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Evidence · NZ Election 2026 · Edition 3

Every question, every answer, every source

All 174 questions and the 793 answers produced on 16 October 2026. The 27 remaining cells produced no AI Overview.

questions
174
answers saved
793
collected
16 Oct 2026

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 unchanged question.

    id, draft, text, voterCode, issue, towns

    174rows

    Download questions (CSV)

  • Answers

    nz-election-2026-answers.csv

    One row per produced answer, with its complete original text. Parties covers all 17 tracked parties; displayed parties covers the seven charted parties.

    result id, prompt id, draft id, scenario id, platform, region, words, parties, displayed parties, literal url answer, temporal pair, common four platforms, response text

    793rows

    Download answers (CSV)

  • Sources by answer

    nz-election-2026-sources.csv

    One row per website associated with an answer; repeated citations count once.

    answer id, question id, assistant, region, domain, publisher

    4,275rows

    Download sources by answer (CSV)

  • Checks against official sources

    nz-election-2026-checks.csv

    One row per reviewed claim and assistant, including cells where the assertion was not stated.

    checkId, claimToTest, category, answerId, questionId, assistant, assertionPresent, assertion, verdict, whatTheSourceSays, checkedOn, evidence

    18rows

    Download checks against official sources (CSV)

  • Who to vote for: coding

    nz-election-2026-guidance.csv

    One row per manually reviewed guidance answer. Codes overlap; original answers supply the evidence.

    draft, assistant, q, voter, a, declined, matched, shortlist, asked, chose, extract

    31rows

    Download who to vote for: coding (CSV)

  • Location and national answers

    nz-election-2026-towns.csv

    One row per matched national/location pair in this edition.

    edition, prompt id, platform, city region, national result id, city result id, same party names, same text

    123rows

    Download location and national answers (CSV)

  • Changes between editions

    nz-election-2026-comparisons.csv

    All 17 tracked parties; one row per identical question, assistant and location across the 12 and 16 October collections. Earlier coding restated after the 20 October identity correction.

    earlier edition, prompt id, platform, region, draft id, block, scenario id, scenario, issue, priority, earlier result id, current result id, same party set, added, removed, earlier parties, current parties

    792rows

    Download changes between editions (CSV)

  • No AI Overview produced

    nz-election-2026-coverage.csv

    One row per planned cell where no AI Overview was produced.

    questionId, assistant, collectionSetting, askedFrom, availability

    27rows

    Download no ai overview produced (CSV)

  • Party-identity corrections

    nz-election-2026-party-identity-corrections.csv

    Ten reviewed false matches removed from the restated Edition 2 and current Edition 3 comparisons; original answer text is unchanged.

    edition, result id, party, before present, include, reason, reviewer, reviewed on

    10rows

    Download party-identity corrections (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 café with a small team. Food and power costs are squeezing margins, customers are spending less, and we've experienced a break-in. I am considering my vote in the 2026 New Zealand general election. What do parties propose about retail and small-business crime, prevention and policing?

New Zealand election 2026: Small-business crime and policing

For a café owner, the key question is not just which parties promise to be tough on crime. It is what they would do to prevent break-ins, protect your staff, improve police response, and reduce repeat offending — and whether their approach places extra responsibility on you and your team.

New Zealand's general election is scheduled for 7 November 2026. The comparison below reflects published party positions available as at 16 October 2026. Some policies are still being announced, so a party's lack of a specific new promise should not be taken as opposition to the issue. The main parties vying to form New Zealand's next governmentRetail Crime

1. How the parties differ on retail crime

The clearest divide is between parties favouring stronger enforcement powers for retailers and security guards, and those emphasising police-led enforcement, staff safety and prevention.

The summaries below describe party positions, not endorsements or predictions of how well the policies would work.

Will National Party Finish 2nd in New Zealand's 2026 Election?

National

More enforcement powers and frontline policing

National supports expanding citizens' arrest provisions to allow mechanical restraints, on-the-spot fines for certain offending, and trespass notices lasting up to three years rather than two. Its retail-crime programme has also considered facial recognition to identify repeat offenders, greater powers for private security, and move-on orders for persistent antisocial behaviour near shops.

