2023 New Zealand General Election

The 2023 New Zealand general election was held on 14 October 2023 to determine the composition of the 54th Parliament of New Zealand. Voters elected 122 members to the unicameral New Zealand House of Representatives under the mixed-member proportional (MMP) voting system, with 71 members elected from single-member electorates and the remaining members elected from closed party lists. Of the 72 electorates, only 71 seats were filled, with the remaining electorate MP determined in the 2023 Port Waikato by-election, due to the death of one of the general election candidates. Two overhang seats were added due to Te Pāti Māori winning six electorate seats when the party vote only entitled them to four seats, with an additional overhang seat added after the by-election making for 123 members of parliament.

The incumbent centre-left Labour Party, led by Chris Hipkins, were defeated at the polls, with the centre-right National Party, led by Christopher Luxon, becoming the largest party in the new parliament. The election saw the worst defeat of a sitting government in New Zealand since the introduction of the MMP voting system in 1996, with Labour going from having 65 seats in the first-ever outright majority any party had won under MMP to winning just 34 seats. Labour faced a 23-percentage-point swing against it, failing to mobilise its previous voters in Auckland, especially among young renters or those living in the poorest electorates. National conversely improved its party vote share by 12 points, but returned the second lowest vote share of any party that won the most seats under MMP, the lowest being in 1996. Additionally, Labour and National's combined vote share was the third lowest it had ever been under MMP, and the lowest since 2002. The Green and ACT parties and Te Pāti Maori all increased their vote share, while New Zealand First gained enough votes to return to parliament after being ousted in the 2020 election.

The election had a noticeably turbulent campaign, marked by increased political polarisation and heated disputes over indigenous rights and the theory of co-governance. National made gains in many Auckland electorates that were once considered to be safe Labour seats, such as Mount Roskill and New Lynn, whilst also coming close to winning Jacinda Ardern's former seat of Mount Albert after the left vote was split between Labour and the Greens. The Greens won three electorates, gaining Rongotai and Wellington Central from Labour, while ACT won two electorates, gaining Tāmaki from National. Te Pāti Māori claimed five Māori seats from Labour, which saw 21-year-old Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke become the youngest MP elected in 170 years and in the process unseated incumbent foreign affairs minister Nanaia Mahuta.

Prime Minister Hipkins conceded on election night, paving the way for a National-led government under Christopher Luxon. To form a government, the National Party required support from the ACT Party and New Zealand First. On 24 November 2023, Luxon announced the formation of a coalition government with ACT and New Zealand First. On 27 November 2023, Luxon was sworn in as prime minister by Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro, thereby marking the end of six years under the Sixth Labour Government and the beginning of the Sixth National Government.

Background

The previous general election held on 17 October 2020 resulted in a majority for the Labour Party, winning 65 seats, allowing them to continue the Sixth Labour Government unrestricted in the 53rd Parliament. Their coalition partner from the 52nd Parliament, New Zealand First, did not receive enough votes to pass the five percent threshold or win in an electorate, removing them from Parliament. Confidence and supply partner the Green Party received 10 seats, up two, becoming the first minor party ever to increase their share of the vote following a term in government. In the opposition, the National Party lost 23 seats, giving them a total of 33, and ACT New Zealand went from one seat to ten. Te Pāti Māori won a Māori electorate and gained an additional list seat, returning to Parliament after a one-term absence, having lost all seats in the 2017 election.

In the 2022 Tauranga by-election, National retained the marginal seat with a large swing away from Labour. In the 2022 Hamilton West by-election, National gained the seat from Labour.

Since the previous election, the leadership of both the Labour and National parties changed. Christopher Luxon replaced Judith Collins as National leader on 30 November 2021. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced her resignation on 19 January 2023 and was succeeded later that month by education minister Chris Hipkins.

Electoral system

New Zealand uses a mixed-member proportional (MMP) voting system to elect the 120 members of the House of Representatives. Each voter gets two votes: one for a political party (the party vote) and one for a local candidate (the electorate vote). Political parties that meet the threshold (5% of the party vote or one electorate seat) receive seats in the House in proportion to the share of the party vote they receive.

72 of the 120 seats are filled by the MPs elected from the electorates, with the winner in each electorate determined by the first-past-the-post method (i.e. the candidate with the most votes wins). Electorate boundaries for the election were the same as for the 2020 election, with 65 general electorates (49 in the North Island and 16 in the South Island) and 7 Māori electorates. Boundaries are due to be redrawn in 2024, after the 2023 census.

