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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'm a sole parent with a preschool child, renting and working part time. Childcare costs and support rules affect how many hours I can take on. I am considering my vote in the 2026 New Zealand general election. What do parties propose about secure rentals and help with housing costs for families on low incomes?

New Zealand 2026 election: secure rentals and housing support

For a sole parent renting and working part-time, two questions are especially important when comparing parties:

  • Can you stay in a secure, healthy home without rent rises or tenancy changes making life unpredictable?
  • How much help will you receive with rent and other living costs, and will taking on more paid work leave your family better off?

New Zealand's general election is scheduled for Saturday 7 November 2026, with advance voting from 26 October. The main parties have different approaches to rental regulation, public housing and financial assistance. The main parties vying to form New Zealand's next governmentPolicies for Party vote - NZ Election 2026

One important distinction: existing government policy is not necessarily a new election promise. I'll separate measures already in place or legislated from proposals parties are promoting, and flag where the published information needs checking.

1. What the parties are proposing on housing

The independent election guide Policy.nz identifies several specific 2026 housing proposals. These include rent-increase limits, stronger rental-quality enforcement, additional social housing and changes to housing taxes. Policies for Party vote - NZ Election 2026

Here is how to compare the proposals most relevant to your circumstances.

2 Allen Avenue | Papatoetoe | Manukau City | Houses for Rent - OneRoof

Rent increases and tenancy security

Policy.nz lists a proposal to cap annual rent increases at 2%. A cap would make rent changes more predictable if it applied to your tenancy. Check the party's detailed policy for exemptions, how the cap would be enforced and whether it applies to existing tenancies. Policies for Party vote - NZ Election 2026

26 Ray Small Drive, Papakura, Papakura 2110 - Leased House - Ray White Takanini

Healthy, safe rentals

Another listed proposal is an independently enforced Rental Warrant of Fitness. This would focus on the condition of rental homes rather than simply their price. The important details to check are inspection requirements, landlord obligations and remedies if a home fails. Policies for Party vote - NZ Election 2026

Social Housing — Archon Architecture Ltd

More social and public housing

Policy.nz lists a commitment to add at least 6,000 social housing places over four years. Separately, the current government's Budget 2026 funds up to 2,250 additional social and other homes over three years starting in 2028/29. These are different commitments, so compare the proposed totals, delivery dates and eligibility rules. Policies for Party vote - NZ Election 2026Budget 2026 – for the housing and urban system - Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport (Formerly Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga

Resetting Kāinga Ora :: Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities

Increasing housing supply

Other proposals include changing planning and zoning rules, construction support and taxes relating to land or property. These aim to affect supply, investment or affordability over time. Their effect on the rent you pay next year is less direct than a rent cap or an increase in your housing assistance. Policies for Party vote - NZ Election 2026

A note on party attribution: the Policy.nz housing page confirms that these proposals appear in its 2026 election comparison, but the accessible summary does not reliably show which party is attached to each item. I don't want to assign policies to parties incorrectly. You can check the detailed party-by-party entries in the Policy.nz 2026 housing comparison.

2. Help with rent and other housing costs

For a family on a low income, the financial assistance rules can matter as much as rental law.

The current government's Budget 2026 sets out the following changes. These are government measures, not promises that should be attributed to every party. Social Housing and Welfare - Budget 2026Budget 2026 – for the housing and urban system - Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport (Formerly Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga

Support What is changing
Accommodation Supplement Maximum rates for eligible people in private rentals are due to increase from 1 April 2027.
Income-related rent The contribution for people in social housing is due to rise from 25% to 30% of income from 1 April 2027.
Temporary Additional Support Maximum payments are being reduced under the reform package.
Social housing supply Funding is being provided for additional social and other homes.

These changes involve trade-offs: increasing the Accommodation Supplement may help some private renters, while a higher income-related rent contribution could mean less money left over for some social-housing tenants. The effect depends on your circumstances. Budget 2026 – for the housing and urban system - Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport (Formerly Te Tūāpapa Kura KāingaSocial Housing and Welfare - Budget 2026

You can read the official details in the Budget 2026 social housing and welfare summary.

What this means for you as a part-time-working sole parent

When comparing party proposals, look for specific answers to these questions:

  • Rent assistance: Would the party increase, preserve or reduce support for eligible private renters?
  • Income thresholds: Would assistance change as your paid hours and earnings increase?
  • Childcare: Would childcare subsidies or eligibility rules make it easier to accept extra shifts without losing most of the additional income?
  • Social housing: Would the party increase the number of homes available and change how priority is assessed?
  • Unexpected costs: What would happen if your rent rose, your hours were cut or you faced a one-off bill?

The last three issues are particularly important because a housing policy can look helpful in isolation but still leave you worse off if other assistance falls as your income rises.

3. How to compare the parties without getting lost in campaign promises

Use the following official and independent resources to examine the actual proposals and their details.

Policy.nz — 2026 housing policies

Compare rental protections, housing quality, social housing and affordability proposals from the parties.

Work and Income — Accommodation Supplement

Check existing eligibility and payment rules for help with rent. Your entitlement depends on factors including income, assets, accommodation costs and location.

