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Evidence · NZ Election 2026 · Edition 5

Every question and original answer

All 174 questions and the 786 complete answers recorded on 23 October 2026. Source lists and sentiment assessments are included, alongside the unchanged original answers.

questions
174
answers saved
786
collected
23 October 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

    questions.csv

    One row per question, with its original wording.

    id, text, reference, enabled, axes, collectionSettings

    174rows

    Download questions (CSV)

  • Complete answers

    answers.csv

    One row per saved answer, including its original text.

    id, questionId, assistant, collectionSetting, askedFrom, text, words

    786rows

    Download complete answers (CSV)

  • Answers included in each comparison

    memberships.csv

    One row per answer and comparison, showing which results were counted together.

    comparisonId, answerId, rowKey, included

    2,193rows

    Download answers included in each comparison (CSV)

  • Party names found in answers

    codings.csv

    One row per answer, party and comparison, with the recorded decision and evidence.

    comparisonId, answerId, entityId, kind, measure, counted, quote, reason, evidence

    37,281rows

    Download party names found in answers (CSV)

  • Sources recorded with each answer

    sources.csv

    One row per answer, with its recorded websites, source-list status and visible links.

    answerId, capture, domains, urls, literalUrls, origin

    786rows

    Download sources recorded with each answer (CSV)

  • What the voting-guidance answers did

    behaviour-coding.csv

    One row per guidance answer, with the recorded behaviours and supporting passages.

    answerId, draft_id, platform, explicit_choice_boundary, conditional_party_or_bloc_alignment, prioritised_shortlist, elicits_additional_user_information, unconditional_single_party_vote_instruction, rationale, evidence, review_provenance

    31rows

    Download what the voting-guidance answers did (CSV)

  • Checks against official sources

    checks.csv

    One row per selected statement checked in an answer.

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

    9rows

    Download checks against official sources (CSV)

  • Statements selected for checking

    check-register.csv

    One row per selected check, with its reason and official source.

    checkId, claimToTest, category, whyChecked, primarySourceUrl, answerId

    9rows

    Download statements selected for checking (CSV)

  • Research findings

    findings.csv

    One row per finding, with its figure and supporting records.

    id, statement, summary, caveat, value, denominator, evidence

    10rows

    Download research findings (CSV)

  • Evidence behind the findings

    findings-evidence.csv

    One row per finding, with the records supporting it.

    findingId, rows

    10rows

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  • What changed for each voter

    case-decisions.csv

    One row per voter situation, with the earlier and later readings.

    case, transition, quote, assessment, draft_id, scenario, earlier_result_id, result_id, earlier_quote, earlier_assessment, earlier_review_provenance, current_review_provenance

    32rows

    Download what changed for each voter (CSV)

  • Answers read in detail

    report-evidence.csv

    One row per answer included in the detailed research readings.

    key, answerId, interpretation, text

    63rows

    Download answers read in detail (CSV)

  • Party counts by edition

    party-count-tables.csv

    One row per comparison, edition, assistant and party, with its answer count and total.

    panel, edition, platform, party, numerator, denominator

    510rows

    Download party counts by edition (CSV)

  • Answer length by assistant

    platform-tables.csv

    One row per comparison, edition and assistant, with the recorded answer lengths.

    panel, edition, platform, answers, median_words, total_words

    60rows

    Download answer length by assistant (CSV)

  • Location comparisons by edition

    regional-tables.csv

    One row per national-and-location comparison and edition.

    edition, prompt_id, platform, city, draft_id, block, scenario_id, scenario, issue, priority, common_4_5, complete, national_result_id, city_result_id, same_text, same_party_set, same_displayed_party_set

    248rows

    Download location comparisons by edition (CSV)

  • Changes by topic

    issue-tables.csv

    One row per topic, showing answer totals and changes in party names.

    issue, current_answers, matched, changed_party_sets, changed_displayed_party_sets

    20rows

    Download changes by topic (CSV)

  • Links visible in answers

    literal-source-evidence.csv

    One row per answer, with the web links present in its text.

    edition, result_id, literal_urls, literal_domains, associated_capture

    786rows

    Download links visible in answers (CSV)

  • Separate website reference totals

    aggregate-references.csv

    One row per website in the separate reference summary; these totals do not identify which answer used it.

    domain, citationCount, referenceCount, promptCount, urlTotal, trendTotal, platforms

    752rows

    Download separate website reference totals (CSV)

  • Answers compared with 19 October

    pairs.csv

    One row per answer with an earlier counterpart to the same question, assistant and location.

