Inside the Herald-Motu Poll of polls: Why Opportunity has rated above Act - and averages don’t tell the whole story

Chris KnoxInvestigative data journalist·NZ Herald·8 Oct, 2026 03:00 AM8 mins to read‌The Herald-Motu Poll of polls predicts election results, not polling averages.The Herald-Motu Poll of polls predicts election results, not polling averages. The Herald-Motu Poll of polls model is hugely popular – and has generated great debate and discussion. To answer some questions (and some critics) of the election feature, the Herald’s Chris Knox and Motu’s Stuart Donovan explain more about how it works, what Poll of polls is, and what it