The mood among voters has been divisive across the country in the lead-up to the general election next year.
It comes after the results of a 1News Kantar Public Poll, released last night, revealed that the major political parties are neck and neck.
Some locals in Martinborough, in the Wairarapa, were satisfied with how the current Labour Government were performing.
“I think they handled the Covid situation really well and kept us all pretty safe,” one woman told 1News.
“Yeah, it’s alright,” one man added.
However, others had some serious gripes.
“Appalling,” one man said. “I feel like I’m living in a gulag. We’ve been dictated by Comrade Ardern.”
“Appallingly. Absolutely appallingly,” another added. “The way the health system is, the way the roading system is, homelessness, child poverty – need I go on?”
There were similar vibes in the nearby town of Carterton, with one farmer criticising the current Government for “crucifying businesses”.
“This Three Waters is not going to do us any favours,” he added.
But it wasn’t all one-way traffic.
“If National had got back in, we would be in deep sh** at the moment, right from the time of Covid,” one man said.
In Hawke’s Bay, one man said he believes there’s a “bit of a groundswell for change in the regions in general”.
Another man said he believed the country “has lost its way, largely because of a Government that seems out of its depth”.
It was also a mixed bag further south, in Dunedin.
“Getting hot under the collar about it,” one woman said. “Guess who we won’t be voting for?”
“We want to stay the same and they’re doing pretty well,” one man added.
One woman said the Government is “printing money like it’s going out of fashion”.
“Someone’s got to give – not much is happening,” she said. “It’s just going backwards.”
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