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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 work in a small town rather than farming. My family drives long distances for services, and local jobs and healthcare are limited. I am considering my vote in the 2026 New Zealand general election. What would parties do to create or retain jobs in small towns beyond farming?

New Zealand 2026 election: Jobs and services in small towns

If you work in a small New Zealand town outside farming, the key election question is whether parties have credible plans to make a living locally — without having to move away — and to make healthcare and essential services accessible without hours of driving.

I'd compare parties across five areas:

  • Local jobs beyond farming: support for trades, construction, tourism, manufacturing, retail, small businesses, and remote or digital work.
  • Keeping employers in town: infrastructure, affordable energy, reliable internet, transport links, and access to finance.
  • Healthcare close to home: rural and regional health workers, GP availability, hospital services, and mobile or telehealth services.
  • Training and career pathways: apprenticeships, vocational education, and opportunities for young people to build careers locally.
  • Everyday costs and access: public transport, roads, housing, childcare, and access to government services.

One important distinction when comparing promises: a party may promise to create jobs, but that doesn't necessarily mean permanent jobs in your town. It's worth checking where the jobs would be, what industries would benefit, and whether the policy is funded and likely to reach smaller communities.

What the main parties are proposing

The following is a comparison of announced 2026 policies and current campaign positions as of 16 October 2026. It focuses on measures relevant to non-farming employment, regional infrastructure, and access to services — not on which party to vote for.

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National

Approach: make it easier for businesses to grow and hire.

National's announced 47-point Small Business Plan aims to reduce compliance costs and make investment and hiring easier. Its wider economic policies include simplifying commercial building consents, helping businesses reach overseas customers, and supporting energy supply. Small business backed with 47-point Plan2026 Election Policy

What to check locally: Will these changes help small-town employers, including tradespeople, shops, manufacturers and tourism operators, expand? Or will the main benefits accrue to businesses that are already larger?

Responsive programmes open doors to a range of careers in Rotorua – Education Gazette

Labour

Approach: invest in economic development and support small businesses and workers.

Labour's announced policies include a New Zealand Future Fund for infrastructure and innovation, extended apprenticeship support, a $1,000 toolbox grant, and tax and administrative changes for small businesses. It also proposes reserving a 15% target of government contracts for small businesses. Labour's 2026 Election PoliciesElection policy tracker: what the parties are promising

What to check locally: Will public investment and government contracts reach employers outside the main centres, and will apprenticeships be available in your area rather than requiring relocation?

Project Mahitahi: two years, 100,000 plants - Our Nelson

Green Party

Approach: create employment through community investment, environmental work and public transport.

The Greens have announced a local job guarantee pathway for 16–24-year-olds who have been unemployed for six months, focused on environmental restoration, infrastructure maintenance and community services. Their transport proposals include restoring intercity passenger rail on selected routes. Green Party announce plan for passenger rail between major NZ citiesElection policy tracker: what the parties are promising

What to check locally: How many paid positions would be available, how long would they last, and would transport improvements actually connect your town to work and essential services?

Full Construction Starts on New Pepe Stream Bridge | Law-Order

New Zealand First

Approach: regional infrastructure investment and a stronger focus on domestic workers.

The party has backed regional development through infrastructure investment, including projects supported by the Regional Infrastructure Fund. It has also proposed replacing the Accredited Employer Work Visa with a more restrictive skilled-work visa tied to actual occupational and regional shortages. Regional DevelopmentVisa crackdown is not aimed at Pasifika workers, says NZ First

What to check locally: Which projects would bring sustained jobs to your region, and how would changes to migrant-worker rules affect local employers struggling to recruit?

Sinclair Electrical – Trusted Taranaki Electricians, Refrigeration & Solar Experts

ACT

Approach: reduce regulatory burdens and give businesses greater flexibility.

ACT's general employment approach emphasises less paperwork for employers, flexible hiring arrangements and fewer restrictions on how businesses employ staff. Compare NZ Political Parties Side by Side2026 Election Policy

What to check locally: Would reduced compliance costs make it viable for a small employer to hire another person, and what protections would remain for workers? Ask for specific regional job-creation commitments as well as general business reforms.

75 Hakiaha Street | Taumarunui | Ruapehu | Commercial Property For Sale - OneRoof

The Opportunity Party (TOP)

Approach: broader economic and tax reform.

TOP's proposals include a land-value tax and measures to change how infrastructure is funded. These could affect investment and the cost of developing land, but their implications for employment in individual small towns depend on implementation and local conditions. Policies for Party vote - NZ Election 2026Compare NZ Political Parties Side by Side

What to check locally: How would the proposed tax changes affect local commercial property, business investment and councils' ability to provide infrastructure?