    earlierAnswerId, answerId, questionId, assistant, collectionSetting, askedFrom

    771rows

    Download answers compared with 19 october (CSV)

  • Statements and sentiment assessments

    claims.csv

    The saved assessments of statements about tracked parties, with their answer references and verified extracts where available.

    claimId, answerId, entityId, role, tone, quote, origin, nativeQuoteVerified

    20,816rows

    Download statements and sentiment assessments (CSV)

  • Original saved statement assessments

    raw-native-claims.csv

    One row per saved statement, with its original wording and party assessments. These are automated results, not independently checked facts.

    quote, brands, stance, claimId, claimText, sourceResultId

    26,967rows

    Download original saved statement assessments (CSV)

  • Original saved source records

    raw-native-sources.csv

    Every saved source record, distinguishing citations from other references. The source rankings count citations only.

    answerId, url, domain, metadata, domainType, citationKind

    8,755rows

    Download original saved source records (CSV)

  • Sources by answer

    source-associations.csv

    One row per answer and website; repeated references to the same website count once.

    answer id, question id, assistant, domain, publisher

    4,682rows

    Download sources by answer (CSV)

  • National and location answers

    place-pairs.csv

    One row per complete national-and-location pair in this edition.

    question id, assistant, place, national answer id, place answer id, national entities, place entities, same entities

    121rows

    Download national and location answers (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. How do parties compare on roads, broadband and local infrastructure outside major cities?

New Zealand 2026 election: roads, broadband and services beyond the cities

For someone living and working in a small town, the infrastructure question is about more than major highways. It is whether you can get to a hospital or specialist without losing a day to travel, whether your internet connection supports work and study, and whether your town has the jobs and essential services that allow a family to stay there.

For the 2026 New Zealand general election, it helps to compare parties across four connected issues:

  • Roads and travel: maintenance of local roads, safer routes, bridge upgrades and reliable connections to larger centres.
  • Broadband and mobile coverage: reliable internet for work, education, telehealth and businesses.
  • Local infrastructure: water systems, electricity, public transport and resilience to floods and other disruptions.
  • Regional opportunity: access to healthcare, skills training and employment without having to relocate.

The election is scheduled for Saturday 7 November 2026, and the official voting information explains the difference between your party vote and electorate vote. Policies for Party vote - NZ Election 2026Where the parties stand on transport | The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

1. How the main parties compare

The following is a policy comparison based on published 2026 election material available as of 22 October. It distinguishes announced commitments from broader priorities; a party's policy does not guarantee that a project will be funded or completed. Election policy tracker: what the parties are promisingWhere the parties stand on transport | The Chartered Institute of Logistics and TransportHousing and transport: party comparison 2026

Select a party to see its approach in more detail.

National

Labour

Green Party

ACT

New Zealand First

Te Pāti Māori

TOP

National

Roads and transport

Prioritises roads, state highway upgrades, maintenance and freight connections. Its programme includes major highway projects and funding for vulnerable state highways.

Broadband and mobile coverage

I could not verify a specific new 2026 rural broadband commitment in the material reviewed.

Local services and infrastructure

Emphasises economic growth, productivity, disciplined public spending and infrastructure delivery.

Question to put to this party

How much of the transport budget will reach the local roads and vulnerable routes my family relies on, rather than major highway projects?

Sources for the party positions include the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport's September 2026 comparison, Policy.nz's 2026 transport and infrastructure comparison, and The Conversation's 2026 policy tracker. Where the parties stand on transport | The Chartered Institute of Logistics and TransportPolicies for Party vote - NZ Election 2026Election policy tracker: what the parties are promising

2. What to look for on roads

For your situation, it is worth distinguishing between two different kinds of investment.

  • Major highways: These can reduce journey times between regions, improve freight movement and provide alternative routes.
  • Local roads and resilience: These affect everyday access to work, schools, GPs, hospitals and other services. Bridge renewals, slips, flooding and road closures can matter more than the headline highway projects.

National's transport spokesperson has highlighted state highway maintenance, a dedicated pothole-prevention funding programme, and $400 million for state highway resilience work in Budget 2026. Labour, meanwhile, has proposed cancelling fuel excise and road-user-charge increases for three years. The parties disagree about the implications of those funding choices for transport projects. Where the parties stand on transport | The Chartered Institute of Logistics and TransportParty policies, simplified: Transport

When comparing their promises, check whether they identify:

  • Funding for local roads as well as state highways.
  • A specific list of projects, with a timetable and funding source.
  • Measures to keep roads open during floods, storms and slips.
  • How councils will afford maintenance and renewals over the long term.

