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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 would parties do about electricity costs for small businesses?

New Zealand's 2026 election: electricity costs for your café

For a small café, electricity is more than another household bill. It runs your fridges, freezers, coffee machine, dishwasher, extraction fans, lighting and heating — often at the same time as you are trying to absorb higher food costs and customers cutting back.

New Zealand's general election is scheduled for 7 November 2026. As of 16 October, parties are campaigning on different ways to make electricity more affordable, including increasing generation, changing electricity-market rules, expanding solar power and changing who owns or operates power companies. National reveal election energy policy: 'Secure, affordable power is key'The main parties vying to form New Zealand's next governmentElection 2026: Political polarisation on energy and climate, except solar

The important distinction for your café is between policies that could lower your power bill directly and policies intended to make electricity cheaper over several years. Those are not the same thing.

What the main parties are proposing

These are the most relevant published positions I could verify. The key question is whether each policy covers a business like yours, rather than just households.

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

National

More supply, competition and business choice

National's October energy plan would review the rules governing electricity lines charges, make affordability a core objective for the Electricity Authority, speed up renewable generation, and allow businesses with solar to sell electricity to any power retailer. It also proposes low-interest, long-term loans through a Home Energy Fund. National reveal election energy policy: 'Secure, affordable power is key'

Potential benefit for your café: more options for managing energy costs, particularly if you own your premises and could install solar.

What remains uncertain: the size of any reduction in your electricity bill, and whether the lines-charge review would lower your specific charges.

South Island Election Conference 2026

Labour

Stronger price regulation and solar financing

Labour proposes making electricity price gouging illegal, requiring companies found to have overcharged customers to pay them back, and offering government-backed, low-interest SolarSaver loans for solar panels and batteries. Its published cost-of-living plan estimates average household savings of around $1,000 annually from solar, with additional support for eligible lower- and middle-income households. Labour's Cost of Living Plan

Potential benefit for your café: stronger consumer protections if they extend effectively to small-business electricity contracts, plus financing for on-site generation.

What remains uncertain: the precise legal test for overcharging, how enforcement would work, and whether the household solar savings estimates translate to a commercial premises.

Green Party NZ (@NZGreens) on X

Green Party

Public ownership and community renewable energy

The Greens propose establishing Kiwipower, a publicly owned electricity company intended to deliver affordable, secure renewable electricity. Their wider plan includes zero-interest clean-energy loans for solar and batteries and support for community-owned renewable projects. Green Party launches plan to cut power bills and take power back from the big energy companiesThe main parties vying to form New Zealand's next government

Potential benefit for your café: a different approach to electricity-market ownership, alongside opportunities to generate your own power.

What remains uncertain: the timetable for establishing Kiwipower, how its prices would be set, and whether commercial customers would receive specific discounts or assistance.

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

New Zealand First

Restructure the electricity market

NZ First proposes separating the major electricity companies' generation and retail businesses, changing market arrangements it argues keep prices high, and guaranteeing long-term fixed-price contracts for new generation projects. It also proposes allowing household solar owners to sell power at the same price they pay to buy it. Breaking up the Gentailers

Potential benefit for your café: more competition between electricity retailers and potentially lower wholesale costs over time.

What remains uncertain: how quickly restructuring would affect retail prices, and whether the proposed solar buy-back arrangement would apply to commercial solar installations on the same terms.

New Zealand Legislative Election Winner 2026 Odds | Polymarket

ACT

Market-led approach; details to check

ACT has emphasised reducing regulatory barriers and changing climate-policy settings. I could not verify a comparably detailed, current election proposal specifying how ACT would reduce electricity bills for small businesses. Election 2026: Political polarisation on energy and climate, except solarThe main parties vying to form New Zealand's next government

Potential benefit for your café: if regulatory changes lead to faster construction of generation and more competition, they could help increase supply.

What remains uncertain: the specific measures, their costs, and whether ACT would offer direct help to small businesses with power bills.

Other parties worth checking

What could help your café before the election?

One important point: some electricity-market changes are already in force, regardless of who wins the election.

  1. Compare time-of-use electricity plans

Since 1 July 2026, large retailers have been required to offer time-varying electricity plans to eligible small businesses. These can provide cheaper off-peak rates, but peak rates may be higher, so savings depend on when your café uses electricity. New ways to empower electricity consumers | Our consultations | Our projectsOff-peak pricing to make power more affordableOptimise your electricity use for savings

  1. Check whether solar would pay off

If you own your premises, ask for a commercial solar quote based on your actual daytime electricity consumption. If you rent, the upfront investment and landlord's permission become important obstacles. Eligible small businesses exporting solar power may also qualify for network rebates under rules introduced in April 2026. Energy Competition Task Force | Our projectsClarification on small business eligibility for peak export rebates

  1. Examine the whole bill, not just the unit rate

Compare the daily fixed charge, electricity usage rates, peak pricing, network charges and contract exit fees. National's proposed lines-charge review and the other parties' market reforms won't necessarily reduce every component of your bill. National reveal election energy policy: 'Secure, affordable power is key'Breaking up the GentailersLabour's Cost of Living Plan

How to assess the parties against your priorities

For your situation, I'd look at four practical questions when reading their policies:

What matters to your café What to look for in party policies
Lower bills now Direct small-business relief or enforceable protections against overcharging
Lower bills over time More generation, better competition and reforms to network charges
Affordable investment Commercial solar and battery loans, including eligibility and repayment terms
Business resilience Reliable supply, predictable pricing and support for small businesses

The biggest evidence gap across the policies is a clear, quantified commitment to reducing electricity bills specifically for cafés and other small hospitality businesses. Household savings estimates should not be treated as business savings guarantees.

