon said the government was dealing with a challenging international environment. "We've inherited a really difficult recession," he said. "It's a very difficult time, but we are very, very clear minded and very, very focused on fixing the economy." Luxon said global confidence had been knocked by the United States' tariff regime but New Zealand had to "power through that". The faltering economy and cost-of-living crisis featured in both polls as key concerns for voters. Recently, the Auckland Chamber of Commerce has advocated a cut to the corporate tax rate, while the Taxpayers' Union is calling for an emergency mid-year Budget. Luxon previously dismissed such calls, and on Tuesday, he maintained the coalition's current focus on manufacturing and construction was the right approach. "We are doing everything we can. If you think about $6 billion worth of infrastructure projects starting before Christmas, that is a lot of jobs, it's a lot of tradies." He also pointed to relief on the horizon with the Reserve Bank expected to deliver further interest rate cuts this year. What's the alternative? Speaking on Tuesday morning, Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the polls demonstrated New Zealanders were losing faith in National's ability to deliver on its promises. He accepted, however, that Labour had more work to do, given neither poll had returned the party to the Beehive. Asked whether the party's support was helped or hindered by Labour's lack of policy, Hipkins said the government "would desperately love more things to attack". "We'll put further policy out there, but my focus right at the moment is holding the government accountable for their promises." Any comprehensive fiscal plan would have to wait till after next year's Budget, he said, but Labour's tax policy would be released this year. Hipkins said a final decision on tax had yet to be resolved but: "consensus is emerging." He repeatedly refused to give any details, including whether the proposal would be revenue neutral or possible parameters. "I've always said that I don't think the family home should be taxed, but I'm not announcing a policy that we haven't announced." National's campaign chairperson Chris Bishop said it was very easy for Labour to insist life should better when they had no policy solutions to offer themselves. "Life's easy when you're able to throw rocks from the side. Actually, we're the ones... in the arena, making the tough decisions across planning, across education, across infrastructure, across red tape, across fiscal policy to get this economy back on track." Bishop said the poll numbers reflected a "tough winter" but stressed that the election was not until next year: "People want the economy to be fixed. And I get that. But there is no silver bullet." He said any talk of replacing Luxon as leader was "just silly". Luxon: Palestine question is "not a race" Luxon declined to say whether the caucus would discuss the question of Palestinian statehood on Tuesday, but acknowledged there would be "nuances and differences" within the team. Foreign Minister Winston Peters on Monday confirmed Cabinet would come to a formal decision in September over whether to recognise a state of Palestine at an upcoming United Nations summit. All three opposition parties have castigated the government for failing to make a decision, pointing out that New Zealand is now out-of-step with its like-minded partners: Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and France. But Luxon said the complex question needed careful consideration. "It's not a race," Luxon said. "It deserves a serious weighing up of our position, and that's exactly what we're going to do." Luxon declined to say whether he would be comfortable with either coalition partner opting to "agree-to-disagree" on the decision. "I'm not going to get into hypotheticals... It's all very easy to jump to a bumper-sticker outcome or decision and not think through the consequences." Pressed on what conditions could be attached, Luxon said he would not presuppose a position but made clear Hamas would have to release hostages and disarm: "There is absolutely no role in any future Palestinian state for a terrorist organization like Hamas."
Scoop
24-07-2025
- Business
- Scoop
NEW POLL: The Best (And Worst) Big-City Mayors
Press Release: Taxpayers' Union For the first time since June 2024, Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger takes the top spot as the country's most popular metropolitan mayor, after a 19-point surge this quarter. Commenting on this, Taxpayers' Union spokesman James Ross said: "Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger backed rates capping, and in that same period surged 19 points to become the most popular big-city mayor. If that's not an endorsement of rates capping, I don't know what is." "Local body elections are less than three months away. Any candidates looking to boost their appeal might do well to follow Mayor Mauger's example by putting ratepayers' needs front-and-centre." "Mayor Brown remains steadily well-liked, no doubt thanks to the fourth-lowest rates hikes in the country over the last three years. And even Tory Whanau has seen a boost since announcing she'd step aside - all in all, everyone's a winner this poll." The latest Taxpayers' Union-Curia poll ranks New Zealand's three metro mayors by their net approval, and tracks their approval over time. The results are based on a series of monthly polls across New Zealand. Because the sample sizes for Auckland, Christchurch, and Wellington are larger, trends are able to be deduced over time. The full results can be found at Using Scoop for work? Scoop is free for personal use, but you'll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features. Join Pro Individual Find out more
