The latest 1 NEWS Colmar Brunton poll shows National is failing to close the gap on Labour with just over a week to go until election day.
Last night’s poll saw Labour holding steady on 47 per cent support while National dipped slightly to 32 per cent.
Those numbers mean Labour would still need to form a coalition to get into government.
Their most likely coalition partner, the Green Party, fell 1 per cent in last night’s poll, down to 6 per cent.
There was some movement in the other minor parties, too, while ACT remained steady on 8 per cent support. That would translate to 11 seats in parliament – although leader David Seymour was struggling to remember who those potential MPs would be yesterday.
1 NEWS political reporter Maiki Sherman says without much change over the last two polls, it may be that voters are now settling into the result the country can expect come election night.
Stuff reports close to a fifth of the likely total vote have already cast their ballots ahead of October 17.
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Minor parties trade barbs
An hour after last night’s poll results were released, TVNZ’s Multi-Party Debate saw the minor party leaders quarrelling over housing, the Covid-19 response and New Zealand's dependence on China .
Views on vaccines, New Zealand becoming a republic and the funding of private schools were also pulled during the fast-paced debate.
The Greens’ James Shaw told Advance NZ’s Jami-Lee Ross at one point not to believe everything he reads on the internet , while ACT’s David Seymour was accused of swiping a line from NZ First’s Winston Peters.
The debate also saw Jami-Lee Ross confidently predicting his party’s entry into parliament, saying his co-leader Billy Te Kahika is “on track to win Te Tai Tokerau”. A Māori Television-Curia Research poll of that electorate last night saw Te Kahika on 1 per cent support .
Peters dodges questions
Before Winston Peters took his spot at the podium in last night’s debate, he spent the day campaigning on Waiheke Island and doing his best to avoid talking about charges related to the New Zealand First Foundation.
One of two men appeared in court over those charges yesterday, but Peters rebuffed any questions about it.
NZ First tried to block the Serious Fraud Office from making the charges public two weeks ago.
The man who appeared in court yesterday is not a current minister, sitting MP, candidate or party member, however media outlets are challenging his name suppression.
Fly steals show at US debate
It was also debate time in the US yesterday with vice-presidential candidates Mike Pence and Kamala Harris going head to head.
The two clashed over the Trump administration’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic but it remained a mostly civil affair.
And without the fireworks that were seen during Donald Trump and Joe Biden’s debate, it fell to a rogue fly to make the headlines as it took up residence on Pence’s head for an extended part of the debate.
Meanwhile, the commission organising the next presidential debate says it will need to take place remotely – however Trump says he has no interest in taking part .
How to protect health workers?
A new Ministry of Health report has found nearly 170 healthcare and support workers contracted Covid-19 during New Zealand’s first outbreak.
More than half of those were likely to have been infected at work, with 17 health workers also likely passing the virus on to patients .
Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield says improvements need to be made in this area, especially considering most of the infections happened in an aged residential care setting.
The full report can be found here .
Other news of note this morning:
- Newsroom reports early trials of the CovidCard show the technology struggles in environments with lots of people, like cafes and parties.
- The last major business confidence survey before the election shows businesses are optimistic about the future for the first time since the pandemic began.
- Ashburton WINZ double-killer Russell Tully is representing himself in the Court of Appeal in Christchurch, as he argues against his conviction and sentence.
- More than 100 farmers and their tractors have taken to the streets of Southland , protesting new rules around freshwater and winter grazing.
- Jacinda Ardern has acknowledged Labour contacts supporters and asks them to show up for campaign events , after National's seemingly staged Auckland walkabout hit the headlines this week.
- The All Blacks will no longer have to spend Christmas in quarantine after the Rugby Championship draw was revised .
- And pop star Lorde has teased the release of new music as she encourages New Zealanders to get out and vote.
And finally...
Kiwis will be able to enjoy music from international acts this summer.
Greenstone Entertainment, which stages the Winery Tours, has been granted 29 border exceptions and will now be conducting concerts during the warmer months.
And the entertainment possibilities don’t stop there – the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has confirmed it’s also approved border exception requests for Live Nation, the Royal NZ Ballet, the NZ Symphony Orchestra, and the Auckland Philharmonia Trust.
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