3. Broadband: a particularly important gap to check

I could not verify enough specific 2026 party commitments on rural broadband to give you a reliable party-by-party comparison. That is different from saying the parties have no policy.

For a small-town household, I would look for commitments covering:

  • Fibre: Whether remaining underserved communities will gain access, and on what timetable.
  • Mobile coverage: Whether rural black spots will be addressed, including on roads connecting towns.
  • Reliability: Backup power, network resilience and restoration after severe weather.
  • Affordability: Whether households and small businesses can afford a connection that supports video calls, remote work and telehealth.

A general promise to grow the economy or improve digital infrastructure is not the same as a funded commitment to connect a specific number of underserved homes.

4. Jobs and healthcare: infrastructure is only part of the answer

Your concern about limited local employment and healthcare also deserves separate attention.

For jobs, compare whether parties propose investment in regional employers, apprenticeships and vocational training, small-business development, and reliable digital connections that make remote work practical.

For healthcare, look for specific commitments on rural GP access, attracting and retaining health professionals, visiting specialist services, ambulance coverage and travel support for people who must attend appointments in larger centres.

Labour's published 2026 programme, for example, includes three free GP visits a year through its proposed Medicard and removing the $5 prescription fee. Those are healthcare-cost commitments, not by themselves a solution to shortages of clinicians in small towns. Labour's 2026 Election PoliciesElection policy tracker: what the parties are promising

5. How to turn this into a useful voting comparison

I'd use a simple checklist when reading each party's manifesto or questioning local candidates:

What matters to your family What counts as a specific commitment
Getting to services A funded road, bridge or transport-access project
Reliable internet A rural coverage target, delivery date and funding
Healthcare nearby A staffing or service-access commitment
Jobs close to home Named regional investment, training or employment measures
Long-term infrastructure A funding plan that covers maintenance as well as construction

Remember that New Zealand has two votes: the party vote helps determine each party's share of seats in Parliament, while the electorate vote chooses your local representative. A local candidate may be able to explain the needs of your community in more detail than a national manifesto does. Policies for Party vote - NZ Election 2026

You can compare published commitments directly at Policy.nz and check each party's official policy pages for new announcements before voting.

The key distinction to keep in mind is whether a promise describes a broad national direction or spells out what will actually change for people living and working outside major cities.

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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. How do parties compare on roads, broadband and local infrastructure outside major cities?

Living in a small town where you rely heavily on driving for services, local jobs, and healthcare means that regional infrastructure—specifically roads, connectivity, and local services—directly impacts your daily quality of life and economic security.

As New Zealand heads toward the November 2026 general election, political parties have drawn distinct lines on how they plan to fund, build, and maintain infrastructure outside major metropolitan areas.

1. Roads, Highways, and Local Transport Resilience

Because small-town and rural residents spend significant time on the road for work, healthcare, and essential supplies, road maintenance and resilience are major flashpoints.

  • National Party:
    • Focus: A heavy emphasis on expanding and maintaining state highways through designated Roads of National Significance (RoNS) and regional road projects alongside a multi-year National Land Transport Programme.
    • Local Impact: Emphasises state highway maintenance, rapid pothole-repair targets, and regional road resilience programs aimed at keeping freight and long-distance commuter routes open. Their broader strategy relies heavily on streamlining resource management (RMA replacement) to fast-track regional transport and infrastructure projects.
  • Labour & Progressive Parties (Greens, etc.):
    • Focus: Take a more balanced "and/and" approach between roads and alternative modes, but heavily emphasize climate resilience, public transport options, and regional public links.
    • Local Impact: While acknowledging that rural areas and small towns rely on roads for freight and emergency services, their funding framework leans toward lower carbon emissions, public transport integration (such as regional and intercity bus subsidies or on-demand services), and climate-proofing existing corridors against extreme weather events rather than exclusively building new motorway extensions.
  • ACT and New Zealand First:
    • ACT: Focuses heavily on private-sector capital, public-private partnerships (PPPs), and regional accountability (such as 30-year regional infrastructure partnerships) to ensure local communities have more say in prioritizing transport spending.
    • New Zealand First: Traditionally places regional and provincial infrastructure at the core of its platform, pushing for direct government investment into provincial roads, rail, and local connectivity to support towns outside the main city centers.

