Ipsos poll shows health and unemployment rising as top concerns before New Zealand election

According to the final Ipsos Issues Monitor released before the campaign intensifies, New Zealanders continue to rank cost of living as the top issue, while health has become the second-most cited concern and unemployment has risen to fourth place. The share of voters naming health and hospitals among their three biggest worries grew to 44% from 38% in the July survey, and unemployment now appears for 21% of respondents, a sharp increase from three years ago.

Labour is still judged the best-equipped party to handle all five leading issues, but National is closing the gap on most, especially cost of living where confidence in both parties has slipped. Support for Labour’s capability on cost of living fell to 31% and for National to 21%, reflecting broader voter fatigue with the two major parties. Smaller parties such as the Greens and Act have each gained a few points on the cost-of-living question. The incumbent coalition’s overall performance over the past six months remains unchanged at a 4.1 rating out of 10.