Labour is still considered most capable of managing the country's top five concerns, but it's taken a slide on all of them, narrowing the gap between it and National.

The latest quarterly Ipsos Issues Monitor reveals unemployment has crept up the list of the top concerns, and there's been a leap in concern about healthcare.

However, it remains a cost of living election with the issue still New Zealanders' number one worry.

Concern about tax has also continued to trend upwards, perhaps unsurprisingly given the two major parties have put considerable effort into attacking each other on the matter.

The government's performance is still rated 4.1 out of 10, unchanged from July.

The top five issues

Concern about the cost of living has been rising gradually since early last year and has reached the highest level since May 2023.

Both National and Labour's perceived ability to handle it has dropped four percentage points since July, leaving the gap unchanged at 10 points.

Healthcare remains in second place but concern about it has increased six points. At 38 points Labour holds a 17 point lead over National, down from a 21-point gap in July. National gained one point, Labour lost three.

The economy is still considered the third most important issue. Labour and National each dropped on this one - Labour by four points, National by two. It leaves a two-point gap, down from four in July.

Unemployment has risen from fifth to fourth in the rankings.

 

National's perceived ability to manage it has held steady at 21 points, while Labour's plummeted from 42 to 34, reducing the gap to 13 percentage points. Last month unemployment rose to an 11-year high of 5.6 percent.

Housing has dropped from fourth to fifth place. Labour has slid down four points with National up one, narrowing Labour's lead from 13 to eight points.

Labour is considered most capable of handling 10 of the remaining 15 issues (down from 11 in July), while National is most trusted on crime and defence, the Greens on climate change and the environment, and Te Pāti Māori on Māori issues.

Wealth tax most popular

Concern about tax has started to trend upward, reaching 8 percent (up from 6 percent in July).

Despite a significant decrease from the July survey, Labour continues to lead as the party perceived most capable of managing tax by a small margin (3 percentage points).

New Zealanders are fairly evenly split on their feelings about the tax they pay, with 45 percent believing they pay the right amount and 44 percent wanting to pay less (4 percent think they should pay more, and 7 percent didn't know).

A wealth tax of 2.5 percent on assets above $10 million (excluding family homes) - which the Greens are campaigning on - was the most popular, with 64 percent in support.

About half of respondents support a tax on assets and gifts worth more than $1 million (excluding family homes and farms) as well as a bed tax on short-term accommodation stays.

A capital gains tax on property sales (excluding the family home) - which Labour is proposing - has 45 percent support.

Less than a quarter are in favour of Opportunity's land tax, or a commuter tax (that's [). https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/community/597753/explainer-congestion-charging-is-coming-to-auckland-but-when congestion charging] - and law enabling that has passed, leaving councils to decide whether they implement it

The Ipsos Issues Monitor study was conducted using online research panels between 3 and 11 September 2026, with 1,003 New Zealanders aged 18 and older. The results have a credibility interval of +/-3.5 percentage points.