The latest Ipsos poll adds pressure on National in the final week before election day, even as the party clashes with its coalition partners over vote-splitting.

Fuel costs have shot up from fifth to third in the October survey of voters' biggest concerns, behind inflation and cost of living, and Labour has extended its lead over National on all the top five concerns.

Labour also made gains on law and order, and crime - the only top-20 issue National remains most trusted on - narrowing the gap to one percentage point, after the disputes over politicians meeting with gang members led one candidate to resign.

Top five issues

Cost of living/inflation remains the top concern by a significant margin, with 64% of New Zealanders putting it in their top three.

It edged up 1 percentage point from the previous month, reaching a new high, and while National's perceived ability to manage inflation rose three points to 24%, Labour's rating climbed seven points to 38%.

 

In second place, healthcare also rose one point overall to 45% and Labour made gains there too - rising four points to 42%, while National remained steady at 21%.

Concern about fuel prices shot up the rankings from seventh place to third, with a staggering 14-point rise to 31%.

Labour gained there too - up six points to 35 - while National continued its decline by two points to 20%.

Meanwhile, concerns about the economy fell four points to 30%, with Labour further gaining four points to 34, while National gained one point to 29%.

Rounding out the top five, unemployment fell two points to 19%.

Labour recovered lost ground there, compared with the previous poll - up four points to 38 - with National steady at 21%.

'Clear message' over law and order

Ipsos New Zealand manager Carin Hercock said the survey was collected during prominent media coverage of politicians engaging with gangs, but the results showed New Zealanders were "sending a clear message about what matters most to them".

"Inflation and cost of living remain the country's leading concern, and continue to dominate the public agenda," she said.

The issue fell one percentage point to 14%, continuing a long-term decline and putting it eighth in the rankings.

National's perceived ability to handle law and order remained steady at 29%, making it the only issue in the top 20 it was rated highest, but Labour's three-point gain to 28 put the left-leaning party just one point away.

Housing was the sixth-highest concern for New Zealanders, falling one point to 18%. Labour gained four points to 35%, while National fell one point to 22.

The other top 10 were rounded out with poverty/inequality (16%, down one) at seventh, climate change (12%, down one) at ninth and education (8%, down one) at 10th.

Ratings of the current government's performance remained static at 4.1 for the third survey in a row.

The Ipsos Issues Monitor study was conducted using online research panels between 19-27 October 2026, with 1008 New Zealanders aged 18 and older. The results have a credibility interval of +/-3.5 percentage points.