Scoop
12-06-2025
- Business
- Scoop
New Poll: Labour Becomes Largest Party, Economy Top Concern
Bad news for National in the latest Taxpayers' Union-Curia Poll as Labour would now be the largest party in Parliament, gaining three seats to 44. The Coalition would still just about cling on to power on these numbers. The poll, conducted between 07 and 09 June shows National drop 1.1 points on last month to 33.5 percent, while Labour are up 1.6 points to 34.8 percent. ACT is down 0.4 points to 9.1 percent, whilst the Greens are down 0.9 points to 8.2 percent. New Zealand First also drops 1.3 points to 6.1 percent, while Te Pāti Māori is down 0.6 points to 3.3 percent. Headline results and more information about the methodology can be found on the Taxpayers' Union's website at For the minor parties, TOP is on 1.8 percent (+1.3 point), Outdoors and Freedom is on 1.1 percent (+0.7 points), New Conservatives are on 0.7 percent (+0.7 points) and Vision NZ on 0.6 percent (+0.2 points). This month's results are compared to the last Taxpayers' Union-Curia Poll conducted in May 2025, available here at The combined projected seats for the Centre-Right of 62 is down 1 seat from last month. The combined seats for the Centre-Left is up 2 seats to 60. On these numbers, the Centre-Right bloc could still form a Government. National remains on 42 seats again this month, whilst Labour is up 3 seats to 44. ACT is unchanged on 12 seats, whilst the Greens are down 1 seat to 10. New Zealand First drops 1 seat to 8 seats, while Te Pāti Māori remains on 6. For the first time since October 2024, Cost of Living has been replaced as voters' top issue. The Economy more generally is the most important issue to voters at 20.2 percent (+3.7 points), followed by the Cost of Living at 18.1 percent (-8.3 points), Health at 11.9 percent (-5.0 points) and Employment at 5.8 percent. Commenting on the results, Taxpayers' Union Spokesman James Ross said: "Labour taking the lead and growing concern over the economy should be a worrying sign for the Government in the first Taxpayers' Union-Curia poll since the Budget. Voters are losing faith in the managed decline on offer." "With inflation finally under heel, cost of living has slipped off the top spot for the first time in over three years. But lower interest rates don't make a sound economy on their own." "The so-called Growth Budget's only pro-growth policy offered a 1 percent boost to GDP over 20 years, spiralling debt and no credible pathway back to surplus." "Growth wins votes, stagnation doesn't."
Otago Daily Times
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Poll shows Labour ahead of National, but coalition keeping power
Labour would be the largest party in Parliament - but the coalition would still cling on to power, according to a new poll. The latest Taxpayers' Union-Curia poll - the first the firm has conducted since the budget - sees Labour leapfrog National in popularity and parties outside parliament making slight gains. Party vote: Labour: 34.8 percent, up 1.6 percentage points (44 seats) National: 33.5 percent, down 1.1 (42 seats) ACT: 9.1 percent, down 0.4 (12 seats) Greens: 8.2 percent, down 0.9 (10 seats) NZ First: 6.1 percent, down 1.3 (8 seats) Te Pāti Māori: 3.3 percent, down 0.6 (6 seats) The centre-right would have a combined 62 seats, down one seat from the previous poll. The centre-left is up two seats to 60. For the minor parties, TOP is on 1.8 percent (up 1.3 percentage point), Outdoors and Freedom is on 1.1 percent (up 0.7 points), New Conservatives are on 0.7 percent (up 0.7 points) and Vision NZ on 0.6 percent (up 0.2 points). Preferred prime minister: In the preferred prime minister stakes, both Christopher Luxon and Chris Hipkins have taken hits, with Luxon staying slightly ahead of Hipkins. Christopher Luxon: 20.3 percent, down 4.2 percentage points Chris Hipkins: 18.5 percent, down 1.5 points Winston Peters: 8.0 percent, down 0.1 points David Seymour: 6.0 percent, down 0.7 points Chlöe Swarbrick: 5.6 percent, up 0.6 points Luxon is down 4.2 points from last month to 20.3 percent, while Hipkins is down 1.5 points to 18.5 percent. The poll was conducted by Curia Market Research Ltd for the NZ Taxpayers' Union. It is a random poll of 1000 adult New Zealanders, weighted to the overall adult population. It was conducted by phone (landlines and mobile) and online between Saturday, June 7 and Monday, June 9 2025. It has a maximum margin of error of +/- 3.1%. Curia is a long-running and established pollster in New Zealand, which has resigned its membership from the Research Association New Zealand (RANZ) industry body. Polls compare to the most recent poll by the same polling company, as different polls can use different methodologies. They are intended to track trends in voting preferences, showing a snapshot in time, rather than be a completely accurate predictor of the final election result.
NZ Herald
12-06-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Labour overtakes National in post-Budget poll, economy top issue for New Zealanders
Labour has overtaken National in the latest Taxpayers' Union-Curia poll, which was conducted earlier this month following both the controversial pay equity changes and the Government delivering the Budget. Also, for the first time since October last year, the cost of living is no longer New Zealanders' top issue,
