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Evidence · NZ Election 2026

Every question, every answer, every source

Everything the study collected, as it was collected on 5 October 2026. Read any answer in full, or download the tables behind every figure in the study.

questions
174
voters the questions were written as
32
answers collected, of 820 planned
815
answers compared like for like
800
pairs of national and town answers
124
answers with sources recorded
774
answers that showed a link
304

01

Every question, with its answers

Each question was written as a voter would ask it and went to all four assistants. Some were also asked from a town. Open a question to read every answer to it in full.

Showing 20 of 174 questions

Show all 174

02

The tables behind the study

Every figure on the study page comes from these tables. They are CSV files, which open in any spreadsheet.

  • Questions

    nz-election-2026-questions.csv

    One row per question.

    Question id, report reference, question, voter, issue, towns it was also asked from, answers per assistant

    174rows

    Download questions (CSV)

  • Answers

    nz-election-2026-answers.csv

    One row per answer, with its full text.

    Answer id, question id, assistant, town, words, parties named, showed a link, websites recorded as sources, compared like for like, full text

    815rows

    Download answers (CSV)

  • Sources by answer

    nz-election-2026-sources.csv

    One row for each website recorded as a source of an answer.

    Answer id, question id, assistant, town, website, publisher type

    4,216rows

    Download sources by answer (CSV)

  • Checks against official sources

    nz-election-2026-checks.csv

    One row per statement checked.

    Check, answer id, assistant, what the answer said, verdict, what the source says, source, date

    17rows

    Download checks against official sources (CSV)

  • Who to vote for: coding

    nz-election-2026-guidance.csv

    One row per answer to the eight questions that asked who to vote for.

    Answer id, question id, assistant, what the answer did, the words that show it

    32rows

    Download who to vote for: coding (CSV)

  • Location and national answers

    nz-election-2026-towns.csv

    One row per question asked both nationally and from a location, for each assistant.

    Question, town, assistant, both answer ids, parties named nationally and from the town, same parties

    124rows

    Download location and national answers (CSV)

Use these tables to trace findings back to the original questions and answers. The full text of each answer is also on this page, under its question.

03

Read in full and checked

Some answers were read in detail or checked against official sources. Those appear on the study page, beside the findings they support.

ChatGPT · No location

I run a small manufacturing business that exports and employs staff. We are considering new equipment but worry about demand, freight costs and finding skilled workers. I am considering my vote in the 2026 New Zealand general election. Which parties address freight, ports and transport infrastructure in their plans for business?

For a manufacturing exporter, the useful distinction is between parties that have specific freight/port infrastructure proposals and those whose transport policies are broader. I checked the parties’ current 2026 election material, including policies published very recently. The election is scheduled for 7 November 2026. New Zealand Parliament dissolved ahead of tight November vote

What the main parties are proposing

Party Freight / roads Ports / shipping Relevance to an exporter
National Major road programme, including Roads of National Significance; substantial rail maintenance; long-term transport pipeline and infrastructure planning. Transport pipeline provides certainty | National Party Explicitly addressing port resilience and coastal shipping; funding a national digital platform to coordinate port operations and vessel/berthing information. Building the future of coastal shipping resilience | National Party Strong emphasis on physical freight connections and reducing congestion around major routes.
ACT Wants roads built ahead of growth, protected maintenance funding, lower-cost project designs and clearer cost/benefit tests. It explicitly says getting freight moving is an objective. ACT New Zealand I found much less port-specific policy than National or NZ First. Particularly relevant if your concern is road freight reliability, congestion and infrastructure delivery/value for money.
Labour Says transport investment should continue while freezing fuel tax for three years; its infrastructure agenda includes modern, resilient infrastructure connecting regions. Labour's Fiscal Plan 2026 - NZ Labour I found less specific 2026 port policy than National/NZ First. More emphasis on broader infrastructure and public transport, alongside measures aimed directly at small-business investment and skills.
NZ First Particularly explicit about regional freight links. Its Marsden Point Special Economic Zone proposal includes Northport, a dry dock, the Northland Expressway and the Marsden Point rail link. It has also backed moving more Auckland cargo activity toward Northport. Policy Announcement: Marsden Point Special Economic Zone - New Zealand First Potentially significant if your business uses northern ports or is affected by Auckland/Northland logistics.
Greens Transport policy concentrates much more heavily on public and passenger transport, including intercity rail and mass rapid transit. Green Party launches the transport plan to combat fossil fuel crisis - Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand I found comparatively little port/freight-specific 2026 policy. Their transport proposals could affect congestion and workforce mobility, but ports and export logistics aren't as prominent in the published programme I found.

