New Zealand / Aotearoa, October 2026 –
Ipsos New Zealand has released the 35th edition of the Ipsos
Issues Monitor, which tracks the most important issues
facing New Zealanders today and which political parties are
perceived as best able to manage them. The survey has been
running since 2018.
The latest survey of 1,008 New
Zealanders shows that inflation / cost of
living remains the country’s leading concern at
64%, followed by healthcare / hospitals at
45%. The major movement this wave is petrol prices /
fuel, which has increased significantly by 14
percentage points to 31%, moving from seventh to third place
and reaching its highest level recorded in the
monitor.
Concern about the economy
has fallen by 4 percentage points to 30%, moving from third
to fourth place, while unemployment remains
the fifth-ranked issue at 19%.
New Zealanders’
assessment of the current government performance remains
stable. The average rating is 4.1 out of
10, unchanged from September, with 26% rating the
government positively at 7–10 out of 10.
Other key
findings
include:
Issues
- Inflation / cost
of living (64%) remains New Zealanders’
number-one concern and has increased gradually since
February 2025. - Healthcare /
hospitals (45%) remains the second-ranked issue and
is at its highest level since the monitor began in
2018. - Petrol prices / fuel (31%)
has increased significantly by 14 percentage points since
September, becoming the third-ranked
concern. - The economy (30%) has
moved from third to fourth place after a 4-percentage-point
decline this wave. - Unemployment
(19%) remains the fifth-ranked issue, ahead of
housing / price of housing
(18%). - Crime / law and order (14%)
continues to trend downward in the long-term and is 13
percentage points lower than in October
2024.
Government performance and party
capability
- Government performance remains stable
at 4.1 out of 10, with 26% giving a positive rating and 42%
giving a negative rating of 0–3. - Labour
is perceived as the party most capable of managing
all five of New Zealanders’ leading concerns for the third
consecutive wave. - Inflation / cost of
living shows a significant 7-percentage-point
increase in Labour’s perceived capability to 38%; National
is at 24%. - Healthcare / hospitals
records Labour’s largest capability advantage among the
top five issues, at 42% compared with National at
21%. - Crime / law and order remains
the only issue on which National leads, but the gap has
narrowed to 1 percentage point: National 29%, Labour
28%.
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Carin Hercock, Country Manager,
Ipsos New Zealand, said: “While fieldwork for
this wave of the Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor coincided
with prominent media coverage of politicians engaging with
gangs, New Zealanders are sending a clear message about what
matters most to them as they head to the polling booth.
Inflation and the cost of living remain the country’s
leading concern and continue to dominate the public
agenda.”
Amanda Dudding, Executive Director
Public Affairs, Ipsos New Zealand, added: “As
fuel prices climbed to near-record levels across New
Zealand, concern about the cost of fuel has surged into the
top three issues facing the country. The result highlights
how sensitive New Zealanders remain to increases in everyday
household costs and reinforces the importance of
cost-of-living pressures in shaping voter sentiment ahead of
the
election.”