Budget 2026 — social housing and welfare

Check which changes are already government policy, rather than proposals for a future government.

4. One final consideration: whether extra work pays

Because you work part-time and have a preschool child, I would also compare parties' childcare assistance, Working for Families, benefit abatement rules and employment policies alongside housing. Those determine how much of any extra earnings you actually keep after childcare and reduced assistance.

A useful way to assess each party is to ask: If I take on another shift each week, will I be better off after childcare, tax, rent assistance and any benefit changes? Look for published figures and eligibility rules, not just claims about helping working families.

No party's housing policy alone can tell you your overall financial position. The practical comparison is how secure your tenancy would be, what housing help you could receive, and how the whole package treats a low-income working parent.

Ask anything

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Captured 16 October 2026 · shown as ChatGPT gave it, not a verified account

Gemini · No location

I'm a sole parent with a preschool child, renting and working part time. Childcare costs and support rules affect how many hours I can take on. I am considering my vote in the 2026 New Zealand general election. What do parties propose about secure rentals and help with housing costs for families on low incomes?

For a sole parent working part-time and renting, housing security, rental regulations, and income support are central issues in the 2026 New Zealand general election. Parties hold sharply contrasting views on how to support low-income tenants and manage the rental market.

The major political parties propose the following approaches regarding secure rentals and housing cost assistance:

1. Parties Favoring Greater Tenant Protections and Market Regulation

  • The Green Party:
    • Secure Rentals: Strongly campaigns on a Renters’ Rights Bill, which proposes capping annual rent increases at 2%, banning "no-cause" evictions, and establishing a compulsory rental warrant of fitness and a national public register for landlords.
    • Housing Support: Focuses heavily on expanding state and public housing supply (such as targeting tens of thousands of new public homes) to directly lower housing stress for low-income families.
  • Labour Party:
    • Secure Rentals: Supports strengthening tenant rights and previously removed no-cause evictions while in government, though it has stopped short of implementing a rigid, universal 2% rent cap.
    • Housing Support: Has pledged to fund at least 6,000 more social housing places over four years (including a $2.9 billion capital injection for Kāinga Ora) to expand the state housing pool for low-income households.
  • Te Pāti Māori:
    • Secure Rentals & Support: Strongly supports strict renter protections, capping rent hikes, stopping speculative land banking, and addressing vacant homes to ease rental pressures on whānau.

2. Parties Favoring Supply-Side Solutions and Market-Led Approaches

  • The National Party (Current Government):
    • Secure Rentals: Opposes rent controls and rigid regulatory caps, arguing that extra compliance costs and restrictions on landlords ultimately get passed down to tenants as higher rents. They have previously restored no-cause evictions to maintain landlord flexibility and encourage rental supply.
    • Housing Support: Focuses its housing strategy primarily on easing resource consenting and planning rules to spur private building, alongside utilizing community housing providers rather than large-scale state building. Their primary financial assistance targets first-home buyers via expanded deposit schemes rather than direct rental market interventions.
  • ACT New Zealand:
    • Secure Rentals: Strongly opposes rent controls, rental warrants of fitness, and heavy landlord regulations, characterizing them as regulatory overreach that will contract the rental pool and drive up prices.
    • Housing Support: Focuses entirely on supply-side deregulation—such as reforming local council building consents and sharing GST revenue with councils—to lower the cost of building homes.
  • New Zealand First:
    • Secure Rentals: Sceptical of added compliance rules that increase rents; prefers market-stabilization and ownership pathways over direct rent regulations.
    • Housing Support: Centers its housing policy around infrastructure funding and ensuring local services are built alongside new developments, alongside home-ownership assistance initiatives.

Summary Context for Sole Parents

If your primary concerns are direct cost controls, predictability in rent, and expanded state/social housing availability, the left-bloc parties (Greens, Labour, Te Pāti Māori) offer direct regulatory interventions like rent caps and increased public housing builds.

Conversely, if you look at parties on the right and center (National, ACT, NZ First), their strategy relies on deregulation and boosting overall housing supply to naturally stabilize or lower market rents over time, avoiding what they view as anti-landlord rules that could shrink the rental pool.

Are you looking at how these housing policies interact with specific working-for-families tax credits or childcare subsidy thresholds for part-time work?

Ask Gemini

Gemini is AI and can make mistakes.

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Google AI Mode · No location

I'm a sole parent with a preschool child, renting and working part time. Childcare costs and support rules affect how many hours I can take on. I am considering my vote in the 2026 New Zealand general election. What do parties propose about secure rentals and help with housing costs for families on low incomes?

As a sole parent juggling part-time work, preschool childcare, and renting, housing security and living costs are major factors in your financial stability and your ability to balance work hours.

In the lead-up to the 2026 New Zealand general election , political parties have staked out distinct approaches to renters' rights, housing affordability, and support for low-income families.

Major Party Approaches to Rentals and Housing Costs

  • Labour Party

  • Focus: Emphasises direct investment in state and public housing alongside cost-of-living relief for renters. Labour has spotlighted measures to lower household running costs (such as pushing for mandatory insulated curtains to reduce power bills) and opposes social/public housing rent increases.