The remaining 48 seats are filled by candidates from each party's closed party list. If a party wins more electorates than seats it is entitled to under the party vote, an overhang seat occurs; in that case, the party winning overhang seats keeps that many extra seats in addition to the 120 seats distributed proportionally.

New Zealand electoral law also allows for an overhang seat to be created if a candidate dies between the opening and closing of the vote. In 2023, this occurred for the first time since the adoption of MMP (indeed, since 1957). The ACT candidate for Port Waikato, Neil Christensen, died on 9 October. As a result, the electorate vote was required to be cancelled in the electorate, and a by-election was scheduled for November, after the general election, to determine the MP for Port Waikato. Voters in Port Waikato continued to cast party votes in the general election. Electoral law requires that 120 seats, excluding overhang, are filled proportionally through the general election. Therefore the electoral system provided for a 49th list MP to be elected through the general election and a 121st MP (excluding other overhang seats) through the Port Waikato by-election.

The political party or party bloc with the majority of the seats in the House forms the government. Since the introduction of MMP in 1996, no party had won enough votes to win an outright majority of seats until the landslide 2020 Labour victory, which gave them 65 seats. When no party has commanded a majority, parties have had to negotiate with other parties to form a coalition government or a minority government.

With 123 seats (because of the Port Waikato overhang and the overhang seats awarded to Te Pāti Māori), a party, coalition, or minority government with confidence and supply support requires 62 seats for a majority. The last time an overhang this large, three additional seats in Parliament, occurred was in 2008.

Election date and schedule

Unless an early election is called or the election date is set to circumvent holding a by-election, a general election is held every three years. The previous election was held on 17 October 2020.

The governor-general must issue writs for an election within seven days of the expiration or dissolution of the current parliament. Under section 17 of the Constitution Act 1986, parliament expires three years "from the day fixed for the return of the writs issued for the last preceding general election of members of the House of Representatives, and no longer." The writs for the 2020 election were returned on 20 November 2020; as a result, the 53rd Parliament must dissolve no later than 20 November 2023. Writs must be issued within seven days, so the last day for issuance of the writs is 27 November 2023. Writs must be returned within 60 days of their issuance (save for any judicial recount, death of a candidate, or emergency adjournment), which would be 26 January 2024. Because polling day must be a Saturday, and ten days is required for the counting of special votes, the last possible date for the next election to be held is 13 January 2024.

However, it was widely accepted by political commentators, news media and the Electoral Commission that the next election would be held in late 2023. News website ''Stuff,'' as part of its annual political predictions, predicted that the election would be in November so as not to coincide with the New Zealand co-hosted 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, which finishes in August, and the 2023 Men's Rugby World Cup, which finishes in October.

On 19 January 2023, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Saturday 14 October 2023 as the election date. The indicative schedule for the election is as follows:

On 30 August 2023, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced in Adelaide that the 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum would be held on 14 October 2023. This means that tens of thousands of New Zealand Australians would be voting in two polls on the same day. Some have suggested that the referendum may have an impact on Māori issues in the New Zealand election. Australia has the largest number of New Zealand expats in the world, with 530,491 New Zealand-born people living in Australia as of the 2021 Australian census, making up 2.1% of Australia's total population.

Parties and candidates

Political parties registered with the Electoral Commission can contest the general election as a party. To register, parties must have at least 500 financial members, an auditor, and an appropriate party name. A registered party may submit a party list to contest the party vote, and can have a party campaign expenses limit in addition to limits on individual candidates' campaigns. Unregistered parties and independents can contest the electorate vote only.

Since the 2020 election, six parties have been deregistered: Mana on 5 May 2021, Advance New Zealand on 19 August 2021, Sustainable NZ on 15 December 2021, New Zealand TEA Party on 21 September 2022, New Zealand Social Credit Party on 28 February 2023, and Heartland New Zealand on 22 June 2023.

MPs not standing for re-election

Tāmati Coffey announced his intention to retire in March 2023 but reversed his decision in July.

