ACT Party leader David Seymour says the current government's lower polling result is partly due to the previous government's actions. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
It's been five months since the coalition agreement was signed and based on Monday's poll, they wouldn't have the numbers to govern. Photo: Phil Smith
The National Party is putting the coalition government's shock poll result down to making necessary tough decisions and insists it's not a big deal.
Last night's 1News Verian poll put National on 36 percent, down two points, and ACT down one point to 7 percent.
New Zealand First dropped two points to 4 percent - below the margin needed to remain in Parliament.
The coalition parties would not have the numbers to form a government on those numbers.
Labour was up two points to 30 percent, the Greens were up two to 14 percent, and Te Pāti Māori was steady on 4 percent.
On the assumption Te Pāti Māori retained an electorate seat, the left bloc would be able to form a government.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he understood it was a hard time for people with high inflation and interest rates.
He told Morning Report he was not going to shy away from the tough decisions needed to turn the economy around.
"It's a really difficult time for Kiwis... they're frustrated, I get it.
"What we're here to do is not always easy and nice, but we're here to make the tough and necessary decisions."
Luxon said his government was only 150 days in and was having to "turn New Zealand around".
Finance Minister Nicola Willis told First Up the economy was experiencing a "hangover" from six years of a Labour government and things were still tough.
"Our job as a government isn't to be watching the polls everyday, our job is to get on with delivering the policies that New Zealanders voted for that will rebuild our economy."
Willis said she was "failing to see what the drama was" around the 1News Verian poll.
ACT: Poll reflects the economic conditions
ACT leader David Seymour said the result reflected current tough economic conditions.
"We're going into winter with tough economic times, households and businesses are hurting. You can understand that some people are blaming whoever's in government at this time.
"If there's one thing I can get across is that much of the hurt is actually a hangover from the previous government's approach to spending, which shows up in inflation and interest rates.
"The people in government now, we are doing everything we can to do more, with less and in government, just as the previous government did less, with more, leading to that inflation interest rate hangover people now face," Seymour said.
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters declined an interview on RNZ's Morning Report.
Opposition: result a relefection of unhappiness
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said he was encouraged by his party's result.
It's the first time support for Labour in the Verian poll has reached the 30s since July.
"I'm encouraged by Labour's support. We heard the message at the last election that we needed to listen and that we needed to change ourselves. That's what we've been focused on doing and will continue to do that over the next two and a half years, so that we can win back government and when the next election rolls around," Hipkins said.
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said the result reflected the public's unhappiness with the coalition.
"People are looking for leadership and political people who have empathy and understand the struggles that people are confronting and are not supporting the meanness and the severity of some of the decisions that this government's coming out with," she said.
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said the result was reflective of what she was hearing from communities.
"They are fed up and angry with the trajectory and the agenda of this government which is exploiting both people and the planet," Swarbrick said.
Swarbrick said she was not taking the poll for granted, two and a half years out from the next election.
