The Labour Party says this year's election will define the country for years to come, as the party gears up for the campaign ahead.
By Giles Dexter of RNZ
Labour is holding its two-day annual conference - called a congress in election years - in Wellington.
While a recent poll puts Labour ahead of National and the left bloc ahead of the coalition, polling was not mentioned at all on Saturday morning.
Instead, the focus was on rallying the membership, preparing them for the campaign and telling them what was "at stake" at the election.
With four and a half months to go until polling day, deputy leader Carmel Sepuloni and finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said this year's election would "define the country for years to come".
Edmonds, who was battling through sickness, told members the election would be a choice between two futures.
"A country that cuts or a country that grows. A country that sells what it owns or a country that backs what it could become. A country that watches its young people leave or a country worth staying in and worth coming home to."
Wellington's inclement weather proved a slight spanner in the works for the gathering. Flight cancellations and road closures meant around 150 people were not able to make the event, instead having to watch online.
Party president Jill Day told those who did manage to make it that simply getting to the conference deserved a round of applause.
Sepuloni, meanwhile, riffed that "the only thing that can be broken faster than this National government's election promises is my umbrella".
'What is your why?'
In her welcome speech, Day said members were asked ahead of the conference "what is your why?"
She had received lots of different responses from members, she said, and what had emerged was a collective "why".
"Our why is the belief that we rise or fall together. Our why is the belief that a child's future should not be determined by the circumstances of their birth," she said.
"Our why is the belief that hard work should be rewarded, and our why is the belief that Aotearoa New Zealand is strongest when we look after one another."
Day told members the election would not be won on who had the best values but on how those values were talked about in communities and when knocking on doors.
"Let us campaign with courage, let us campaign with kindness, let us campaign with hope, and let us campaign to win. We must win."
'I'll make the numbers add up' - Edmonds
While Day's speech was heavy on Labour and its values, Sepuloni spent a fair chunk of hers talking about the government.
"The Government are taking us down a track where the country we have always known and loved is becoming unrecognisable. This is what is at stake at this year's election. New Zealanders deserve better."
The cost of living was the No. 1 issue being raised with Labour when candidates were out and about, with many people feeling left behind, she said.
She also challenged the Government on its overhaul of pay equity.
"I've got four words for National and they are 'Not on our watch'."
But Sepuloni gave no indication of how the party planned to pay for the reinstatement of the former regime.
Treasury has costed the savings from changing the pay equity legislation at $12.8 billion over four years, although leader Chris Hipkins has frequently rejected such a price tag.
Edmonds also did not speak of any specific costings for policies.
At National's conference last week, finance minister Nicola Willis accused Labour of a "hidden bill" and of "unfunded promises."
But Edmonds insisted she would make everything add up.
"We will manage the books carefully. Every dollar will be treated for what it is: your money, hard earned," she said.
"I'll make the numbers add up, I assure you of that. Not just on a spreadsheet but in every home around this country."
Edmonds accused the government of trying to cut its way to growth.
"When you cut a job, you cut a wage. You cut a wage, you cut a grocery shop. When you cut a grocery shop, you cut the corner dairy, the local bakery, the cafe down the road."
Chris Hipkins did not address members on Saturday, and speeches by Labour campaign chair Kieran McAnulty and Māori campaign chair Willie Jackson were closed to media.
The party did not announce any new policy on Saturday either, although Hipkins is set to make an announcement during his speech on Sunday afternoon.
Labour's polling is relatively stable in the early to mid-30s.
The party did suffer a five-point slump in this week's 1 News Verian poll, dropping to 32%.
However, in that poll Labour was still ahead of National, and the left bloc would have the numbers to form a government.
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