MPs standing for re-election as list-only MPs

Fundraising

On 18 January 2023, ''The New Zealand Herald'' reported that the National Party had raised NZ$2.3 million from 24 big donors in 2022 to fund their 2023 election campaign. The ACT Party raised NZ$1.1 million in large donations in 2022. By comparison, the incumbent Labour Party had raised $150,000 during that same period including a $50,000 donation from the family of Les Mills gym owner Phillip Mills. The Green Party raised $122,000 through personal contributions from co-leaders James Shaw and Marama Davidson. The New Zealand First party received a $35,000 donation from Tom Bowker.

By 1 May, the Christchurch-based Weft Knitting company had donated $100,000 to the Green Party, at the time the largest single election donation in 2023.

By 23 June, the Green Party had received a total of about $500,000 in donations, including a $50,000 donation from film director James Cameron and his wife Suzy Amis Cameron, and another $50,000 donation from actress Lucy Lawless. In addition, the Labour Party received a total of $458,000 in donations. The ACT, National, and New Zealand First parties also raised a total of $1.15 million, about $700,000, and $517,000 in big donations respectively. Property developer Trevor Farmer also donated $50,000 to the National Party, $200,000 to ACT, and $50,000 to New Zealand First. Other notable wealthy donors to the National Party have included philanthropists Brendan and Jo Lindsay (who donated $100,000), and Jeffrey Douglas ($51,000).

On 14 September, Radio New Zealand (RNZ) reported that National had received $1.1 million, ACT had received $375,000, the Greens $100,000, and NZ First $50,000 in business donations between early 2021 and September 2023. During the same period, Labour received $275,000 in large donations from unions but received no significant business donations. In 2023, Labour received $600,000 in large donations from individuals and unions. An interim report published by the Independent Electoral Review has recommended limiting political donations to individuals, and banning businesses and unions from donating to parties. Review member Professor Andrew Geddis expressed concern about banning businesses from donating to parties but allowing unions to donate.

On 18 September, RNZ reported that billionaire Graeme Hart had donated a total of $700,000 to right-wing parties including National, ACT and NZ First. Of this amount, National had received $400,000, ACT $200,000 and NZ First $100,000 from Hart and his company, the Rank Group Limited.

In late July 2024, Radio New Zealand reported that the National, Labour, ACT, Green, New Zealand First parties and Te Pāti Māori had received a total of almost NZ$25 million in donations during the 2023 general election, the biggest total declared in New Zealand history and three times the amount declared during the 2017 New Zealand general election. National received $10,349,174.83, Labour $4,769,449.21, ACT $4,262,712.50, the Greens $3,314,650.60, NZ First $1,877,216.69 and Te Pāti Māori $160,749.58. According to RNZ's analysis, several businesses including Christopher and Banks Ltd, Alpha Laboratories and the Rank Group donated to the National, ACT and NZ First parties. While the Green Party received donations from the Weft Knitting Company and Clarity Cloudworks and Te Pāti Māori received $14,900 from Lathan Construction, Labour received no donations from businesses in 2023. In the past, businesses had donated to parties on both sides of the spectrum.

According to RNZ, Labour received a total of $335,000 from several unions including E tū, the New Zealand Dairy Workers Union, Maritime Union of New Zealand, Rail & Maritime Transport Union, NZ Meatworkers Union and the Amalgamated Workers Union. Notable private donors included Dame Jenny Gibbs (ACT), gym owner Phillip Mills (Greens and Labour), businessman Trevor Farmer (National, ACT and NZ First), and retired judge Robert Smellie (Labour). Several political parties also received tithes and donations from candidates, politicians, and party members; with ACT receiving $5,200 from MP Karen Chhour and Te Pāti Māori receiving a $50,000 donation from party president John Tamihere. Economist Max Rashbrooke has argued that businesses and unions should not be allowed to donate to political parties and urged New Zealand to follow Canada and several European countries in limiting donations to registered voters.

Campaigning

Expense limits and broadcasting allocations

Parties and candidates

During the regulated period prior to election day, parties and candidates have limits on how much they may spend on election campaigning. The limits are updated every year to reflect inflation. It is illegal in New Zealand to campaign on election day itself, or within 10 metres of an advance polling booth.

For the 2023 general election, every registered party contending the party vote is permitted to spend $1,388,000 plus $32,600 per electorate candidate on campaigning during the regulated period, excluding radio and television campaigning (broadcasting funding is allocated separately). For example, a registered party with candidates in all 72 electorates is permitted to spend $3,735,200 on campaigning for the party vote. Electorate candidates are permitted to spend $32,600 each on campaigning for the electorate vote.