National previously committed $480 million over four years to frontline policing and pledged 500 additional police by the end of 2025. Retail Crime

South Island Election Conference 2026

Labour

Police presence and safer retail environments

Labour opposes the proposed expansion of citizens' arrest powers, arguing that expecting untrained shop workers to physically detain offenders could endanger staff and customers. It has raised concerns about frontline police numbers and, while in government, funded anti-crime infrastructure such as fog cannons.

As of Retail NZ's latest review, Labour had not announced a specific new retail-crime policy for the 2026 election. Retail Crime

POLICY TRACKER: TOP wants to fund cheaper doctor visits with junk-food tax | New Zealand Doctor

ACT

Stronger consequences and enhanced security powers

ACT backed expanded citizens' arrest powers and has proposed a special licence for trained security guards, including powers to use reasonable force and conduct consent-based safety searches. It has also proposed a minimum three-year prison sentence for a third burglary conviction, alongside early release incentives for prisoners who gain literacy, trade skills or qualifications. Retail Crime

Green Party NZ (@NZGreens) on X

Green Party

Prevention, early intervention and community safety

The Greens oppose expanded citizens' arrest powers, move-on orders and the proposed expansion of trespass powers. They argue that these approaches could increase confrontations and expose Māori and Pasifika people, particularly rangatahi, to disproportionate impacts.

Their stated alternative emphasises community-led crime prevention and early intervention. Retail Crime

New Zealand legislative election winner? Predictions & Od... 2026 | Polymarket

New Zealand First

Organised crime and stolen-goods supply chains

New Zealand First has focused on dismantling transnational criminal networks that supply black markets with stolen retail goods and illicit tobacco. Its approach includes investment in Customs personnel and equipment.

For a small business, this is particularly relevant where theft is linked to organised resale networks, although it is not the same as a specific commitment to faster police attendance after a café burglary. Retail Crime

Maori Party New Zealand Merch & Gifts for Sale | Redbubble

Te Pāti Māori

Community prevention and rehabilitation

Te Pāti Māori opposes the proposed citizens' arrest and trespass amendments, warning of disproportionate harm to Māori and Pasifika communities. It advocates redirecting resources from prisons towards prevention, rehabilitation and community-led solutions. Retail Crime

Opportunity (formerly TOP)

Evidence-based crime reduction

Opportunity advocates a “smart on crime” approach, with investment in evidence-based ways to reduce offending. The available summary is less specific about retail-focused enforcement powers than National's or ACT's proposals. Retail Crime

2. What the differences could mean for your café

Here is how to assess the policies against the risks you actually face.

Issue What to look for in each party's plans
Break-ins and burglary Police investigation capacity, evidence collection, repeat-burglary penalties and whether repeat offenders are apprehended.
Theft and aggressive behaviour Whether police handle incidents, or owners and staff receive expanded powers to intervene themselves.
Staff and customer safety Funding for security equipment, safe reporting procedures and measures that reduce physical confrontations.
Repeat offending Deterrence and sentencing, alongside rehabilitation and interventions intended to prevent reoffending.
Organised theft Police and Customs cooperation to disrupt networks that steal and resell goods.
Prevention funding Practical support for alarms, cameras, security upgrades, lighting and other protective measures.

The main distinction is that stronger enforcement powers, better policing and crime prevention are three different things. A policy may do more than one, but you should check whether the party has made a concrete commitment to each.

For example, a longer trespass notice may help prevent a particular person returning to your premises, but it does not itself ensure that a burglary is investigated. Similarly, a sentencing change may increase the penalty after conviction without necessarily improving the chance of identifying an offender. These are distinctions to consider when comparing proposals, not claims that a particular policy will succeed or fail.

Retail NZ has also raised concerns about expanding citizens' arrest powers, including the risk of violence when members of the public attempt to restrain suspected offenders. Citizen’s arrest provisions not a solution to retail crimeRetail Crime

3. Don't overlook the cost-of-business side

Because you are dealing with food and electricity costs as well as weaker customer spending, crime policy is only one part of the decision.

Retail NZ's September 2026 election manifesto calls for action on high energy prices and card fees, lower business costs, tax-threshold changes, better town centres and continued attention to retail crime. Those are sector-wide advocacy priorities, rather than policies that every party has agreed to implement. Retail NZ calls on bold action from next government

When reviewing party manifestos, it is worth checking these additional questions:

  • Electricity: Is there a specific plan to reduce power costs for businesses, rather than just households?
  • Small-business cash flow: Are there proposals on tax, compliance costs, payment delays or equipment investment?
  • Local trading conditions: Are there measures to increase foot traffic and support local centres?
  • Security costs: Is there financial assistance for small businesses to install or upgrade security systems?