These are different policy mechanisms, not directly comparable promises to create a specified number of jobs in small towns. For a broader cross-party comparison, Policy.nz's 2026 election policy guide lets you examine regional development, tourism, business support, employment and infrastructure. Policies for Party vote - NZ Election 2026Policies for Party vote - NZ Election 2026

Which policies matter most for your situation?

A jobs policy and a healthcare policy can be closely connected in a small town. A town needs enough employment to retain working-age people, and enough health and other services to make it practical for families to stay.

Issue What to look for in party policies
Jobs outside farming Specific plans for manufacturing, construction, tourism, trades, digital work and local services.
Keeping small businesses open Access to finance, affordable power, reliable broadband, simpler rules and a local customer base.
Healthcare access More GPs, nurses and other health workers in regional areas, with clear plans for recruitment and retention.
Long-distance travel Better public transport, patient transport support, reliable roads and more services delivered locally.
Young people staying Apprenticeships, vocational training, paid work experience and career opportunities nearby.
Local infrastructure Funding for water, roads, housing, commercial premises and community facilities that make local investment possible.

How the parties' healthcare and transport proposals compare

  • Labour: Its 2026 platform includes three free GP visits per person each year through a new Medicard, alongside other measures to reduce healthcare costs. These could reduce some expenses, but free visits alone do not solve a shortage of local doctors. Labour's 2026 Election Policies
  • The Greens: Their proposed passenger rail connections could help people travelling between places served by those routes. Whether this would reduce your family's driving depends on your town's access to a station and onward connections. Green Party announce plan for passenger rail between major NZ cities
  • National and its coalition partners: Examine the current government's regional infrastructure investments and each party's new commitments, particularly whether they improve access to health services and support recruitment in smaller communities. Regional Development2026 Election Policy

For every party, distinguish between reducing the cost of a service and making the service physically available. Those are two different problems.

Five questions worth putting to your local candidates

You don't need to accept a general promise to support regional New Zealand as an answer. Ask for details:

  1. Jobs: What specific non-farming industries do you expect to grow in small towns, and what policies would help them employ local people?
  2. Delivery: How much funding is committed, when would it be spent, and how many permanent local jobs are expected?
  3. Healthcare: What will you do to ensure residents can get routine medical appointments locally and access urgent care without excessive travel?
  4. Transport: What practical support would help families who must travel long distances for medical appointments, education and essential services?
  5. Accountability: How will you measure whether regional employment and service access actually improve during the next parliamentary term?

You can check party promises against Policy.nz and compare them with official party policy pages. The 2026 general election is scheduled for Saturday 7 November, with advance voting beginning on 26 October. Policies for Party vote - NZ Election 2026The main parties vying to form New Zealand's next government

One final consideration: a policy can benefit regional New Zealand overall without benefiting your town specifically. Look for commitments that identify smaller communities, explain how funding will reach them, and measure outcomes in jobs, waiting times and travel distances.

Ask anything

ChatGPT can make mistakes. Check important info.

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Gemini · No location

I work in a small town rather than farming. My family drives long distances for services, and local jobs and healthcare are limited. I am considering my vote in the 2026 New Zealand general election. What would parties do to create or retain jobs in small towns beyond farming?

For voters living in small towns outside major urban centers—where families often commute or drive long distances for work, healthcare, and services—the 2026 New Zealand general election features distinct approaches from the major political parties regarding regional economic development, small business support, and decentralized service delivery.

Different parties approach job creation, retention, and local infrastructure beyond farming through distinct strategies:

National Party & ACT Party

  • Focus: Economic growth through spending restraint, cutting red tape, and supply-side business incentives.
  • Jobs & Small Business: They emphasize "no new taxes" and reducing regulatory burdens on businesses to encourage private enterprise to expand and hire. The philosophy is that lowering compliance costs and encouraging investment will organically generate non-farming jobs in provincial hubs.
  • Infrastructure & Services: Their regional strategies rely heavily on public-private partnerships, infrastructure funding tied to economic growth, and streamlining local resource management (RMA replacement/reform) to make it easier for local commercial projects and housing developments to get off the ground without waiting on Wellington-centric approvals.

