Every question, every answer, every source

You can compare the parties without having to know much about politics, and without me making assumptions about what matters to you.

A useful starting point is this: you don't need to find the “best” political party. You need to understand what each party proposes, what those proposals might mean in practice, and how well they match your own priorities.

For New Zealand's 2026 general election, I'd suggest a simple, neutral approach: learn the basics, choose the issues you want to examine, and compare the parties using the same questions. You don't need to settle on a party straight away.

1. Understand what you're voting for

New Zealand uses MMP, which stands for Mixed Member Proportional. You get two votes:

• Party vote: helps determine each party's share of seats in Parliament. This is the main vote used to decide the overall balance of parties.
• Electorate vote: chooses the person you want to represent your local electorate.

You can vote for a party with your party vote and a candidate from a different party with your electorate vote. You don't have to make both votes match.

A few other terms you'll encounter:

• Policy: what a party proposes to do.
• Manifesto: a document explaining a party's plans and promises.
• Coalition: an arrangement in which parties work together to form a government.
• Tax and spending: how the government raises money and what it spends that money on.
• Trade-off: a benefit that comes with a cost or disadvantage elsewhere.

You don't need to memorise political terminology. It's enough to understand what a proposal would change and who would be affected.

2. Choose the issues you want to compare

You don't need to start with party names. Start with the things you think government decisions should address. You can care about several issues, be unsure about others, or have no opinion yet.

Here are some areas you could explore:

Cost of living and the economy

What do parties propose on groceries, housing costs, wages, taxes and jobs? Who would pay for their plans?

Health and public services

What would change about access to GPs, hospital waiting times, mental health support and public service funding?

Education and young people

What are the proposals for schools, tertiary education, training, student costs and learning outcomes?

Housing

How would parties address rent, home ownership, housing supply, social housing and homelessness?

Environment and climate

What do parties propose on emissions, renewable energy, conservation, farming and adapting to extreme weather?

Crime, justice and immigration

What changes are proposed for policing, sentencing, rehabilitation, border rules and immigration?

These are starting points, not a list of issues you are expected to care about. Other areas, such as Māori–Crown relations, disability support, infrastructure, foreign affairs and democratic rights, may matter more to you.

3. Compare parties using the same questions

Once you've chosen a few topics, examine every party against the same set of questions. That makes it easier to compare their actual proposals rather than their slogans.

Question	What to look for
What would they do?	A specific policy or proposed change
What problem is it intended to solve?	The party's stated reason for the policy
Who might benefit?	The people, households or businesses likely to gain
Who might bear the costs?	Taxpayers, service users or other affected groups
How would it be paid for?	Taxes, borrowing, spending cuts or savings elsewhere
How certain is the plan?	A detailed commitment, a broad promise or an idea still being developed
What happens if it doesn't work?	Possible drawbacks, unintended effects or alternatives

For example, two parties might both say they want to improve healthcare. One could propose spending more on staffing, while another might focus on changing how services are organised. Both have the same stated goal, but the methods, costs and likely effects may differ.

You don't have to decide immediately which proposal is better. First understand what is different.

4. Use sources that let you check the claims

These are useful places to begin for the 2026 election:

Policy.nz — compare policies across parties

A practical starting point for reading party positions by topic and comparing candidates. You can explore the policies without needing to know which party you favour first.

Explore the 2026 election guide. Policy.nz

Elections New Zealand — understand the voting system

Use the official Electoral Commission for information about MMP, voting rules, parties and election dates.

Read how MMP works. What is MMP?Political parties in New Zealand

Official party policies and manifestos

Read the parties' own documents to check what they have actually promised. For disputed claims about costs or outcomes, look for independent analysis and reliable reporting as well.

The key is to distinguish a party's promise from evidence that the promise will achieve its intended result.

5. Keep your own decision separate from the comparison

A comparison should help you think, not make the decision for you. A few principles can help:

• You can prioritise. You don't need to agree with a party on every issue.
• You can be undecided. “I need more information” is a perfectly reasonable position.
• You can weigh trade-offs. A policy might help one group while creating costs or difficulties for another.
• You can distinguish values from evidence. Whether you think a goal is important is a personal judgment. Whether a policy is likely to achieve that goal is something you can investigate.
• You can assess both votes independently. Your preferred party and your preferred local electorate candidate need not be from the same party.

For the upcoming election, the Electoral Commission says election day is Saturday, 7 November 2026, with advance voting beginning on 26 October. The current enrolment deadline is 25 October. Check Vote NZ for official enrolment and voting information. Key dates for 2026 General ElectionVote in a general election or referendum

6. Let's start with your priorities, not my assumptions

I can help you work through the parties' documented positions in plain English, with the same questions applied to each party. I won't assign you a political label, assume your views from your circumstances, or tell you who to vote for.

To begin, here's one simple question:

Which issues would you most like to understand first? You can name a couple, choose one of the topics above, or say that you're not sure yet.

I can then give you a neutral, side-by-side comparison of the relevant parties' 2026 policies, including what their proposals mean in everyday language, their stated costs where available, and the main trade-offs.