2. Broadband and Digital Connectivity

For small towns, reliable broadband is essential for remote work, accessing telehealth services, and keeping local businesses connected to national markets.

  • Continuation and Expansion: Government frameworks (backed broadly across the political spectrum) continue to build on past Rural Broadband Initiatives (RBI) to close remaining blackspots.
  • Divergence on Delivery:
    • National and ACT generally advocate for leveraging private sector investment, commercial incentives, and reducing regulatory red tape to let telecommunication providers deploy wireless and satellite solutions faster.
    • Labour and the Greens tend to emphasize public-backed universal service obligations, ensuring that remote and regional households aren't left behind purely on the basis of commercial viability, alongside upgrades to regional energy and digital grids.

3. Local Infrastructure: Healthcare Access, Jobs, and Services

When local healthcare and employment are limited, the infrastructure connecting you to larger hubs—as well as the viability of your local town center—becomes critical.

  • Regional Healthcare Facilities: Parties differ on how to support regional health access. National has highlighted regional hospital and health infrastructure upgrades (such as regional ward developments), aiming to secure physical assets. Opposition parties often critique these as urban-centric, arguing that small towns need direct operational funding, workforce retention incentives for rural GPs and nurses, and better telehealth infrastructure rather than just bricks-and-mortar investments.
  • Local Government Funding: Small-town councils often struggle with a small ratepayers base while being responsible for massive roading and water networks.
    • Parties like National are pushing for planning and consenting reforms to reduce the cost burden on local councils.
    • The Greens and Labour focus more on centralized co-funding, climate adaptation grants for vulnerable regional councils, and maintaining public ownership of essential community assets.

Summary for Your Vote

When evaluating the parties ahead of November 2026, consider which approach aligns with your reality:

  • Do you prefer National's approach of large-scale roading corridors, fast-tracked consenting, and private-public funding models to drive economic efficiency?
  • Or do you lean toward the Labour/Green/NZ First approach, which places heavier emphasis on public ownership, regional rail/bus services, climate resilience, and direct government support for provincial services?

Are there specific challenges in your town—such as daily highway safety, internet reliability, or getting to regional medical appointments—that you are hoping to see addressed?

Ask Gemini

Gemini is AI and can make mistakes.

Captured 23 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. How do parties compare on roads, broadband and local infrastructure outside major cities?

For someone living and working in a small regional town—where long driving distances, limited local healthcare, and the need for reliable connectivity are daily realities—the major political parties approach infrastructure, roads, and connectivity with distinct philosophies.

A comparison of how the parties approach these regional needs for the 2026 general election highlights key differences:

1. Roads and Long-Distance Transport

  • National Party: Emphasises large-scale highway and state-highway connectivity through designated Roads of National Significance (RoNS) and regional transport corridors. Their focus is on heavy investment in tarmac, resilience, and speed/capacity of transit between regions and main centers, arguing that better highways reduce freight costs and driving times for rural and provincial motorists.

  • Labour Party: Balances regional roading maintenance with a strong emphasis on cost-of-living relief for motorists and regional transport. They have pledged measures like freezing fuel taxes for a period and implementing regional public transport fare caps ($10 a week outside the main three metros), alongside funding key regional road and rail/freight connections.

  • ACT Party: Focuses heavily on structural reforms for transport infrastructure, protecting core maintenance and renewal funding within the National Land Transport Fund, and cutting auxiliary spending (such as roadside decorations or emissions-based restrictions on driving) to prioritize utilitarian roading.

  • Green Party / Te Pāti Māori: Prioritizes a shift toward lower-emission transport networks, proposing intercity and regional passenger rail renewals alongside rural and provincial public transport options, while placing less emphasis on building new high-speed multi-lane highways.

2. Broadband and Digital Connectivity

  • National & ACT: Tend to favor market-led rollouts, public-private partnerships, and targeted federal co-funding (building on the legacy of the Rural Broadband Initiative) to incentivize telecommunication providers to upgrade residual blackspots in remote or provincial pockets.

  • Labour, Greens & NZ First: Generally lean toward stronger government intervention and direct public investment to ensure equitable baseline digital infrastructure. They view high-speed broadband and mobile blackspot elimination as essential public utilities required to keep regional healthcare (telehealth) and local small businesses viable.

3. Local Infrastructure (Healthcare Access, Water, and Community Services)

  • National / ACT: Focus on streamlining regulatory constraints (such as reform under the Resource Management Act) to make it easier for local councils and private entities to build infrastructure. They often advocate for localized decision-making or commercial partnerships to fund community assets, though smaller rural councils often argue they need direct central government grants rather than loan-funded models due to narrow local rating bases.

