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Opposition National Takes Lead in New Zealand
(Angus Reid Global Scan) - The opposition National party is now the top political organization in New Zealand, according to a poll by TNS released by TV3. 41 per cent of respondents would vote for National in next month's general election.
The governing Labour party is in second place with 39 per cent, followed by New Zealand First and the Greens both with six per cent. Less than two per cent of respondents would vote for United Future, the Maori Party, ACT, Destiny NZ, the Progressives and Christian Heritage. Support for National increased by four points in nine days, while backing for Labour fell by two points.
On Jul. 25, prime minister and Labour leader Helen Clark announced that the election to renew the House of Representatives would take place on Sept. 17. Clark has acted as New Zealand's prime minister since December 1999. In the 2002 ballot, her Labour party elected 52 lawmakers to the 120-seat legislative branch. Don Brash became the leader of the National party in October 2003.
The poll suggests National could elect 51 lawmakers, followed by Labour with 48 legislators. The Greens have already pledged to support Labour in a post-election coalition.
On Aug. 29, Brash outlined his party's Maori-related policies, declaring, "National will treat all New Zealanders as equal before the law. We are one country, with many peoples, not two peoples living in some form of partnership. We want a situation where government agencies care for every New Zealander, be they Maori or non-Maori, rich or poor."
Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples criticized Brash, saying, "The (Treaty of Waitangi) was written by 150,000 Maori and 2,000 Pakeha, prescribing a formula for living together, and prescribing a set of rights by which Europeans can settle in this country. Why suddenly are they turning it around now that the Pakeha numbers are larger, and does that mean, if we get rid of the treaty, get rid of the settling rights of the European settlers that came here as well?"
The Maori Party has ruled out working with National after the election.
Polling Data
If a general election were held today, what party would you support?
Aug. 30 | Aug. 21 | Jul. 2005 | |
National | 41% | 37% | 39% |
Labour | 39% | 41% | 39% |
New Zealand First | 6% | 8% | 7% |
Greens | 6% | 7% | 6% |
United Future | 1.7% | 2.1% | 1.4% |
Maori Party | 1.7% | 1.8% | 2.2% |
ACT | 1.4% | 1.4% | 1.6% |
Destiny NZ | 0.9% | 0.5% | 0.6% |
Progressive | 0.8% | 0.3% | 0.4% |
Christian Heritage | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.4% |
Source: TNS / TV3
Methodology: Telephone interviews to 1,000 New Zealand voters, conducted from Aug. 25 to Aug. 30, 2005. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.