Source: Kiwi Performance Indicators
28 October 2026
For the first time this election, a comprehensive list of the top 10 voter issues and official government performance data has been compiled into one place – www.KPI.nz (Kiwi Performance Indicators).
Voters can now see:
- The top 10 issues ranked and aggregated across the two research companies (Ipsos, Curia) that regularly poll and publish the issues that matter most to New Zealanders.
- Dynamic KPIs using official Government data and other leading industry sources to show how our country is going in each key area.
- An objective comparison of how well Labour-led vs National-led governments have performed over time.
Better Data. Better Debate.
Performance data is meticulously sourced and checked with trusted organisations including Stats NZ, the Reserve Bank, Treasury, Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora, the Ministry of Social Development, NZ Police, REINZ and the Ministry for the Environment.
For full transparency, each KPI includes interactive historical graphs, data sources, methodology, explanatory notes and government timelines. Issue rankings and graphs are updated as new information becomes available.
The top 10 voter issues:
- Cost of Living – the #1 issue for 4.5 years (Ipsos, page 7).
- Health – all 5 Health Targets improving after rapid decline (4 Wait Time KPIs).
- Economy – out of recession, but slow-growing. GDP per capita is what counts most.
- Unemployment – 1 in 8 now on a main benefit. Flaws in the official unemployment rate.
- Housing – affordability back under 6x household income for the first time in 13 years.
- Environment – GDP up, emissions down (2nd table).
- Poverty – very slow data releases, but 8 out of 9 poverty measures improved last release (table 2).
- Taxes – a more complex picture. Contact us for our additional tax research.
- Crime – victimisations per capita down 22.5% from 2022 and 2023 peaks.
- Immigration – into the top 10 for the first time. A top 3 issue in the UK (#1), US (#3), AU (#3).
The top three issue rankings are identical between Ipsos and Curia, and account for 52% of the combined weighted issue scores.
Issues 4-12 are much closer, and often move about month to month. Treaty/race relations (#11) and Education (#12) drop out of the top 10 this month.
Overall mood of the nation
Country Direction is above the September-October 2023 lows of -28%, but still at -13%, despite most KPIs improving.
These are just a few of the insights revealed by the data. Media are encouraged to contact us for further findings, analysis and story angles.
“This election has seen robust coverage of party polling, policies, promises and gang-pads. But we believe there’s a far more important P-word not getting enough attention — Performance,” says Geoff Neal, one of the creators of Kiwi Performance Indicators.
“KPIs are a standard part of most people’s jobs and critical to the success of both public organisations and private businesses, so we’ve always found it strange that the biggest business of all — New Zealand — doesn’t have its own high-performance dashboard.
“We’ve brought together the data on the issues that matter most to New Zealanders, so media and voters alike can objectively compare government performance and judge for themselves.”
About KPI.nz
KPI.nz is an independent, citizen-funded and volunteer initiative. It receives no taxpayer funding and operates independently of political parties, media and corporate organisations. Our aim is to encourage informed discussion and debate to achieve better decision-making and outcomes for New Zealand.
Full methodology: kpi.nz/methodology
Next data update: Crime data, Friday 30 October. Issues ranking and Country Direction, early November.