Broadcasting allocation

Registered parties are allocated a separate broadcasting budget for radio and television campaigning. Only money from the broadcasting allocation can be used to purchase airtime; production costs can come from the general election expenses budget. The Electoral Commission determines how much broadcasting funding each party gets, set out by part 6 of the Broadcasting Act 1989. The allocation is based a number of factors including the number of seats in the current Parliament, results of the previous general election and any by-elections since, and support in opinion polls.

An initial broadcasting allocation was released from the Electoral Commission on 12 May 2023. On 31 May Freedoms New Zealand and two of its component parties, the NZ Outdoors & Freedom Party and Vision New Zealand, challenged the Electoral Commission's decision to allocate broadcasting funds to them collectively rather than as individual political parties. The Electoral Commission had decided to allocate broadcasting funds to them collectively on the basis that they were a "group of parties" that had joined forces. The plaintiffs argued that the Broadcasting Act 1989 did not clearly define what was a "group of parties" and that the Electoral Commission had not published clear criteria for how their parties had joined forces. On 17 July 2023, the High Court dismissed the case.

The final broadcasting allocation was released on 8 September 2023. For comparison, the cost of a 30-second television slot in October 2023 ranged from $250 during the daytime to over $29,000 on TVNZ 1 during '' 1 News at 6pm'' and ''Country Calendar''.

Third-party promoters

Third-party promoters, such as trade unions and lobby groups, can campaign during the regulated period. The maximum expense limit for the election is $391,000 for those promoters registered with the Electoral Commission, and $15,700 for unregistered promoters.

, the following third-party promoters were registered for the general election:

* ActionStation
* Julian Batchelor
* The Better NZ Trust
* New Zealand Council of Trade Unions
* New Zealand Dairy Workers Union
* Democracy Action Inc
* E Tū
* Every Kiwi Vote Counts
* Family First New Zealand
* Forest & Bird
* Generation Zero
* Greenpeace Aotearoa
* Jim Grenon
* Groundswell NZ
* Richard Harward
* Hobson's Pledge
* Living Juicy Ltd
* Maritime Union of New Zealand
* Motor Trade Association (MTA)
* Natural Health Alliance
* New IT Systems Ltd
* New Zealand Nurses Organisation
* NZEI Te Riu Roa
* Oxfam Aotearoa
* Public Service Association (PSA)
* Save Animals From Exploitation (SAFE)
* The S.B. Group
* Tax Justice Aotearoa NZ
* New Zealand Taxpayers' Union
* Voice for Life
* Vote for Better Ltd

In early September 2023, the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU) launched an advertisement campaign attacking National Party leader Christopher Luxon. In response, National's campaign chair Chris Bishop accused the NZCTU and Labour Party of promoting negative campaigning. The NZCTU's president Richard Wagstaff defended the union's advertisement campaign, claiming that it was targeting National's policies including the elimination of fair pay agreements, the restoration of 90-day work trials, and public sector cuts. Labour leader and Prime Minister Chris Hipkins defended the NZCTU's advertisements, stating that the union had published advertisements in previous elections. He also accused the National Party and its alleged surrogates including the New Zealand Taxpayers' Union, Groundswell NZ, and Hobson's Pledge of publishing attack advertisements against him and the Labour Government.

In late September 2023, Hobson's Pledge launched a series of attack advertisements targeting Labour leader Chris Hipkins, with the caption "Delivers division, not outcomes."

In late February 2024, RNZ reported that third party groups had spent a total of NZ$2 million during the 2023 election, 13 times the amount spend during the 2020 general election. According to the Electoral Commission, seven of the 31 registered third-party promoters spent more than NZ$100,000 in the lead-up to voting. These seven third parties were Tim Barry's "Vote for Better" campaign ($386,514.99), Jordan Williams' New Zealand Taxpayers' Union ($371,565.05), the left-wing New Zealand Council of Trade Unions ($299,344.11), Don Brash's Hobson's Pledge ($283,898.73), the clean car advocacy group Better NZ Trust ($266,069.39), Bob McCoskrie's conservative Family First New Zealand advocacy group ($204,771.40) and farming advocacy group Groundswell NZ ($141,061). Other notable third parties with significant campaign spending included the Motor Trade Association (which campaigned against the Government's Clean Car Discount), the Natural Health Alliance and SB Group (which advocated for a repeal of the Therapeutic Products Act and supported NZ First).