One question that would help make this comparison much more concrete: do you own or rent your café premises? That makes a significant difference to how useful solar loans, batteries and power-generation policies could be for you.

Ask anything

ChatGPT can make mistakes. Check important info.

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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 would parties do about electricity costs for small businesses?

Running a hospitality business right now with tight margins, rising power bills, security concerns, and sliding customer spending is an immense juggling act.

Electricity costs are a central battleground in the 2026 New Zealand general election, with every major political party offering different solutions to bring power bills down for households and businesses.

National Party

National focuses heavily on market efficiency, lines companies, and addressing dry-year security risks:

  • Regulatory Focus: National’s energy policy aims to make "affordability" a legal, core objective for the Electricity Authority, ensuring price impacts carry equal weight with reliability and efficiency in regulatory decisions.
  • Dry-Year Security & Backstop Markets: They propose streamlining backup power contracts and pushing for structural solutions (such as supporting the development of an LNG import terminal framework) to guard against high winter and dry-year spot price spikes.
  • Lines and Network Efficiency: The approach leans heavily on better benchmarking and performance monitoring of local lines companies alongside market-led generation rather than structural corporate breakups.

Labour Party

Labour’s approach focuses on direct business and consumer support, transitioning, and protection mechanisms:

  • Business Electrification & Energy Efficiency: Labour supports partnering directly with businesses to help fund electrification and reduce energy use, alongside backing energy performance standards for commercial buildings to lower long-term operating costs.
  • Renewables & Solar Schemes: They champion programs like "SolarSaver" (low-interest finance and targeted subsidies for solar setup) to help cut dependency on the main grid.
  • Market Intervention: While stopping short of forcing an immediate forced breakup of the major energy companies, Labour has kept the door open to fundamental market structure changes if price gouging continues.

ACT New Zealand

ACT advocates for a strictly market-led approach with a focus on deregulation and expanding supply:

  • More Generation and Less Red Tape: ACT argues that high prices are primarily a supply issue caused by constraints on transmission and distribution connections. They oppose structural corporate breakups, favoring deregulation to let the market build more generation quickly.
  • Commercial Solar & Battery Support: ACT supports removing unnecessary regulatory hurdles for small-scale commercial and residential solar, alongside building a faster market for battery services to improve commercial energy storage options.

Green Party

The Greens focus heavily on public ownership, decentralization, and renewable expansion:

  • Kiwipower: The Greens propose establishing a publicly owned generation company ("Kiwipower") tasked with investing heavily in renewable generation, addressing dry-year security, and boosting independent market participants to challenge the major gentailers.
  • Corporate Split: They strongly support forcing a structural separation of vertically integrated gentailer companies (companies that both generate and retail power), arguing that the current model allows companies to excessively profit from high spot prices.

New Zealand First

NZ First takes a direct, structural intervention stance:

  • Breaking Up Gentailers: NZ First has campaigned heavily on a Telecom-style structural split of the "Big Four" major gentailers, arguing that breaking up companies that control both generation and retail is essential to driving down power prices for consumers and businesses.
  • Fossil Fuel and Transition Support: They also emphasize immediate support and transition funding for industries and businesses moving away from high gas costs while pushing for greater domestic energy security.

Summary for a Small Café Owner

When weighing your vote as a café owner, the political landscape largely splits into two philosophies:

  1. Free Market & Infrastructure Focus (National, ACT): Focuses on boosting overall energy supply, smoothing out dry-year volatility, reforming lines charges, and streamlining regulations so businesses can deploy solar/batteries easier.
  2. Structural Reform & Direct State/Subsidy Intervention (Labour, Greens, NZ First): Focuses on breaking up dominant gentailers to inject competition, creating public generation entities, or rolling out direct commercial solar/electrification funding and subsidies.
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 would parties do about electricity costs for small businesses?

New Zealand political parties propose varying market, regulatory, and state-intervention approaches to address electricity costs and energy security for small businesses in the 2026 general election.

