The second Whakaata Māori - Curia poll of Māori voters enrolled on the general and Māori rolls recorded Labour on 34 per cent party-vote support, followed by the Green Party on 18 per cent. Support was closely grouped for NZ First, Te Pāti Māori and National, which recorded 9, 8 and 7 per cent respectively. Opportunity (TOP) recorded 4 per cent, ACT and NZ Loyal each recorded 3 per cent. These figures include unsure and refused responses.

Chris Hipkins recorded the highest preferred Prime Minister support at 26 per cent. Winston Peters and Chlöe Swarbrick each recorded 11 per cent, followed by Christopher Luxon on 7 per cent and Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke on 6 per cent.

Rawiri Waititi, Marama Davidson and Kieran McAnulty each recorded 4 per cent support. Qiulae Wong was on 3 per cent while Willie Jackson, David Seymour, Tama Potaka and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer were all on 2 per cent.

Eighty-four per cent of respondents said it is important or very important that laws comply with Te Tiriti o Waitangi, including 54 per cent who said it is very important. Eleven per cent say it is not very important and 5 per cent were unsure.

Forty-eight per cent of respondents named cost of living as the most important election issue for themselves and their whānau. Health and housing affordability each recorded 8 per cent, followed by Te Tiriti o Waitangi on 7 per cent and climate and environment on 6 per cent. Mental health and addiction and education each recorded 5 per cent. Creating more jobs recorded 4 per cent and law and order 3 per cent. Four per cent identified another issue and 1 per cent were unsure.

Fifty per cent of respondents rated the current Government’s economic management as poor or terrible, compared with 21 per cent who rated it good or excellent. Twenty-six per cent rated it average and 2 per cent were unsure.

The poll found strong support for Māori representation, with 74 per cent of respondents backing permanent Māori electorate seats and 78 per cent concerned about central government decisions reducing Māori and iwi participation in local government.

Fifty per cent of respondents thought racial division in New Zealand had become worse since 2023. Twenty-eight per cent thought there had been no change, 16 per cent thought it had become better and 6 per cent were unsure.

Asked whether the Government should give higher priority to protecting the environment or growing the economy, 46 per cent said both were equally important. Twenty-nine per cent prioritised protecting the environment even if it came with some economic costs, while 20 per cent prioritised growing the economy even if it meant some environmental trade-offs. Five per cent were unsure.

Other findings from the poll included:

• Fifty-six per cent of respondents say “by Māori, for Māori” policies should always exist as a right under Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Twenty-two per cent say they should only exist where Māori have a clear need and 12 per cent say they should never exist. Ten per cent were unsure.

• The leading concerns for respondents’ tamariki and mokopuna were mental health and wellbeing on 23 per cent, the rising gap between the haves and have-nots on 20 per cent, and access to culture and te reo Māori on 17 per cent. Fifteen per cent selected the impact of AI and technology, while 11 per cent selected the climate crisis.

Analysis and commentary on the poll will feature on The Māori Leaders’ Debate moderated by Moana Maniapoto and broadcast live on Whakaata Māori and MĀORI+ at 7.00 pm on 28 October. It will also stream on the Te Ao Māori News app and its Facebook and YouTube channels.

The Whakaata Māori–Curia poll surveyed 613 Māori aged 18 and over enrolled on the Māori or general electoral rolls between 15 and 22 October 2026. Results were rake weighted by gender, age, area and electoral roll. For a simple random sample of 613 respondents, the approximate maximum margin of error is ±4.0 percentage points at the 95 per cent confidence level. Subgroup results have higher margins of error. Percentages and combined results are rounded independently and may not total 100 per cent.

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