Chris Hipkins has also taken the lead as preferred prime minister, though support for the leaders of the two major parties remains muted.
The poll was taken between October 1 and 5.
Labour is down 2.6 percentage points on 31.2 percent, while National is down 3.5 points to 29.6 percent.
The Greens are on 12 percent, New Zealand first is on 10.6 percent, ACT is on 6.6 percent, and Te Pāti Māori on 4.4 percent.
With 61 seats, and on the proviso Te Pāti Māori retains six Māori electorates, the centre-left bloc could form a government.
Taxpayers' Union spokesperson James Ross said Treasury's fiscal forecasts shone both Labour and National in "terrible lights," with a combined 6.1 percent drop for the major parties.
"Cost of living and the economy are still voters' major concerns. With the finest of margins between the left and right blocs, tackling these will be key as we head into election year," he said.
Party vote
- Labour 31.2 percent, down 2.6 percentage points
- National 29.6 percent, down 3.5
- Greens 12 percent, up 1.3
- NZ First 10.6 percent, up 2.5
- Act 6.6 percent, down 0.1
- Te Pāti Māori 4.4 percent, up 0.1
Among the minor parties, Freedoms NZ is on 2.3 percent (up 1.5 percentage points), TOP is on 1.6 percent (up 0.5), NZ Loyal on 1.0 percent (up 1.0 point), and Vision NZ is on 0.6 percent (up 0.6).
Seats in the House
- Labour 40 (down 2 seats)
- National 38 (down 4)
- Greens 15 (up 2)
- NZ First 13 (up 3)
- Act 8 (unchanged)
- Te Pāti Māori 6 (unchanged)
This would give the left bloc 61 seats, and the right bloc 59. The poll assumes Te Pāti Māori retains its six electorate seats.
Preferred prime minister
- Chris Hipkins 20.9 percent (up 3.2 percentage points)
- Christopher Luxon 19.8 percent (down 1.9)
- Winston Peters 9.9 percent (down 1.0)
- Chlöe Swarbrick 6.3 percent (down 2.5)
- David Seymour 4.0 percent (up 0.3)
Asked for their top issue, 26.4 percent said the cost of living, following by the economy more generally on 17.4 percent.
Health followed on 10.3 percent, followed by employment on 5.1 percent and poverty on 4.1 percent.
The poll was conducted by Curia Market Research Ltd for the Taxpayers' Union. It is a random poll of 1000 adult New Zealanders (700 by phone and 300 online) and is weighted to the overall adult population.
It was conducted by phone (landlines and mobile) and online, has a maximum margin of error of +/- 3.1 percent.13.9 percent were undecided on the party vote question, and 2.5 percent refused the vote question.
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.
