Ardern Trails Luxton In Net Approval Rating As Nationals Begin Annual Retreat

The latest 1News-Kantar poll showed that Luxton's net approval rating (+22) tops that of PM Jacinda Ardern (+15), whose rating fell to its lowest level on record. It is the first time an Opposition leader outperforms the Prime Minister since the 1News-Kantar poll started measuring approval ratings in 2019. Note that the poll suggests that Ardern is a more polarising figure, having both more supporters and more opponents than Luxton, who still needs to increase his nationwide recognition.

• This comes after polling results released last week indicated that although Nationals were still trailing Labour, the gap between the Labour-Green and National-ACT coalitions narrowed to just 6 percentage points. In addition, support for the National Party crossed above 30% for the first time since the last general election, albeit most of its gains came from ACT.
• The main opposition National Party's caucus is in Queensland for its annual retreat. Its new leader Christopher Luxton used his address to National MPs to put a period of factional infighting in rearview and focus on mounting a challenge against the Labour government.