One important limitation in the current crime-policy comparison is that the parties' published positions do not establish a consistent, directly comparable promise to subsidise security improvements for a small café. Nor does a general commitment to more police necessarily specify response times for non-urgent burglary reports.

4. How to make your comparison more useful

Before deciding, I would focus on three questions:

  1. Who will protect my staff? Look at whether the party relies on police and trained security, or expects business owners and workers to take a more active role in confronting offenders.
  2. What happens after a break-in? Look for specific commitments on investigation, repeat offending and coordination between police and other agencies.
  3. What help is available before the next incident? Look for funded prevention programmes, security equipment support and practical small-business cost relief.

The sources worth checking as the campaign continues are Retail NZ's 2026 retail-crime policy comparison and its 2026 election hub, which tracks policy announcements and is updated during the campaign. Retail CrimeRetail NZ 2026 Election Hub

I can also put together a side-by-side comparison of the parties' small-business cost policies or a more detailed breakdown of police, burglary and repeat-offender proposals.

Compare small-business cost policies · Compare policing and burglary policies

Ask anything

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Gemini · No location

I run a café with a small team. Food and power costs are squeezing margins, customers are spending less, and we've experienced a break-in. I am considering my vote in the 2026 New Zealand general election. What do parties propose about retail and small-business crime, prevention and policing?

Running a café under the weight of squeezed margins, rising power and food overheads, lower consumer spending, and the stress of a break-in is an immense challenge. Small business security, retail crime, and policing are central issues in the 2026 New Zealand general election.

The political parties offer distinct philosophies and policy toolkits regarding how to tackle retail crime, prevention, and the justice system.

1. National, ACT, and New Zealand First (The Current Coalition / Right-Leaning Parties)

The parties currently in government have focused heavily on tougher criminal consequences, statutory changes, and enhancing the legal rights of business owners and employees confronting offenders.

  • Tougher Sentencing and Law Changes: The coalition passed the Crimes Amendment Act, which introduces significantly harsher penalties for retail crime, including higher maximum prison sentences for repeat shoplifting and low-level property theft (such as items under $500), alongside targeting attacks on first responders and retail workers.
  • Citizen's Arrest & Self-Defense Clarity: Legislation has been advanced and enacted to clarify and expand legal protections and powers for business owners, security staff, and citizens detaining offenders or protecting their premises.
  • Prevention & Practical Support: Focus has largely centered on deterrence through law enforcement, backed by advisory groups targeting retail crime victims, though business groups continue to lobby for more direct subsidies for physical security upgrades (like fog cannons, bollards, and alarms).

2. Labour Party (Centre-Left)

Labour acknowledges the severe pressures facing small business owners and retail operators, but takes a different approach to policing, crime prevention, and the proportionality of penalties.

  • Targeted Small Business Support (Economic Relief): While not focusing exclusively on punitive justice measures, Labour’s Small Business Action Plan aims to relieve wider financial squeeze via cashflow measures—such as enforcing strict 15-day payment terms for large corporations dealing with small suppliers, an $80,000 GST registration threshold (easing tax compliance), and immediate $10,000 asset write-offs.
  • Skepticism on Blanket Maximum Penalties: Labour has pushed back against some of the coalition’s harshest penal expansions—such as arguing that certain blanket one-year jail terms for minor shoplifting under $500 are overly broad—arguing instead for a mix of social intervention, targeted police resourcing, and supporting underlying community drivers of crime rather than relying solely on prison capacity.

3. The Green Party and Te Pāti Māori (Left / Progressive)

The Greens and Te Pāti Māori approach retail and small-business crime primarily through a socio-economic and systemic lens.

  • Addressing Root Causes & Local Commerce: The Green Party places heavy emphasis on the operational environment of local business districts—proposing measures like commercial rent reviews, managing vacant commercial spaces, and tackling corporate duopolies or high supply costs that squeeze margins.
  • Focus on Rehabilitation: They generally oppose mass incarceration and mandatory minimum sentencing, arguing that resources are better spent on cost-of-living relief, mental health, addiction support, and poverty reduction to prevent crime before it happens, rather than building more prisons.

