Voters appear to be unconvinced by how Christopher Luxon is handling the job of prime minister, according to the new 1News Verian poll.
In the poll, Luxon attracted an approval rating of -5, while his opponent, Labour leader Chris Hipkins, got an overall positive approval rating of 13.
It's not plain sailing for Hipkins however - despite a positive approval rating, Luxon remains ahead in the preferred prime minister stakes.
The poll asked 1002 eligible voters whether they approved or disapproved of the way Luxon was handling the top job.
Those who approved was 40%, while 45% disapproved, and 15% didn't know or preferred not to say.
The poll also asked if they approved or disapproved of the way Chris Hipkins was handling his job as leader of the Labour Party.
For Hipkins, 47% approved, 34% disapproved, and 20% didn't know or preferred not to say.
The approval rating is calculated by subtracting the disapproves from the approves.
The last time the poll question was asked - in September - then Prime Minister Hipkins was on -1, while Luxon - then Leader of the Opposition - was on nine.
Groups more likely to back the PM included National Party supporters at 83%.
Labour Party supporters were not as sure of Hipkins as National Party supporters were of Christopher Luxon, though - 78% of Labour Party supporters approve of how Hipkins is doing his job.
'Humility' difference from Luxon - Hipkins
1News asked MPs on Wednesday morning who they thought was doing a better job and why. Views, unsurprisingly, split on party lines.
Labour list MP Shanan Halbert said Luxon wasn't resonating with voters because he wasn't "real".
"The public is really starting to see that. He's broken promises and people hoped for change but that's not what they've seen from this Government.
"He's called people C-listers, we want to feel confident in being New Zealand, we are proud of New Zealanders and we want a prime minister [who] is proud of us too."
Halbert said Hipkins was "approachable" and "stable". When asked to describe Luxon, he said "C-lister" - a reference to a comment Luxon made about previous NZ business delegates during a recent trip to Japan.
Labour's Jan Tinetti said Hipkins had worked on his ability to chat to members of the public in casual settings.
However, Housing Minister Chris Bishop said Luxon was "doing a fantastic job" and was a wonderful prime minister.
Asked how he would describe Chris Hipkins, Transport Minister Simeon Brown said "weak".
It was the same word used by Labour's Reuben Davidson to describe Luxon, while describing Hipkins as "strong".
ACT's Mark Cameron said both were "good blokes".
Christopher Luxon said he was "not too worried" about polls and was focused on "getting things turned around and sorted in this country".
Chris Hipkins said it was "early days" and the leader of the opposition got "a little bit less profile" than prime ministers did.
He said Labour had an "important" job to remind New Zealanders that there were alternatives to the current Government as well as holding the Government to account.
"I'm not going to be opposing things for the sake of opposing them, I'll be positive and constructive where there are opportunities to do that."
Comparing himself to Luxon, Hipkins said he liked to think he brought "some humility to the job" and an ability to listen - something he said was especially important after losing an election.
Word on the street
In Petone on Wednesday, not all voters 1News spoke to were enamoured with Hipkins.
One small business owner said Luxon's focus seemed to be more about helping out people like her.
"[Luxon] speaks to the point and he's not permanently complaining and criticising the Opposition."
She said being "more proactive" and saying what he could do to improve things would help Hipkins' likeability.
However, another person said Hipkins was "really personable" and "straight to the point".
"I definitely think Chris Hipkins is doing his job better."
One man said Hipkins had "made a mess of the country, put it into the crap".
Luxon had "had to clean it up" and was "doing quite well".
"He'll be there for quite a while, because Labour's mainly dead now," he said.
Between June 15 and 19 2024, 1002 eligible voters were polled by mobile phone (502) and online, using online panels (500). The maximum sampling error is approximately ±3.1%-points at the 95% confidence level. Party support percentages have been rounded up or down to whole numbers, except those less than 4.5%, which are reported to one decimal place. The data has been weighted to align with Stats NZ population counts for age, gender, region, ethnic identification and education level. The sample for mobile phones is selected by random dialling using probability sampling, and the online sample is collected using an online panel. Undecided voters, non-voters and those who refused to answer are excluded from the data on party support. The results are a snapshot in time of party support, and not a prediction.
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