Chris Hipkins has suggested "a lot of New Zealanders aren't really tuned into the election campaign" after the latest 1News poll saw Labour's vote sliding to just 29%.
Last night's 1News Verian poll suggested National and ACT could comfortably form a government, leaving Labour out of power after two terms in charge.
The latest 1News Verian poll had Labour at 29%, leaving the party with it all to do before October’s election.
The result was Labour's lowest since 2017 and the lowest for an incumbent government since Jenny Shipley's government in 1999 — shortly before she lost to Helen Clark.
Additionally, Hipkins' popularity also continued sliding from the heights when he first took over from Jacinda Ardern, with Christopher Luxon now within spitting distance.
Speaking to Breakfast today, the Labour leader and prime minister said his party had a "big climb" ahead of it with fewer than 40 days until the first votes are cast.
Hipkins said the Labour Party — which won a landslide and secured the first majority government under MMP three years ago — was now entering the race as an "underdog".
"The poll result from TV1 reflects the fact that there have been a whole lot of very difficult issues that I have dealt with as prime minister in the intervening period," he said.
Ministerial scandal plagued the Government for months as it lost a raft of previously high-flying figures — culminating in the arrest and resignation of Kiri Allan.
The PM said: "This is only one poll. It's a bit of an energiser for the Labour team to make sure that we're getting out onto the campaign trail and putting our best foot forward."
Yesterday's poll was the first by a major broadcaster to show Labour dropping below 30%, however, several others reported in the media have also shown a similar trend.
The 1News poll was also carried out as Labour announced its pledge to ditch GST on fruit and vegetables, and a pledge for additional paid parental leave.
Hipkins said: "With all due respect to the New Zealand media, seeing something on the TV news once doesn't mean that people necessarily register it.
Chris Hipkins has also seen his preferred PM rating dip in the latest 1News Verian poll.
"We're actually just starting the campaign. We're going to be getting out there and campaigning on exactly what's on offer.
"I know that a lot of New Zealanders aren't really tuned into the election campaign at the moment, but I know in the coming weeks they are going to be tuning into the campaign, and they're going to see a very vigorous campaign from Labour."
Last night's poll also indicated 12% of voters remain undecided or otherwise refused to say who they would vote for.
'One party is fighting for survival' - Kris Faafoi
Former minister Kris Faafoi, who was around the Cabinet table with Hipkins under Jacinda Ardern, said it would be a "tough road ahead" for Labour to come back over the next two months.
Faafoi, who resigned one year ago, said the party's downhill slide in the polls meant a "tough road ahead".
Faafoi resigned in July 2022 and shortly after became a lobbyist as a head of a public relations firm. Amid its multitude of ministerial scandals, Faafoi said the Government had been "looking inwards" instead of focusing on the cost of living crisis.
"When politicians are reflecting what people care about, then they connect with people. When you're talking about yourself — it happened to the last election, and we had nine years of it in opposition — people usually turn off," he said.
"A lot can happen in eight weeks, [but] it's going to be a tough road ahead for the Government to try and change that but a 5% change in the overall left-right bloc vote would get yourself into a deadlock.
"You'll see the dynamics of the election campaign really heat up because, you know, one party is fighting for its survival at the moment."
The former MP said he felt voters were hoping for both parties to talk a "little bit more than a headline" and instead about their vision for how they would govern.
"Over the next eight weeks, I think most New Zealanders are looking for the campaigns to raise its sights a little bit and to look at a little bit beyond".
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