Labour, National downplay tepid results in 1News Verian poll

Labour and National's deputy leaders are brushing off a poll which showed uninspiring results for the two major parties.

The latest 1News Verian poll has Labour down 5 points on 32 percent, and National down 1 point to 29 percent.

The results point to the major parties' lowest level of support since the first MMP election in 1996 and its lowest under leader Christopher Luxon in the Verian poll.

The poll would put the left bloc in power, with a combined 64 seats to the coalition's 60.

Labour's deputy leader Carmel Sepuloni and National's deputy leader Nicola Willis joined Morning Report to discuss the results.

Despite Labour's drop, Sepuloni said there was still a mood to change the government.

"I think what's important is to focus on the election day, but also when you're looking at the polls, noticing the trends, looking for any consistencies, this one's a bit different for Labour, and so we look forward to what may come in the coming weeks," she said.

"But what is certainly consistent is that National is featuring in the high twenties, and that has been over multiple polls over a number of weeks."

Sepuloni indicated the results were different to other polls which showed Labour in a more favourable light.

"This is inconsistent with every other poll that we've been seeing in recent weeks, and trends are important. The feedback that we're getting when we're out and about is overwhelmingly positive."

Counting on KiwiSaver

While the poll did not provide a post-Budget boost for National, Willis said it also did not take into account National's KiwiSaver announcement from the weekend, which she said had had a great reception.

"I think what that tells me is that New Zealanders are looking to political parties for big ideas that address New Zealand's long-term challenges. People have been through a tough few years. There's no question about that. The question now is, how we rise to the challenges of the future and give people hope about what that looks like," she said.

Willis said there was "no question" National needed to grow its party vote.

"Now is the time where we get to say, here is a National Party, our ideas for the future. Now, we've been governing in a three-way coalition, and we have been delivering on the commitments within that coalition," she said.

"Now, as we get closer to the election, we get to say, well, here's National's views, here's our plans, here's our policies, and here's how they'll make you better off, and how they'll make our country better off."

At the weekend, National's campaign chairperson Simeon Brown likened National's coalition partners New Zealand First and ACT to children, with National acting as parents to "keep the peace".

New Zealand First was up 1 point in the poll to 11 percent, while ACT was down 1 point to 6 percent.

Willis said the three parties in the coalition had provided "strong, stable government," but National would make the case that it could provide more strength and deliver more of its policies if it had more ministers around the Cabinet table.

"It's our job to remind voters that if you vote for one of those other parties, and you dilute our vote, we'll have less persuasion around the Cabinet table, less persuasion in Parliament."

In response, Sepuloni said she could not recall any of Labour's senior members "speaking ill" of its coalition partners in that kind of way.

Asked if Labour could work with TOP, Sepuloni said Labour was not going to rule parties in or out until closer to the election.

"The one that we have ruled out, obviously, is National. We're focused on taking our proposition to the general public and trying to win the support of as many New Zealanders as we possibly can."