The differences that may matter to your business

1. If freight cost and reliability are your biggest concern:
National's programme is unusually explicit about the freight network. Its 2026 programme includes major state-highway projects, rail investment and resilience work. Budget 2026 allocated $1.075 billion to the national rail network and $400 million for state-highway resilience. Budget 2026: transport initiatives | Ministry of Transport National also says its transport programme is intended to move freight more efficiently and has highlighted connections to ports specifically. Transport pipeline provides certainty | National Party

2. If you're particularly concerned about ports and shipping:
There are two notably specific approaches.

That distinction could be important depending on which port your exports actually leave from.

3. If you're deciding whether to buy new equipment:
Transport policy isn't the whole story. Labour has a particularly direct small-business investment proposal: businesses with revenue below $10 million would be able to immediately write off up to $10,000 of new equipment, from July 2027. Labour's Small Business Action Plan

Labour also proposes expanding Apprenticeship Boost, with employer payments extended to two years and additional support for apprentices. Labour's Apprenticeship Boost Expansion

Its Future Fund proposal also specifically includes infrastructure, productive industries, technology adoption and skills. Labour's New Zealand Future Fund

One important caveat

Transport funding itself is under pressure. NZTA's 2026 long-term assessment says traditional funding sources such as fuel excise and road-user charges aren't keeping pace with the rising cost of maintaining and improving infrastructure, while freight demand is becoming more complex. Arataki National Direction – June 2026

So for your situation I'd look beyond headline promises and ask each party four concrete questions:

  1. Which roads, rail links and ports will actually receive funding, and when?
  2. How will the projects be paid for—fuel taxes, road-user charges, tolls, general taxation or borrowing?
  3. What is the policy for port competition and port investment?
  4. What will they do about skilled-worker shortages in manufacturing—apprenticeships, immigration, training and employer incentives?

The last point is particularly relevant because transport infrastructure can lower your freight costs but won't solve a shortage of machinists, engineers, welders or other skilled staff by itself.

If you tell me which region/port you export through (e.g. Auckland, Tauranga, Napier, Lyttelton, Otago), I can make this much more useful by comparing the 2026 parties' specific projects affecting your supply chain, plus their policies on skilled workers and business investment/equipment.

Ask anything

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Gemini · No location

I run a small manufacturing business that exports and employs staff. We are considering new equipment but worry about demand, freight costs and finding skilled workers. I am considering my vote in the 2026 New Zealand general election. Which parties address freight, ports and transport infrastructure in their plans for business?

As a small manufacturing and exporting business owner navigating concerns around demand, freight costs, and skilled labor, your vote in the 2026 general election intersects heavily with how political parties plan to tackle New Zealand's supply chain, infrastructure, and economic growth.

Major political parties approach freight, ports, and transport infrastructure through distinct economic lenses:

1. National Party

  • Core Focus: Building resilient state highways, long-term infrastructure pipelines, and leveraging private capital.
  • Relevance to Your Business: National emphasizes economic management through a phased delivery of roads of national significance, state highway resilience, and regional road networks to reduce freight bottlenecks. They support funding models like electronic road-user charges (RUC), tolling, time-of-use charging, and public-private partnerships (PPPs) to fast-track infrastructure. For exporters, their broader business framework also incorporates tax incentives (such as the Investment Boost scheme) aimed at encouraging business capital investment and modernization.

2. New Zealand First

  • Core Focus: Connecting regional manufacturing, ports, and exports through integrated state-led infrastructure.
  • Relevance to Your Business: NZ First strongly links transport, ports, and energy security directly to manufacturing and export growth. Their policy platform features heavy rail-network investment (track maintenance, freight reliability), coastal shipping development, and strategic regional projects (such as linking road and rail infrastructure to ports like Northport and Marsden Point, alongside proposals for local dry docks and special economic zones). They emphasize public control of strategic infrastructure and lowering reliance on vulnerable overseas supply chains.