  • Stance on Security: Focuses on strengthening the Healthy Homes standards and stability for tenants rather than introducing radical market overhauls, while balancing property market settings (such as maintaining certain interest deductibility rules to avoid sudden landlord-driven rent spikes).

  • National Party (Coalition Government)

  • Focus: Centred primarily on increasing overall housing supply, expanding social housing partnerships through community housing providers, and assisting first-home buyers into the property market (such as expanding low-deposit homeownership schemes).

  • Stance on Security & Costs: Current policy settings emphasize fiscal restraint in public housing allocations and aligning state/social housing income-related rent calculations closer to market settings over time to encourage financial independence, which the government frames as targeting resources to those most in need, though critics argue it increases cost pressures on low-income tenants.

  • Green Party

  • Focus: Strongly advocates for renters' rights, pushing for comprehensive rental market reforms including long-term security of tenure (to stop unjustified evictions), rent controls or caps to limit severe annual rent increases, and a legally enforceable Rental Warrant of Fitness to guarantee warm, dry, and safe homes.

  • ACT Party

  • Focus: Favours free-market solutions, regulatory reduction for property development, and removing tax "ring-fencing" on rental losses to encourage private landlord investment and increase rental supply. They generally oppose broad rent controls, arguing they can restrict the supply of available rental properties. [Instagram·axlmediacorporation]

  • New Zealand First

  • Focus: Emphasises fast-tracking residential and infrastructure approvals to boost supply, alongside prioritization policies ensuring public and social housing support aligns closely with local infrastructure and citizen requirements.

If you'd like to narrow this down based on your specific situation, tell me:

  • Whether you receive the Accommodation Supplement or working-for-families tax credits
  • If your main priority is immediate cost relief (like rent caps) or long-term stability (preventing eviction)

I can help outline how these specific policies intersect with your part-time work hours and childcare abatement thresholds.

Ask anything

Captured 16 October 2026 · shown as Google AI Mode gave it, not a verified account

AI Overviews · No location

I'm a sole parent with a preschool child, renting and working part time. Childcare costs and support rules affect how many hours I can take on. I am considering my vote in the 2026 New Zealand general election. What do parties propose about secure rentals and help with housing costs for families on low incomes?

AI Overview

In the lead-up to the 2026 New Zealand General Election , housing costs, rental security, and support rules for single parents are central to the debate. The major political parties offer distinct approaches to assisting low-income families and managing the rental market.

A summary of what the main political parties generally propose regarding secure rentals and help with housing costs is outlined below.

Comparison of Party Housing & Rental Policies

Political Party Rental Security & Tenant Rights Financial Housing Support (e.g., Subsidies/Tax) Social & Community Housing
National Party Landlord-focused: Retains 90-day no-cause evictions to encourage landlords to stay in the market. Subsidy targeting: Focuses on maintaining existing Accommodation Supplement structures with strict budget oversight. Community providers: Shifts growth toward Community Housing Providers (CHPs) rather than expanding state-owned housing.
Labour Party Tenant-focused: Advocates for ending no-cause evictions and limiting rent increases to protect long-term stability. Expansion of help: Supports boosting Working for Families and indexing supplements to rising costs. State builds: Focuses on directly building more state-owned homes via Kāinga Ora.
Green Party Strict controls: Proposes a Rent Cap (limiting annual increases) and a "warrant of fitness" for all rentals. Income overhaul: Advocates for raising the base rates of Sole Parent Support to a living wage. Massive scaling: Proposes a large-scale government-funded build of eco-friendly public rentals.
ACT New Zealand Deregulation: Favors removing restrictions on landlords to boost market supply and naturally lower prices. Fiscal restraint: Opposes expanding broad cash subsidies, preferring targeted income tax cuts. Devolution: Favors selling off older state housing assets and involving private capital.

Hidden Rules Affecting Working Sole Parents

As you evaluate these policies, pay close attention to how parties intend to tweak the abatement thresholds (the amount you can earn before support cuts out).

  • The Current Tension: For sole parents, childcare and housing support are closely linked to your working hours. For instance, Sole Parent Support has strict income deduction limits. While you can earn more if you have explicit private childcare costs, making a few extra dollars at work can accidentally trigger a sharp drop in your Accommodation Supplement or Childcare Subsidy.
  • Left-leaning Parties (Labour, Greens): Generally propose lifting these thresholds so you can work more hours part-time without facing a "tax penalty" where your benefits drop drastically.
  • Right-leaning Parties (National, ACT): Typically favor encouraging a faster transition into full-time work by keeping strict benefit rules while lowering overall income tax rates.

If you would like to look deeper into a specific area to help decide your vote, let me know:

  • Would you like to compare the parties' explicit policies on childcare subsidies and the 20 hours free ECE rules?
  • Do you want to see how each party plans to handle Working for Families tax credits?
Ask anything

Captured 16 October 2026 · shown as AI Overviews gave it, not a verified account