Summary for a Café Owner

  • If you lean toward harsher penalties, stronger deterrents, expanded legal rights to protect your shop, and strict enforcement, the parties on the right (National, ACT, NZ First) are emphasizing direct legislative crackdowns on retail theft and property crime.
  • If you lean toward relieving your operational overheads (cashflow, compliance, and payment timelines) while favoring targeted policing alongside social interventions, centre-left and left parties like Labour or the Greens pitch broader economic adjustments and community-level prevention.

As you weigh your vote, are you more inclined to look for solutions focused primarily on tougher criminal penalties and security enforcement, or do you feel relief on wider operational costs (like power, compliance, and cashflow) is more urgent for your café's survival?

Ask Gemini

Gemini is AI and can make mistakes.

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Google AI Mode · No location

I run a café with a small team. Food and power costs are squeezing margins, customers are spending less, and we've experienced a break-in. I am considering my vote in the 2026 New Zealand general election. What do parties propose about retail and small-business crime, prevention and policing?

Running a hospitality business under current economic pressures—dealing with tight margins, rising input costs, softer consumer spending, and the violation of a break-in—is a heavy load.

Ahead of the New Zealand general election, political parties have outlined various approaches to small-business support, retail crime, and policing. Different parties approach these challenges through distinct ideological lenses:

National (Coalition Government)

  • Retail Crime & Enforcement: Focuses on strengthening practical penalties and backing frontline enforcement. The coalition government has advanced measures like instant infringement fines (micro-fines) for lower-level stealing to bypass lengthy court processes that previously left low-level retail crime feeling unpunished.
  • Small Business & Costs: Rolled out a 47-point small business plan aiming to cut compliance costs around new hires, regulations, and employment dispute resolutions to give business owners time back.

Labour

  • Retail Crime & Safety: Emphasises boosting overall frontline police numbers and historically supported practical security upgrades (such as fog cannons for storefronts). Labour has voiced caution or opposition regarding proposals that expand certain citizen’s arrest or untrained physical detainment powers, arguing they place unnecessary safety risks and burdens onto shop-floor workers rather than trained police.
  • Small Business & Cost of Living: Focuses on easing cash flow and fairness, proposing measures to ensure small businesses get paid on time, increasing government procurement access for local small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs), and tackling supply-side cost pressures like supermarket and energy pricing.

ACT

  • Law & Order: Generally advocates for a tougher law-and-order stance, supporting stricter sentencing, accountability measures, and tools that back property rights and business security.
  • Small Business & Compliance: Proposes structural relief for business margins by addressing labour costs—such as freezing the minimum wage for a period or introducing training wages—to relieve immediate operational cost pressures. [RNZ]

Green Party

  • Prevention vs. Escalation: Strongly opposes expanded move-on, trespass, or citizen’s arrest powers for retail workers, arguing that these measures escalate the risk of physical confrontation and harm on the shop floor, and can lead to profiling. They advocate instead for addressing crime through community-led social prevention and early intervention. [Retail NZ]
  • Business & Tax: Focuses on shifting tax burdens away from small operations onto larger corporate entities (proposing higher corporate tax brackets for mega-corporations with turnovers over $30 million, including banks and supermarkets) while targeting systemic cost-of-living drivers.

New Zealand First

  • Law & Order: Emphasises increasing frontline police numbers, designating gangs under stricter terror or criminal classifications, and imposing stiffer mandatory sentences to deter property and retail offending.
  • Small Business: Supports targeted tax relief and investigations into corporate duopolies (such as banking and energy/supermarket sectors) to alleviate structural overhead costs for independent operators.

For an in-depth look at industry-specific advocacy and tracking, you can review theRetail NZ Election Hub or the comprehensive The Conversation NZ Policy Tracker.

Ask anything

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AI Overviews · No location

I run a café with a small team. Food and power costs are squeezing margins, customers are spending less, and we've experienced a break-in. I am considering my vote in the 2026 New Zealand general election. What do parties propose about retail and small-business crime, prevention and policing?

AI Overview

As a small-business owner navigating rising operational costs, tighter consumer spending, and the direct impact of a break-in, the policy landscape for the 2026 New Zealand general election presents starkly different approaches to retail crime, business powers, and commercial relief.