3. ACT Party

  • Core Focus: User-pays principles, infrastructure discipline, and regulatory competition.
  • Relevance to Your Business: ACT advocates that infrastructure should respond directly to commercial demand and that direct users/beneficiaries should fund its costs. They support electronic RUC, tolling, and greater use of private capital to build and maintain transport corridors. Their approach prioritizes market competition, reducing compliance costs for businesses, and cost-efficiency in public spending.

4. Labour Party & Green Party

  • Core Focus: Integrated multimodal transport networks, lower household/commuter transport costs, and public transit.
  • Relevance to Your Business: While Labour and the Greens place substantial emphasis on public transport, urban decarbonization, and nationwide rapid rail options (including freight rail capacity for the Greens), their broader economic policies lean heavily into workforce training, industry transitions, and regional support. However, their primary transport funding and focus often skew more toward passenger transit and emissions reduction than heavy commercial freight corridors, compared to center-right alternatives.

Key Considerations for Your Business

When evaluating these platforms against your specific worries:

  • Freight Costs & Infrastructure: If you want accelerated roading, tolling structures, and private investment to clear supply chain bottlenecks, parties like National and ACT heavily feature those mechanisms. If you prefer state-backed rail expansion, coastal shipping, and regional port-industrial integration, New Zealand First places that at the center of its agenda.
  • Skills & Demand: Infrastructure development ties directly into regional manufacturing confidence, but you will also want to cross-reference how each party plans to address vocational training and immigration settings to alleviate skilled labor shortages in manufacturing.

Are you leaning toward a specific approach for funding these infrastructure upgrades, such as private-public partnerships versus direct government spending?

Ask Gemini

Gemini is AI and can make mistakes.

Captured 5 October 2026 · shown as Gemini gave it, not a verified account

Google AI Mode · No location

I run a small manufacturing business that exports and employs staff. We are considering new equipment but worry about demand, freight costs and finding skilled workers. I am considering my vote in the 2026 New Zealand general election. Which parties address freight, ports and transport infrastructure in their plans for business?

As a small manufacturing exporter balancing equipment investment, freight costs, workforce shortages, and supply chain reliability, your considerations align heavily with the core priorities raised by industry groups like Transporting New Zealand in their 2026 Election Platform.

While specific, granular party manifestos continue to roll out across platforms like Policy.nz, the major political parties approach business infrastructure, transport networks, and workforce concerns through distinct lenses:

1. National and Right-Leaning Parties (Focus on Roads and Economic Growth)

  • Core Approach: Generally prioritize heavy investment in national roading networks, reducing congestion, and securing resilient supply chains (such as freight connectivity across the Cook Strait and key highway arterials).

  • Business & Freight Relevance: Their transport funding mechanisms typically focus heavily on core road infrastructure to lower transit times for goods moving to ports. They emphasize economic productivity, reducing regulatory friction for business, and boosting certainty through long-term infrastructure pipelines.

  • Workforce: Tend to favor employer-driven immigration settings and streamlined training pathways to address specific skill shortages in manufacturing and logistics.

2. Labour and Left-Leaning Parties (Focus on Rail, Regional Resilience, and Public/Integrated Transport)

  • Core Approach: Emphasize a more balanced multimodal freight approach—investing in both coastal shipping and rail corridors alongside roads to decarbonise supply chains and reduce long-term wear-and-tear on highway networks.

  • Business & Freight Relevance: Focus on regional supply chain connectivity, public transport affordability for workers, and sustainable infrastructure planning. For exporters, their policies often look at lower-emission freight incentives and long-term public asset resilience.

  • Workforce: Generally place stronger emphasis on domestic workforce upskilling, industry training partnerships, vocational education funding, and strengthening workplace relations/fair pay agreements rather than relying heavily on immigration for labor gaps.

3. The Green Party (Focus on Low-Emission Logistics and Public Infrastructure)

  • Core Approach: Heavily prioritize rail and public transport infrastructure over new highway expansions, proposing rapid decarbonisation targets for the entire logistics sector.

  • Business & Freight Relevance: Freight policies lean toward shifting bulk freight from road to rail where possible, alongside incentives for fleet electrification. While this reduces long-term carbon profiles for exporters meeting international green standards, upfront adjustments for road-dependent manufacturers can involve targeted transition costs.

  • Workforce: Focus on robust investment in vocational training, green-collar job transitions, and domestic workforce development.

