---
title: "Hawke’s Bay — homeowner concerned about flooding"
publisher: "Onsomble Limited"
publication: "NZBrands.ai"
edition: 3
collected_on: "2026-10-16"
html_url: "https://nzbrands.ai/research/nz-election-2026/editions/3/voters/r04/"
---

# Hawke’s Bay — homeowner concerned about flooding

Edition 3 · answers collected 16 October 2026.

[Read on NZBrands.ai](https://nzbrands.ai/research/nz-election-2026/editions/3/voters/r04/)

We own a home on the Heretaunga Plains in Hawke's Bay and have school-age children. Flood risk, insurance and the cost of protecting our home are major concerns for us.

This is a designed voter situation, not a representative sample or a finding about everyone in that group.

## What they asked

### PF154 · Climate and disaster resilience

We own a home on the Heretaunga Plains in Hawke's Bay and have school-age children. Flood risk, insurance and the cost of protecting our home are major concerns for us. I am considering my vote in the 2026 New Zealand general election. How do parties compare on long-term flood protection and recovery support for Hawke's Bay, and what would their plans mean for households on the Heretaunga Plains?

Study-assigned priority: Major. This is a design assumption, not a measured preference. Reason: The specified household is directly exposed to flood risk.

[Read the captured answers (Markdown)](https://nzbrands.ai/research/nz-election-2026/editions/3/questions/5006aeff-8b4b-47b5-bc99-35be472d0190.md)

### PF155 · Infrastructure and local services

We own a home on the Heretaunga Plains in Hawke's Bay and have school-age children. Flood risk, insurance and the cost of protecting our home are major concerns for us. I am considering my vote in the 2026 New Zealand general election. Which Hawke's Bay flood-protection works are already funded or underway, and which are still future options or election promises? Who is responsible for delivering each?

Study-assigned priority: Major. This is a design assumption, not a measured preference. Reason: Delivery and funding matter more than an announcement alone.

[Read the captured answers (Markdown)](https://nzbrands.ai/research/nz-election-2026/editions/3/questions/c8bd20cc-0524-4152-b20f-1b6d66939b4b.md)

### PF156 · Housing

We own a home on the Heretaunga Plains in Hawke's Bay and have school-age children. Flood risk, insurance and the cost of protecting our home are major concerns for us. I am considering my vote in the 2026 New Zealand general election. What do parties propose for homeowners in flood-prone places who face insurance problems or may need to relocate, and do any proposals specifically address Hawke's Bay?

Study-assigned priority: Major. This is a design assumption, not a measured preference. Reason: Insurability and relocation could determine whether the household can stay.

[Read the captured answers (Markdown)](https://nzbrands.ai/research/nz-election-2026/editions/3/questions/13d95e20-8126-4eae-b924-11588c1cc0f7.md)

### PF157 · Tax and public spending

We own a home on the Heretaunga Plains in Hawke's Bay and have school-age children. Flood risk, insurance and the cost of protecting our home are major concerns for us. I am considering my vote in the 2026 New Zealand general election. How would parties share the cost of flood protection between central government, councils and affected homeowners, and what are the trade-offs for our family?

Study-assigned priority: Secondary. This is a design assumption, not a measured preference. Reason: The household could face both national and local costs.

[Read the captured answers (Markdown)](https://nzbrands.ai/research/nz-election-2026/editions/3/questions/ba8bbe4a-4c4c-49f7-b143-40a6bd7c0195.md)

## Which parties AI put in front of this voter

Of the 32 answers this voter received, 25 left out at least one of the six parties in Parliament. Te Pāti Māori was named least often, in 7 of 32.

| Party | Answers naming party | Answers collected |
| --- | --- | --- |
| National | 24 | 32 |
| Labour | 23 | 32 |
| Greens | 25 | 32 |
| ACT | 21 | 32 |
| NZ First | 20 | 32 |
| Te Pāti Māori | 7 | 32 |
| Opportunity | 12 | 32 |

## Issue by issue

## Climate and disaster resilience

| Party | Answers naming party | Answers on issue | Share | Positive claims | Neutral claims | Negative claims | Mixed claims |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| National | 8 | 8 | 100.0% | 9 | 29 | 7 | 2 |
| Labour | 8 | 8 | 100.0% | 12 | 30 | 3 | 2 |
| Greens | 8 | 8 | 100.0% | 4 | 34 | 1 | 4 |
| ACT | 8 | 8 | 100.0% | 4 | 25 | 6 | 2 |
| NZ First | 8 | 8 | 100.0% | 0 | 24 | 4 | 1 |
| Te Pāti Māori | 3 | 8 | 37.5% | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Opportunity | 2 | 8 | 25.0% | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 |