As a café owner dealing with compressed margins, understanding how each party intends to influence generation capacity, market competition, and pricing structures can help inform your vote. [Power Compare]

Overview of Party Positions and Proposals on Electricity

Political Party Core Approach to Electricity & Costs Key Proposed Policies for Businesses/Consumers
National Party Supply and market competition via private investment and red-tape reduction. Released Electrify NZ 2.0 , aiming to unlock new energy development zones, streamline consenting via RMA reform, and increase supply options to drive down competitive pricing.
Labour Party Consumer protections and local generation support. Focussing on consumer protection regulations, rolling out localized solar initiatives, and supporting measures to shield everyday households and small operations from volatile peak market pricing.
Green Party State-backed clean energy expansion. Proposing a new publicly owned generation company dedicated to expanding renewable supply and driving public-good pricing models rather than relying strictly on corporate generators.
ACT New Zealand Free-market deregulation and resource development. Favoring fast-tracked private infrastructure investment, removing regulatory barriers to energy production, and opposing market interventions in favor of raw supply growth.
New Zealand First Market restructuring of major power companies. Advocating for structural reforms of state-linked or major electricity companies to curb perceived profiteering and bring down wholesale pricing for local commercial users.

Practical Context for Your Café

  • Pricing Structures: Independent of direct party manifestos, the Electricity Authority has pushed for broader time-of-use pricing structures, which can impact commercial and small business tariffs depending on when your café consumes peak energy (such as morning baking vs. afternoon service).

  • Broader Pressures: While electricity is a major overhead, parties are also addressing broader small-business concerns like retail crime/security and economic-stimulus measures differently—ranging from police resourcing and harsher penalties for commercial break-ins (favored by National, ACT, and NZ First) to social-support and economic demand-side interventions (favored by Labour and the Greens).

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 would parties do about electricity costs for small businesses?

AI Overview

For the 2026 New Zealand general election , major political parties are pitching distinctly different strategies to address skyrocketing electricity costs for small businesses. Operating a café requires consistent power for refrigeration and kitchen equipment, making your bottom line highly sensitive to both structural retail rates and commercial grid fees.

The main party proposals targeting business energy costs focus on regulatory changes, solar access, and structural market overhauls:

🇳🇿 National Party: "Electrify NZ 2.0" & Grid Deregulation

National is focusing on cutting red tape, bypassing lines company delays, and targeting non-generation fees:

  • Targeting Lines Charges: National is promising a targeted review of Part 4 of the Commerce Act. They argue the Commerce Commission locked in artificially high caps on distribution lines charges when interest rates were peak, and want these caps reassessed to lower the fixed utility costs on commercial bills.
  • Fast-Track Commercial Solar: They plan to mandate that lines companies approve small business and residential solar connections within two working days. Furthermore, they will establish a legal right for businesses to sell their exported solar power to any electricity retailer, not just the company they buy from, to maximize returns.
  • Price Affordability Mandate: National intends to rewrite the law to make "affordability" a core statutory objective for the Electricity Authority regulator, forcing it to weigh business and household costs equally with market competition.
  • Data Centre Ring-Fencing: To prevent large tech projects from driving up spot prices for small businesses, new AI data centres will be legally required to provide or secure their own backup generation capacity.

🔴 Labour Party: "SolarSaver" & Price-Gouging Protections

Labour is tackling commercial power costs through targeted energy-efficiency support and clamping down on corporate pricing power:

  • Anti-Price Gouging Laws: Labour has promised to make "price gouging" illegal for essential services, explicitly targeting electricity companies to prevent them from passing excessive pricing onto vulnerable commercial sectors.
  • Office & Building Performance Standards: Labour supports a bill introducing mandatory energy performance disclosures and standards for commercial spaces. This aims to force commercial landlords to improve building insulation and efficiency, organically lowering energy waste and power bills for business tenants like cafés.
  • Business Electrification Partnerships: Their platform signals direct government partnerships and low-interest capital avenues to help small-to-medium businesses transition away from gas and inefficient appliances toward highly efficient electric kitchen and heating alternatives.

🟢 The Green Party & 🪙 NZ First: Structural Market Overhauls

If you are looking for systemic changes to how electricity prices are set, the smaller parties are proposing aggressive interventions against the major "gentailers" (companies that both generate and retail power):

  • Breaking Up the Power Companies: Both the Greens and NZ First are campaigning heavily on forcing a structural breakup of the major electricity companies (like Meridian, Mercury, Genesis, and Contact).
  • The Argument: They argue the current vertically integrated model allows gentailers to profit off high wholesale spot prices while keeping retail prices high for businesses. NZ First proposes a "Telecom-style" split to completely detach generation from retail pricing to drive costs down. The Greens also favor creating a new publicly owned renewable generation company to undercut commercial market rates.

🟡 ACT & 🔵 The Opportunity Party (TOP)

  • ACT strongly opposes breaking up power companies, arguing that structural interventions stall investment. Instead, they want to lower prices by entirely removing regulatory barriers to gas and renewable exploration, increasing overall energy supply to let market competition naturally lower commercial retail rates.
  • TOP rejects breaking up the companies as too slow and costly. They propose merging current energy regulators and significantly strengthening market competition rules within the existing grid structure to prevent unfair commercial pricing.

Given that your café is facing a multi-faceted squeeze—falling consumer spend, food inflation, electricity spikes, and retail crime—the right vote depends on which mechanism you trust to provide immediate relief.

If you want to see how these parties plan to address your other critical concerns, I can break down their specific policies on retail crime and community safety , or their plans to stimulate consumer spending and small business tax relief. Which area would help you weigh your options next?

Ask anything

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