  • Labour / Greens / NZ First: Tend to favor direct central government funding models and co-investments for regional community resilience, local health clinics, and water/stormwater infrastructure upgrades. They argue that small towns cannot bear the cost of infrastructure replacement (like 3-waters or climate resilience) on small local ratepayer bases alone.

Finding More Detailed Policies

To review specific policy details, compare party manifestos side-by-side, or check local electorate candidates, you can use these neutral resources:

  • Compare specific party commitments on Policy.nz.

  • Review general voting and date logistics via the official Vote NZ Overview. Policies for Party vote - NZ Election 20262026 General Election Overview - Vote NZ

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. How do parties compare on roads, broadband and local infrastructure outside major cities?

AI Overview

For the 2026 New Zealand general election , political parties offer fundamentally different approaches to supporting small towns and regional communities facing limited healthcare, job constraints, and long-distance travel. While there is historic cross-party consensus to back the independent

Infrastructure Commission

's 30-year

National Infrastructure Plan

, their specific execution strategies vary sharply.

The direct platform comparisons outline how they intend to handle regional roads, digital connectivity, and local funding:

Roads and Transport Resilience

: Continues prioritizing major highway infrastructure, regional growth links, bypasses, and targeted upgrades to make long-distance driving and freight more efficient. They focus the

National Land Transport Fund

purely on roading infrastructure to ensure regional highway projects remain heavily funded.

: Rejects focusing on "roads alone" for regional access. Instead, they focus heavily on regional cost-of-living relief, introducing a nationwide weekly public transport fare cap set at $10 maximum everywhere outside major cities. They also support a bipartisan approach to long-term national projects so regional pipeline builds aren't cancelled between governments.

: Champions strict infrastructure fiscal discipline, advocating for "lowest-cost solutions" over "gold-plated" road designs to make the budget stretch further. For small towns, ACT guarantees a "Fix the Network First" policy that legally rings-fences maintenance and renewal funds in the National Land Transport Fund, ensuring pothole repairs, weak bridges, and blocked regional drains are addressed before building new urban capital projects. They support electronic road-user charges and private tolling capital to fund highways.

: Focuses on shifting transport priorities toward regional sustainability. They plan to redirect funds from new state highways into a $1.2 billion fund for inter-regional buses and public transport , alongside a nationwide intercity passenger rail network. They pledge that core road maintenance budgets for existing networks will remain completely untouched.

Broadband and Digital Infrastructure

  • National & ACT: Focus on utilizing private sector innovation and deregulation to expand coverage. They support deployment of hybrid satellite technologies and competitive telecommunications networks to eliminate blackspots for remote workers who don't live on traditional farms but rely entirely on steady home internet for employment.

  • Labour & Green Party: Prioritize equity of access, viewing digital connectivity as a core public service. They favor direct government intervention and subsidies to bring high-speed fiber or low-latency broadband to underserved rural settlements and small towns, viewing remote work capabilities as vital for alleviating local job limitations.

Local Town Infrastructure & Public Services

  • National: Plans to stimulate regional economies by streamlining commercial building consents and backing regional growth funds. To fund the massive infrastructure deficit, they intend to deploy local council fiscal settlement tools, giving small-town councils better financial mechanisms to fund water, resilience, and growth projects locally.

  • Labour: Proposes establishing an independently governed

New Zealand Future Fund

. Seeded with Crown assets, this fund is designed to invest directly in local infrastructure and innovative Kiwi businesses outside the major centers, aiming to create secure, well-paid jobs where local opportunities are scarce. They also offer targeted healthcare relief, such as the "Family Doctor Loan Scheme" to attract GPs to under-serviced areas and three free GP visits annually.

  • ACT: Seeks to maximize project delivery by removing ethnicity-based targets or procurement rules from Crown infrastructure funding, arguing that wide-open commercial bidding will drive down the delivery cost of pipes, water networks, and local public works.

  • Green Party: Focuses on climate resilience for regional towns, utilizing investments like the Regional Infrastructure Fund for extensive flood protection, local renewable energy schemes, and community batteries.

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

  • Which region or general area of the country you live in (to check specific local project pipelines)

  • Whether you are most concerned with healthcare access versus job creation

  • If you prefer user-pays/tolling models or public fund investments for building infrastructure NZ Election 2026 Transport Policies Compared: Roads, Rail, Public

Ask anything

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