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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

For the 2026 New Zealand general election: How do parties differ on government accountability, democratic rights and responses to political misinformation?

The main divide is how much government power should be constrained and by whom. For the 2026 election, the clearest differences are:

  • National/ACT: Emphasise parliamentary accountability, individual freedoms and limiting government overreach; generally favour fewer new restrictions on political speech. ACT is particularly sceptical of measures that could regulate misinformation at the expense of free expression.
  • Labour/Greens: Put greater weight on transparency, political integrity, stronger democratic safeguards and protections for vulnerable groups. The Greens explicitly propose reducing big-money influence in politics. Manifesto 2026 - Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
  • NZ First: Combines stronger direct-democratic mechanisms with institutional accountability; its constitution calls for an independent anti-corruption commission and referendums/mandates for major policy changes. Constitution 2024
  • Te Pāti Māori: Places particular emphasis on Māori political representation, Te Tiriti and constitutional/democratic reform. Policies for Party vote - NZ Election 2026 - Policy.nz
  • Misinformation: There is less party-policy consensus here than on accountability. The official approach is primarily information integrity rather than government censorship: Elections NZ provides authoritative election information, requires promoter statements on election advertising, and agencies have protocols for election disruption and foreign interference. Free and fair elections | Vote NZ

The election is 7 November 2026, with Parliament dissolved on 1 October. New Zealand Parliament dissolved ahead of tight November vote

If you want, I can also give you a party-by-party table covering National, Labour, Greens, ACT, NZ First and Te Pāti Māori, specifically on these three issues.

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Gemini · No location

For the 2026 New Zealand general election: How do parties differ on government accountability, democratic rights and responses to political misinformation?

In New Zealand’s political landscape, parties approach government accountability, democratic rights, and political misinformation through distinct ideological lenses. These positions generally divide major parties (such as the National-led coalition government and the Labour-led opposition) as well as minor parties (like the Greens, ACT, and Te Pāti Māori).

1. Government Accountability & Transparency

Parties differ significantly on how executive power should be checked and how transparent public institutions must be:

  • The National Party and ACT: Generally emphasize fiscal discipline, regulatory oversight, and reducing the size or scope of public service bureaucracy. They often critique the previous administration's use of sweeping legislative powers and advocate for strict parliamentary scrutiny on spending, though critics argue some fast-track approval mechanisms can bypass traditional oversight.
  • The Labour Party, Green Party, and Te Pāti Māori: Focus heavily on institutional checks, strengthening official information laws (OIA), and protecting the integrity of the public service. They tend to favor robust, slow-cooked parliamentary select committee processes and advocate for stronger measures against political corruption, lobbying transparency, and "dirty money" in politics.

2. Democratic Rights and Constitutional Frameworks

Views on democratic rights often intersect with debates over the Treaty of Waitangi, local democracy, and electoral reform:

  • The National-ACT Coalition: Strongly champion individual equality before the law, often expressing skepticism toward race-based co-governance models or constitutional changes that elevate specific groups. ACT, in particular, has pushed for mechanisms like a Treaty Principles Bill to redefine constitutional interpretations, framing it as a defense of universal democratic equality.
  • The Green Party and Te Pāti Māori: Frame democratic rights expansively to include collective rights for Indigenous peoples (Māori) under Te Tiriti o Waitangi. They support lowering the voting age to 16, reforming donation caps to reduce the influence of wealthy donors, and expanding participatory or deliberative democracy.
  • New Zealand First: Focus heavily on national sovereignty, regular referenda on major constitutional questions, and protecting New Zealand’s traditional parliamentary supremacy against perceived external or judicial overreach.

3. Responses to Political Misinformation

Discussions around online harm, conspiracy theories, and election interference highlight differing philosophies on free speech versus public protection:

  • Center-Left and Progressive Parties (Labour, Greens): Tend to view unchecked political misinformation and hate speech as a threat to democratic stability and public health (noting experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and election cycles). They generally support institutional fact-checking initiatives, media literacy funding, and regulatory frameworks for digital platforms, though they must balance these against strict protections for freedom of expression.
  • Center-Right and Libertarian Voices (National, ACT, NZ First): Place a much higher emphasis on absolute freedom of speech and expression. They generally resist government intervention, state-backed moderation, or censorship, arguing that the best antidote to bad speech or misinformation is open public debate rather than regulation by authorities.

Are there specific political parties or particular policies within these areas that you would like to explore in more detail?

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Google AI Mode · No location

For the 2026 New Zealand general election: How do parties differ on government accountability, democratic rights and responses to political misinformation?

In New Zealand's political landscape, approaches to government accountability, democratic rights, and political misinformation vary across the political spectrum. Debates on these issues often highlight differing philosophies regarding transparency, the role of regulation versus free speech, and how to manage the influence of private interests on public policy.