The government recently passed a major Crimes Act overhaul in August 2026 , which significantly reshaped the baseline for law and order. The major political parties propose distinct pathways regarding retail crime, policing, and small-business protections:

National Party

The National Party is campaigning heavily on its legislative track record and its newly released 47-point small business plan aimed at reducing compliance costs.

  • Retail Crime & Legislation: National highlights the passage of the Crimes Act overhaul, which introduced a new shoplifting infringement regime (fines up to $500 for thefts under $500, and $1,000 for higher amounts) and tougher sentences for assaulting first responders.
  • Citizen's Arrest Powers: The new law expanded citizen’s arrest powers , allowing retailers and the public to legally detain offenders at any time of day using reasonable force to defend property. Note: The Police Association and Retail NZ have strongly warned against business owners actually utilizing this, citing extreme safety and legal risks for untrained staff.
  • Policing & Consequences: National's forward policy focuses on expanding police foot patrols , capping sentence discounts at 40%, and maintaining strict anti-gang laws.
  • Commercial Relief: Their business plan focuses on operational efficiency, allowing owners to update core business info once across government agencies rather than repeating it.

ACT Party

The ACT Party is pushing for even stronger, specific operational tools for businesses and public spaces beyond what the current coalition has passed.

  • Accredited Security Officers: ACT proposes creating a new class of Accredited Security Officers. This policy would grant properly trained, licensed private security professionals legal powers to search and detain criminals , bridging the gap between standard security guards and the police force.
  • Three Strikes for Burglary: To explicitly target repeat offenders targeting premises like cafés and shops, ACT wants to expand the Three Strikes regime to include burglary.
  • Deportation: They propose that any Resident Visa holder convicted of a serious crime carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years or more be subject to immediate deportation.

Labour Party

The Labour Party focuses its approach on state-led policing, community safety networks, and directly targeting the macro-economic pressures (like supply and power costs) squeezing your margins.

  • Repealing Citizen's Arrest: Labour strongly opposes the expanded citizen's arrest laws , arguing it forces untrained, vulnerable retail workers into dangerous physical altercations. They promise to repeal the expanded legislation to leave law enforcement strictly to trained professionals.
  • Dedicated Retail Police Units: Labour supports expanding dedicated police retail crime units to ensure emergency calls from small businesses receive rapid frontline responses.
  • Safety Infrastructure & Local Funding: Labour supports funding Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) and business associations to set up localized security networks (such as duplicating Wellington’s "EyesOn" programme) and continuing the rollouts of state-funded anti-crime infrastructure like fog cannons.
  • Cost of Living Relief: To ease the financial squeeze on small businesses, Labour has promised a new law to ban price gouging on essentials (targeting large power and fuel companies) and intends to legally break up the grocery/wholesale duopoly to lower food supply costs for commercial buyers.

Green Party

The Green Party advocates for shifting resources entirely away from punitive business-led enforcement toward systemic prevention.

  • Enforcement Opposition: Like Labour, the Greens strongly oppose the citizen's arrest expansion, warning it will escalate workplace violence and risk driving racial profiling against Māori, Pasifika, and rangatahi (youth).
  • Prevention First: They propose addressing commercial crime via community-led prevention , social rehabilitation, and early intervention programs.
  • Cost Relief: The Greens propose establishing a publicly-owned supermarket chain to inject direct competition into the wholesale and retail food market to drive down the cost of food ingredients.

Summary Comparison for Small Businesses

Party Retail Crime & Theft Approach Policing & Security Proposals Business Margin/Cost Relief
National Shoplifting infringement fines; expanded citizen's arrest laws. More police foot patrols; tougher sentencing caps. 47-point plan to slash government compliance and red tape.
ACT Three strikes for repeat commercial burglary. Create "Accredited Security Officers" with search/detain powers. General focus on reducing public spending to curb inflation.
Labour Repeal citizen's arrest laws to protect staff safety. Fund dedicated police retail units and localized business security networks. Split wholesale food duopolies; ban energy/fuel price gouging.
Green Address root causes via community-led intervention. Oppose expanded trespass and citizen's detention powers. Establish a $6B state-owned supermarket chain to lower supply costs.

If you want to look closer at a specific angle, let me know:

  • Would you like details on the criteria or restrictions surrounding the new citizen's arrest laws?
  • Do you want to know more about the supermarket and wholesale reforms aimed at cutting food supply costs?
Ask anything

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