Labour Party

  • Focus: Targeted state and sector investment, alongside direct support for community health and workforce training.
  • Jobs & Small Business: Labour’s regional policy platforms feature targeted investment funds (such as future-focused regional development initiatives) aimed at diversifying local economies away from heavy reliance on a single sector. They also back apprenticeships and skills training to keep young people in the regions.
  • Services & Healthcare: To address the challenge of healthcare and service shortages in small towns, Labour has campaigned on measures to make it easier to see a doctor locally—such as supporting general practitioners to set up and expand practices in rural and provincial communities, alongside broader cost-of-living relief (like free GP visits for targeted groups).

New Zealand First

  • Focus: Direct provincial investment, manufacturing/industrial support, and tax relief for small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs).
  • Jobs & Small Business: NZ First places heavy emphasis on the provinces, advocating for policies like a company tax cut to 20% for firms with a turnover under $30 million to help main street businesses survive and employ more people. They also advocate for returning a direct share of resource and mining royalties back to the regions where they are extracted to fund local infrastructure.
  • Services: They champion keeping essential services, banking, and transport links open and public-backed in regional towns to counteract centralization.

Green Party & Te Pāti Māori

  • Focus: Sustainable local economies, green jobs, community-led enterprise, and robust public services funded by progressive taxation (such as wealth or capital gains taxes on high-net-worth assets).
  • Jobs & Small Business: Their vision for small towns centers on the "green transition"—creating local jobs in renewable energy installation, home insulation/retrofitting, local food sovereignty, and environmental restoration.
  • Services: Both parties prioritize strengthening public healthcare and social infrastructure through centralized government funding, ensuring that smaller towns have baseline public services funded equitably rather than relying on market-driven availability.

Summary to Help Your Vote

When deciding how to cast your party vote, you may want to weigh:

  1. The economic engine: Do you prefer the National/ACT approach of lower taxes and less regulation to stimulate private business, or the Labour/NZ First/Green approach of targeted government investment, SME tax cuts, and regional funds?
  2. Service delivery: How do the parties propose to keep healthcare and jobs physically accessible in your specific town rather than forcing you to travel?

Are there particular services—such as local healthcare access or transport links—that are most critical for your family when deciding your vote?

Ask Gemini

Gemini is AI and can make mistakes.

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

Google AI Mode · No location

I work in a small town rather than farming. My family drives long distances for services, and local jobs and healthcare are limited. I am considering my vote in the 2026 New Zealand general election. What would parties do to create or retain jobs in small towns beyond farming?

For small-town New Zealanders who work outside of farming, the 2026 general election features contrasting approaches from political parties on how to stimulate provincial economies, create non-agricultural jobs, and address the infrastructure and service deficits that force long-distance travel.

Different parties approach small-town job creation and retention through distinct economic lenses:

New Zealand First

  • Infrastructure and Provincial Investment: NZ First heavily emphasizes direct government investment in regional infrastructure through mechanisms like the Regional Infrastructure Fund (RIF). Their focus is on funding tangible local projects (such as transport, energy, and port/wharf upgrades) that support local trades, manufacturing, logistics, and engineering contractors.

  • Resource Royalties: They advocate for returning a direct share of revenue (such as half of mining royalties) back to the specific regions where the extraction occurs, aiming to give provincial areas a self-sustaining funding stream for local development. [Rural News Group]

National Party

  • Small Business and Red Tape Reduction: National focuses on economic policies aimed at lowering costs and regulatory burdens for small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs), which form the backbone of small-town non-farming economies. This includes commercial building consent reforms and general business compliance relief.

  • Infrastructure and Local Rates: National emphasizes transport connectivity and export growth, alongside addressing local government infrastructure and rates affordability. Their approach relies on enabling private-sector growth, boosting productivity, and reforming the Resource Management Act (RMA) to make local commercial and energy projects easier to get off the ground.

Labour Party

  • Workforce and Skills Support: Labour's approach to supporting regional workers includes expanding programs like the Apprenticeship Boost to keep trades and vocational training active in local communities.

  • Cost of Living and Public Services: To alleviate the burden of long-distance travel for services, Labour has targeted cost-of-living and regional access policies—such as public transport fare caps, localized health measures (like the Family Doctor Loan Scheme to attract medical professionals to underserved areas), and free or low-cost medical access initiatives.

Green Party

  • Green Economy and Innovation Package: The Greens have proposed a multi-billion dollar economic and innovation package aimed at creating tens of thousands of jobs, focusing significantly on regional and community-scale transition.

  • Localized Transition and Energy: Their policies lean into decentralized infrastructure, such as funding for community-owned renewable energy projects and regional climate-resilience work. They also propose structural economic shifts, like establishing state-backed alternatives in key sectors (such as renewable energy and retail) to stimulate localized economic circulation.

