Election 2026 Campaign Diary: The best and worst start to the final week

Opinion bySenior Political Correspondent·NZ Herald·2 Nov, 2026 04:01 AM4 mins to readAudrey Young, Senior Political Correspondent at the New Zealand Herald based at Parliament, specialises in writing about politics and power.‌Christopher Luxon, Chris Hipkins and Winston Peters. The last week of the campaign has begun in the worst way for National’s Christopher Luxon with the dispute among the right over the engineered overhang strategy simply amplifying it. And it has begun well for Chris Hipkins’ Labour with the Ipsos Issues Monitor showing that on the five most important issues to voters this election: the cost of living, healthcare, petrol prices, the economy and unemployment.