1. Government Accountability & Transparency

  • Labour, the Green Party, and Te Pāti Māori: These parties generally advocate for structural mechanisms to strengthen institutional accountability and curb undue influence. They have supported or proposed measures such as a public, searchable register of lobbyists, cooling-off periods for politicians transitioning into lobbying, stricter donation caps, and enhanced transparency around political financing. [Public Health Communication Centre]
  • National, ACT, and New Zealand First: While framing themselves as accountable to hardworking taxpayers and emphasizing fiscal discipline and economic performance, the governing/right-leaning bloc tends to view heavy regulatory frameworks or new independent oversight bodies with caution. They generally argue that accountability is best delivered through parliamentary oversight, regular elections, and economic outcomes rather than adding administrative compliance or statutory bodies for lobbying.

2. Democratic Rights & Free Expression

  • ACT and New Zealand First: These parties strongly position themselves as defenders of individual liberties and free speech, frequently pushing back against state overreach. ACT, for instance, has championed policies protecting free expression—such as preventing professional regulatory bodies from penalizing practitioners for expressing lawful personal opinions outside their clinical or professional scope—and advocating against speech restrictions they view as infringing on civil liberties.
  • Labour and the Green Party: These parties emphasize a conception of democratic rights that also protects marginalized or vulnerable communities from harm (such as hate speech or online abuse). Their focus tends to lean towards balancing individual expression with social cohesion and safety, though they also engage with civil society concerns regarding state censorship.

3. Responses to Political Misinformation & AI

  • The Centre-Left and Progressive Parties (Labour, Greens, and minor groups like The Opportunity Party): These parties have shown a greater appetite for formal codes of conduct and self-regulation or restrictions regarding the integrity of political discourse. For instance, some have signed democratic commitments explicitly pledging to reject deliberate misinformation, restrict or transparently label the use of deceptive artificial intelligence (AI) in campaigns (such as deepfakes or altered imagery/audio), and maintain transparency regarding campaign claims.
  • The Centre-Right and Populist Parties (National, ACT, and NZ First): These parties generally approach the issue of "misinformation" skeptically, wary of granting government agencies or state-backed bodies the power to define what constitutes "truth" or "falsehood" in public debate. They typically argue that the best antidote to bad speech or misinformation is counter-speech and robust public debate rather than government-led definitions, moderation, or statutory interventions that could risk chilling political dissent.
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AI Overviews · No location

For the 2026 New Zealand general election: How do parties differ on government accountability, democratic rights and responses to political misinformation?

AI Overview

For the 2026 New Zealand general election , political parties approach government accountability, democratic rights, and political misinformation from two distinctly contrasting ideological perspectives.

The center-left and progressive parties lean toward increasing systemic transparency, expanding the voter base, and strictly regulating political integrity. Conversely, the center-right governing coalition prioritizes streamlined governance, reducing state intervention, and targeting race-based policies or what they view as threats to free speech.

The table below highlights how the major parties differ across these three key electoral themes:

Issue / Policy Area National, ACT, & NZ First (Governing Coalition) Labour & the Green Party (Opposition) The Opportunity Party (TOP)
Government Accountability Focus on reducing public service size, cutting bureaucratic waste, and enforcing the use of English names in government departments. Generally did not prioritize or respond to independent transparency surveys regarding lobbying registers. Strongly advocate for public integrity reforms. Support creating a public, searchable register of lobbyists, enacting a lobbyist code of conduct, and implementing "cooling-off" periods for former officials. Proposes a mandatory lobbying register, a statutory code of conduct, an independent anti-corruption body, and the creation of Citizens' Assemblies to advise Parliament.
Democratic & Voting Rights Passed the Electoral Amendment Act 2025 , which restricted voter enrolment to 13 days before polling day, raised the threshold for undisclosed voluntary donations, and reinstated prisoner voting bans. Strongly opposed the 2025 changes, calling them "voter suppression". The Greens pledge to entirely repeal prisoner voting bans, lower disclosure thresholds for donations to $1,000, and lower the MMP threshold to 4%. Focuses heavily on donation reform, advocating for an individual cap of $30,000 per donor per election, strictly restricted to registered NZ voters.
Political Misinformation Prefer a free-speech centric approach, opposing expanded state control over digital communication. Criticized by opponents for using unlabelled AI assets or misleading advertising data in election attack ads. Signed a formal joint pledge committing to reject deliberate misinformation, restrict inflammatory rhetoric, and use AI tools responsibly and sparingly during the 2026 campaign. Signed the same joint pledge against political misinformation, committing to verify campaign facts and prohibit fabricated media.

Summary of Differences

  • Government Accountability: The governing coalition sees accountability as a matter of fiscal discipline, anti-waste, and efficient public management. The opposition (Labour, Greens, and TOP) treats it as a structural transparency issue, demanding strict regulations on commercial lobbying and vested political influence.

  • Democratic Rights: A sharp divide exists over the Electoral Amendment Act 2025. National, ACT, and NZ First view these rules as common-sense electoral standards. The center-left views them as an unfair barrier for younger, low-income, and ethnic minority voters, advocating instead for easier access to the ballot box and reduced financial influence in politics.

  • Misinformation & AI: The response to misinformation has split along campaign behavior. While the center-right is cautious of over-regulating speech, Labour, the Greens, and TOP have voluntarily bound themselves to an integrity protocol designed to counter the spread of deepfakes and deceptive AI-generated campaign materials.

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