Key Questions to Ask the Parties for Your Business:

As you evaluate your party vote, you can look directly at each party's detailed regional and transport manifestos on Policy.nz regarding:

  1. Maintenance vs. New Projects: Do they commit to prioritizing everyday road and freight corridor resilience (potholes, regional freight connectors) over flashy new builds?
  2. Supply Chain Shock Resilience: What are their tangible plans for fuel security and keeping domestic supply chains open during global disruptions?
  3. Skills & Training Support: How do their immigration and vocational training policies directly help small manufacturers recruit and retain skilled technical staff locally? [Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand]
Ask anything

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AI Overviews · No location

I run a small manufacturing business that exports and employs staff. We are considering new equipment but worry about demand, freight costs and finding skilled workers. I am considering my vote in the 2026 New Zealand general election. Which parties address freight, ports and transport infrastructure in their plans for business?

AI Overview

For a manufacturing and exporting business in New Zealand, transport efficiency and supply chain predictability directly impact your margins and capability to handle freight costs.

Here is how the major political parties address freight, ports, and transport infrastructure heading into the 2026 General Election :

🛣️ National Party

The National Party prioritizes transport infrastructure as an economic driver. They argue that traffic congestion and unreliable logistics stall economic growth, explicitly raising freight costs.

  • Freight Hubs: They have committed funding to key economic bottlenecks, including a $50 million investment into the Rolleston intermodal freight hub.

  • Roading Focus: National remains committed to delivering large-scale roading upgrades (such as the Roads of National Significance) and regional connectors like Auckland's Mill Road to keep truck-based freight flowing smoothly.

  • Funding Model: They encourage alternative funding models like public-private partnerships (PPPs) and tolling to accelerate construction timelines without burdening the core Crown account.

🚆 Labour Party

The Labour Party approaches transport with a heavy emphasis on building an integrated, resilient supply chain that lessens carbon dependency.

  • Rail over Road: Labour places a strong emphasis on maintaining and growing the KiwiRail network. Their goal is to shift bulk cargo (such as processed goods, timber, and agricultural commodities) off roads and onto tracks to minimize long-haul wear and tear and lower emission profiles.

  • Small Business Action Plan: While their recent headlines focus heavily on public transport fare caps to help commuters, their broader platform relies on a New Zealand Future Fund meant to help domestic businesses co-invest in local manufacturing capabilities and infrastructure.

⏱️ ACT Party

The ACT Party targets the administrative side of infrastructure, aiming to drive down logistics costs by trimming back on regulatory delays.

  • Lowest-Cost Mandate: ACT's platform introduces rules requiring that the "lowest-cost safe option" must be formally tabled alongside high-cost ("gold-plated") designs for any new project. They argue this stretches tax dollars further to build roads faster.

  • Strict Funding Protections: They want to block National Land Transport Fund (NLTF) dollars from being diverted toward aesthetic additions like roadside art or climate projects, demanding that all fuel taxes and road user charges (RUC) are spent exclusively on movement, safety, and physical road renewal.

🌳 Green Party

The Green Party has launched a $4.1 billion transport blueprint aimed at a major structural shift toward green logistics.

  • Rapid Rail Expansion: The Greens favor heavily scaling up nationwide rapid rail for both passengers and freight. Their specific projects include upgrading and extending the Te Huia route down to the major export portal of Tauranga.

  • Urban Decongesting: By aggressively moving local commuters onto heavily subsidized or fare-free public transit, they intend to free up highway capacity so that physical manufacturing and delivery trucks aren't bogged down in metropolitan traffic.

Direct Policy Comparison

Party Primary Freight Mode Key Strategic Target Infrastructure Funding Style
National Road & Intermodal Rail Connecting regional ports and manufacturing hubs Mixed public funding, tolling, and private partnerships
Labour Balanced Rail & Coastal Improving supply chain resilience and reducing freight emissions Centralized public investment and Future Fund subsidies
ACT Road-Dominant Stripping regulations and forcing lower-cost design standards Dedicated user-pays (RUC/Fuel tax) restricted strictly to physical roads
Green Rail-Dominant Shifting industrial transport away from heavy fossil fuel trucks Significant shift of state highway budgets into rail and rapid transit systems

If you want to evaluate how these policies match your business requirements, could you tell me:

  • Whether your exports mostly move via sea ports or air freight?

  • If your local supply chain is heavily dependent on long-haul trucking or rail?

  • What specific skilled roles (e.g., engineering, logistics, machine operators) you are currently struggling to fill?

Ask anything

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