ACT New Zealand

  • Regulatory Freedom and Tax Relief: ACT focuses on cutting government spending, reducing regulations on business, and lowering personal and corporate tax rates to incentivize private enterprise. For small towns, ACT's philosophy is that removing central government red tape and local council overreach is the best way to allow local entrepreneurs, tourism operators, and small businesses to thrive independently without relying on government-picked regional funds.

If you want to evaluate how these policies impact your specific situation, you can check local candidate debates or look into party manifestos directly on theElections NZ portal or via individual party websites.

Ask anything

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AI Overviews · No location

I work in a small town rather than farming. My family drives long distances for services, and local jobs and healthcare are limited. I am considering my vote in the 2026 New Zealand general election. What would parties do to create or retain jobs in small towns beyond farming?

AI Overview

For the 2026 New Zealand general election , political parties are addressing job creation and economic security in regional and small-town communities. Understanding that your family deals with limited local services, healthcare constraints, and travel distances, the major political blocs approach non-farming regional job creation through distinctly different methods.

The primary strategies offered by the parties to build or maintain jobs in small towns outside of the agricultural sector include:

1. New Zealand First (NZ First)

Strategy: Heavy infrastructure investment, resource extraction, and direct regional funding.

  • Regional Infrastructure Fund (RIF): NZ First relies heavily on securing dedicated government funding specifically for provincial infrastructure projects, aiming to create construction and support jobs directly in small towns.
  • Mining & Resource Wealth Share: The party advocates for a "50% Mining Royalties to the Regions" policy. If minerals, aggregates, or resources are mined near your community, half of the Crown royalties would be given directly back to local regional councils to fund infrastructure and create non-farming jobs.
  • Infrastructure-Linked Visas: They propose linking skilled work visas directly to regional infrastructure capacity to prevent resources from being concentrated entirely in main cities.

2. National Party

Strategy: Cutting regulation, reforming the planning system, and driving private enterprise.

  • Resource Management Act (RMA) Replacement: National’s core regional economic strategy focuses on replacing the complex RMA with a fast-tracked, 17-region combined planning system. By cutting red tape, they intend to make it easier and cheaper to build commercial developments, light industry, and housing in smaller towns.
  • Private Sector Job Growth: National aims to add 220,000 jobs by 2030 nationwide by restoring business confidence and offering tax relief to businesses, betting that a lower compliance burden will encourage small-town commercial enterprises to expand.

3. Labour Party

Strategy: Small business stimulus, sovereign wealth funds, and trades training.

  • Small Business Support: Labour has promised a package targeting non-farming small businesses, including a tax write-off for new equipment up to $10,000, lifting the compulsory GST registration threshold from $60,000 to $80,000, and guaranteeing a 15% target for government contracts going to small businesses.
  • New Zealand Future Fund: This proposed sovereign wealth fund is intended to co-invest directly in local infrastructure and innovative Kiwi technology sectors outside major hubs.
  • Apprenticeships & Targeted Training: They plan to extend employer payments via the Apprenticeship Boost and provide $21 million annually for localized, community-led trades training to help rural workers upskill into diverse industries without moving away.

4. The Green Party

Strategy: Green transition employment and public sector growth.

  • Green Jobs Plan: The Greens are proposing a $6 billion economic plan aimed at generating 284,000 jobs, focusing heavily on decentralized renewable energy projects, home insulation retrofits (via programmes like SolarSaver), and localized ecological restoration. These projects are intentionally spread across smaller towns and regions to build non-agricultural industries.

Direct Comparison: How They Affect Your Small-Town Non-Farming Concerns

Party Core Focus for Non-Farming Towns Impact on Local Infrastructure & Services
National Business growth via fast-track planning & fewer compliance costs. Focuses on economic corridors and major state highways to connect towns to hubs.
Labour Financial relief for small business operators & trades training. Prioritizes public funding for schools, regional hospitals, and public service jobs.
NZ First Heavy industry, mining, and localized infrastructure funding blocks. Funnels royalties and RIF funds directly to provincial councils for local builds.
Greens State-funded climate mitigation, eco-tourism, and clean energy. Focuses heavily on regional public transport links and energy self-reliance.

If you'd like to narrow this down, please let me know:

  • Which specific non-farming industries (e.g., tourism, manufacturing, tech, retail, or trade) interest you most?
  • Whether you want more details on what these parties plan to do regarding regional healthcare access or public transport/roading to cut down your family's travel times.
Ask anything

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