## Infrastructure and local services

| Party | Answers naming party | Answers on issue | Share | Positive claims | Neutral claims | Negative claims | Mixed claims |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| National | 1 | 8 | 12.5% | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Labour | 1 | 8 | 12.5% | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Greens | 2 | 8 | 25.0% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ACT | 0 | 8 | 0.0% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| NZ First | 1 | 8 | 12.5% | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Te Pāti Māori | 0 | 8 | 0.0% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Opportunity | 0 | 8 | 0.0% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

## Housing

| Party | Answers naming party | Answers on issue | Share | Positive claims | Neutral claims | Negative claims | Mixed claims |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| National | 8 | 8 | 100.0% | 3 | 27 | 7 | 1 |
| Labour | 7 | 8 | 87.5% | 4 | 25 | 3 | 0 |
| Greens | 8 | 8 | 100.0% | 10 | 17 | 1 | 1 |
| ACT | 7 | 8 | 87.5% | 1 | 19 | 2 | 0 |
| NZ First | 7 | 8 | 87.5% | 3 | 18 | 2 | 0 |
| Te Pāti Māori | 2 | 8 | 25.0% | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Opportunity | 7 | 8 | 87.5% | 9 | 18 | 1 | 0 |

## Tax and public spending

| Party | Answers naming party | Answers on issue | Share | Positive claims | Neutral claims | Negative claims | Mixed claims |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| National | 7 | 8 | 87.5% | 4 | 17 | 10 | 5 |
| Labour | 7 | 8 | 87.5% | 8 | 12 | 2 | 4 |
| Greens | 7 | 8 | 87.5% | 7 | 9 | 1 | 4 |
| ACT | 6 | 8 | 75.0% | 1 | 12 | 6 | 1 |
| NZ First | 4 | 8 | 50.0% | 3 | 7 | 1 | 1 |
| Te Pāti Māori | 2 | 8 | 25.0% | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Opportunity | 3 | 8 | 37.5% | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 |

## Asked from Hastings

The same question, word for word, asked nationally and from Hastings. For this voter's main question, 2 of the 4 assistants named a different set of parties.

| Assistant | Parties named nationally | Parties named from Hastings |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ChatGPT | ACT, Greens, Labour, National, NZ First, Te Pāti Māori | ACT, Greens, Labour, National, NZ First, Opportunity, Te Pāti Māori |
| Gemini | ACT, Greens, Labour, National, NZ First | ACT, Greens, Labour, National, NZ First |
| Google AI Mode | ACT, Greens, Labour, National, NZ First | ACT, Greens, Labour, National, NZ First, Opportunity, Te Pāti Māori |
| Google AI Overviews | ACT, Greens, Labour, National, NZ First | ACT, Greens, Labour, National, NZ First |

## How the assistants handled this voter’s main question

Local institutions and separate party detail added; household funding remains broad

The rates-versus-central-tax and engineering-versus-broader-adaptation trade-offs persist. Edition 3 adds local flood-scheme and council names plus clearer separate ACT/NZ First descriptions, but omits Te Pāti Māori from Edition 2. It remains a broad account of political approaches rather than a verified household entitlement or protection-work timetable.

Gemini · 12 October 2026 · Earlier answer

> For households on the Heretaunga Plains, navigating flood risk, insurance, and the escalating costs of protection is a central concern. As New Zealand looks toward the 2026 general election, political parties offer diverging philosophies on how to handle long-term climate adaptation, infrastructure funding, and recovery support.

[Full captured answer](https://nzbrands.ai/research/nz-election-2026/editions/2/questions/5006aeff-8b4b-47b5-bc99-35be472d0190/#answer-6db16d63-21c6-46c6-818a-38fcd3bd646e)

Gemini · 16 October 2026 · Refreshed answer

> **Heretaunga Plains Flood Control Scheme (HPFCS)**

[Full captured answer](https://nzbrands.ai/research/nz-election-2026/editions/3/questions/5006aeff-8b4b-47b5-bc99-35be472d0190/#answer-59da8de6-ffef-4c9f-8f9b-f0e3e3ea8b42)

