Labour is seen as the political party most capable of handling all of the top five issues facing New Zealanders, including the economy, the July Ipsos NZ Issues Monitor found.
Inflation/cost of living is the top issue for the survey, at 62%, followed by healthcare/hospitals at 38%, the economy at 34%, housing/price of housing at 22%, followed by unemployment at 20%.
While National, in the February result, came in as equally capable at handling the economy as Labour, May's survey saw it perceived as the most capable at handling the economy.
However by July, it had slipped out of that position, with Labour seen as most capable at all five issues including the economy.
Those polled rated the Government's performance as a 4.1 out of 10. Twenty-four per cent rated the performance between 7-10 out of 10, and 42% rated it between 0-3 out of 10.
In May, Government performance was steady from the February 2026 results, coming in at 4.2 out of 10. Those scoring the Government more positively (between 7-10 out of 10) was also steady at 27%. Forty per cent rated the Government between a 0-4 out of 10.
Market research company Ipsos polled 1002 respondents via online panels in July, with the results weighted by age, gender and region.
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