Labour incumbent Rino Tirikatene is leading our latest Curia market research poll. On Sunday, October 4 and Monday, October 5, Curia Research polled 500 people in Te Tai Tonga and 37% of those said that, if the general election were held today, they would vote for Tirikatene.
The Māori Party's Tākuta Ferris received the next highest figure, with 11% of the vote and the Greens' Ariana Paretutanganui-Tamati got 2%. But with 25% of people still unsure of their preferred candidate, it could be a close race.
While the preferred candidate race may be close, the preferred party for Te Tai Tonga is looking like a cleaner shorn sheep. A clear 53% of respondents said they intended to party vote Labour, while 16% opted for National, 5% for the Māori Party, 5% Greens, 2% NZ First and 2% ACT.
Only 10% were undecided and 6% refused to say.
The Greens look to be the preferred coalition partner if Labour were to win the general election with 46%. But the Māori Party got a respectable 23%, NZ First got 21% and National was favoured by only 6%.
The economy seems to be the biggest issue that has Tai Tonga voters concerned, with 20% of people agreeing.
15% of respondents say that someone in their household has lost their job due to Covid-19.
51% of respondents say they will vote for the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill and 38% against with 11% undecided.
Some 60% of respondents say they will vote for the End of Life Choice Act and 22% against with 18% undecided.
Polls were conducted by Curia Market Research from Sunday, October 4 to Monday, October 5. A total of 500 voters were canvassed. Polling was by landline and mobile, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4%.