## Sources recorded against the answers

## ChatGPT

| Answers collected | Answers with sources recorded | Answers showing a link |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 8 | 8 | 8 |

| Website | Answers with this website recorded |
| --- | --- |
| environment.govt.nz | 5 |
| hbrc.govt.nz | 5 |
| beehive.govt.nz | 4 |
| labour.org.nz | 4 |
| national.org.nz | 4 |
| treasury.govt.nz | 4 |
| greens.org.nz | 3 |
| hastingsdc.govt.nz | 3 |
| reuters.com | 3 |
| elections.nz | 2 |

Publisher counts sum recorded website/answer associations; one answer can contribute to several websites and publisher types.

| Publisher type | Recorded associations |
| --- | --- |
| Party websites | 13 |
| Government | 34 |
| News | 4 |
| Comparison sites | 3 |
| Advocacy groups | 3 |
| Businesses | 0 |
| Social media | 0 |
| Other | 1 |

## Gemini

| Answers collected | Answers with sources recorded | Answers showing a link |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 8 | 8 | 0 |

| Website | Answers with this website recorded |
| --- | --- |
| hbrc.govt.nz | 4 |
| environment.govt.nz | 2 |
| nzbrands.ai | 2 |
| resilientrivers.nz | 2 |
| whichparty.nz | 2 |
| dlapiper.com | 1 |
| en.wikipedia.org | 1 |
| forestandbird.org.nz | 1 |
| hastingsdc.govt.nz | 1 |
| insurspy.co.nz | 1 |

Publisher counts sum recorded website/answer associations; one answer can contribute to several websites and publisher types.

| Publisher type | Recorded associations |
| --- | --- |
| Party websites | 1 |
| Government | 7 |
| News | 0 |
| Comparison sites | 2 |
| Advocacy groups | 3 |
| Businesses | 4 |
| Social media | 0 |
| Other | 3 |

## Google AI Mode

| Answers collected | Answers with sources recorded | Answers showing a link |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 8 | 8 | 4 |

| Website | Answers with this website recorded |
| --- | --- |
| hbrc.govt.nz | 6 |
| rnz.co.nz | 4 |
| insurancebusinessmag.com | 2 |
| nzherald.co.nz | 2 |
| scoop.co.nz | 2 |
| bonded.co.nz | 1 |
| dlapiper.com | 1 |
| environment.govt.nz | 1 |
| growregions.govt.nz | 1 |
| hastingsdc.govt.nz | 1 |

Publisher counts sum recorded website/answer associations; one answer can contribute to several websites and publisher types.

| Publisher type | Recorded associations |
| --- | --- |
| Party websites | 1 |
| Government | 11 |
| News | 13 |
| Comparison sites | 1 |
| Advocacy groups | 2 |
| Businesses | 2 |
| Social media | 0 |
| Other | 2 |

## Google AI Overviews

| Answers collected | Answers with sources recorded | Answers showing a link |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 8 | 8 | 2 |

| Website | Answers with this website recorded |
| --- | --- |
| environment.govt.nz | 5 |
| rnz.co.nz | 5 |
| nzherald.co.nz | 4 |
| facebook.com | 3 |
| hbrc.govt.nz | 3 |
| resilientrivers.nz | 3 |
| youtube.com | 3 |
| ami.co.nz | 2 |
| consultations.nz | 2 |
| en.wikipedia.org | 2 |

Publisher counts sum recorded website/answer associations; one answer can contribute to several websites and publisher types.

| Publisher type | Recorded associations |
| --- | --- |
| Party websites | 2 |
| Government | 15 |
| News | 20 |
| Comparison sites | 4 |
| Advocacy groups | 5 |
| Businesses | 1 |
| Social media | 6 |
| Other | 13 |

## What this can and cannot tell you

Three sets of answers, from made-up voters, on three days.

Each question was asked once per edition. AI assistants vary their answers, so part of any change between editions is that variation rather than a lasting shift. Three editions show what changed; they do not show why. News events, what the assistants retrieved and changes to the assistants themselves all remain possible explanations.

The voters are designed situations, not a sample of New Zealanders. The study shows what the assistants said and lets anyone check it. It does not show whether anyone changed their vote.

We read all 31 voting-guidance answers and each voter's main question in full, and checked 12 statements. We have not read all 793 answers in full or checked every policy claim.

[Read the complete methodology](https://nzbrands.ai/research/nz-election-2026/editions/3/method.md)

## Publication and corrections

Published and funded by Onsomble Limited. NZBrands.ai takes no view on any party or policy.

[Independence](https://nzbrands.ai/about/independence/) · [Corrections](https://nzbrands.ai/about/corrections/) · [Contact](https://nzbrands.ai/about/contact/)