Party campaigns

Labour

The Labour Party's campaign chairperson was Minister Megan Woods and campaign manager was Hayden Munro. The party also enlisted the services of advertising company "Together" as a media buyer.

On 17 May 2023, the Labour Party government attacked National's record on healthcare. On 27 May, Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni launched Labour's first election policy: to keep the superannuation age at 65 years and above. On 28 May, Hipkins announced Labour's second election promise: that it would retain the Apprenticeship Boost scheme.

On 12 July, Hipkins ruled out introducing a capital gains tax if Labour was re-elected to Government. On 16 July, Labour launched its election campaign and unveiled its election slogan "In It For You." Hipkins also campaigned on cutting inflation, reducing living costs, public safety, and investing in education, health and housing.

On 17 July, Labour introduced its youth crime package which included building two "high-needs units" within existing youth justice residences in Auckland and Christchurch, improving safety and security at youth justice residences, focusing on crime prevention measures including family group conferences, and empowering Family Courts to require youth offenders to perform community service including cleaning graffiti and rubbish disposal. That same week, the Labour Government announced several justice policies including introducing legislation to punish adults convicted of influencing young people to commit crimes, making the publishing of recordings of criminal behaviour on social media an aggravating factor in sentencing, making ram-raiding a criminal offence with a ten-year sentence and allowing 12 and 13-year old ram raiders to be tried in Youth Courts.

On 31 July, the party released its official list of 76 party list candidates. Several Labour MPs including Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta, Soraya Peke-Mason, and Greg O'Connor also confirmed they would be standing solely as electorate candidates.

On 13 August, Labour announced that it would remove the goods and service tax (GST) for fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, and would increase the "Working for Families" programme for families. Labour's proposed GST policy attracted criticism including economist Brad Olsen, Child Poverty Action Group economist Susan St John, Health Coalition Aotearoa food expert Sally Mackay, Stuff political editor Luke Malpass, Newshub political editor Jenna Lynch, Newsroom journalist Marc Daalder, and ''The New Zealand Herald'' business journalist Jenée Tibshraeny. On 15 August, Labour campaigned on extending paid parental leave from two weeks to four weeks if re-elected, almost three weeks after Labour voted down National's proposed bill allowing parents to share their leave entitlement. On 19 August, Labour launched its Māori campaign and released its Māori language manifesto.

On 2 September, the Labour campaign launch in Auckland was interrupted by protesters from Freedoms New Zealand. The Labour party announced a policy of free dental care for under 30s, starting in July 2025. On 6 September, Hipkins announced Labour's five part economic plan and also promised to lead a trade delegation to India within the first 100 days of government if re-elected. On 7 September, Labour announced several law and order policies including adding 300 frontline Police officers, expanding the use of mental health officers, and introducing legislation to make stalking a criminal offence.

On 12 September, Labour campaigned on rolling out free cervical screening for women aged between 25 and 69 years. In response to National's campaign pledge to build a third medical school at the University of Waikato, Hipkins announced on 13 September that the Government would invest in training 335 extra doctors by 2027. On 17 September, Labour released its women's election manifesto and pledged to raise the age for free breast cancer screening, and to develop an endometriosis action plan.

On 18 September, Labour campaigned on introduced rebates for rooftop solar panels and batteries, and a NZ$20 million community energy fund. That same day, campaign manager Woods confirmed that Labour would rule out an electoral deal with the Green Party in tight electorate seats. On 22 September, Hipkins announced that Labour would retain its free lunch school programme if re-elected. On 23 September, Labour promised to introduce a 10-year multiple-entry "Super Visa" that would allow migrants' relatives to make successive visits of between 6 months and 5 years, and also campaigned on introducing a one-off amnesty programme for overstayers who had been in New Zealand for ten years. On 24 September, Woods announced that Labour would build 6,000 more state houses if re-elected.

On 25 September, Labour released its climate manifesto with key policies including a second emissions reduction plan and boosting renewable energy. On 26 September, Hipkins promised that Labour would invest NZ$1 billion in state pharmaceutical purchaser Pharmac over the next four years. On 27 September, Labour introduced its fiscal plan, with a focus on reducing government spending and maintaining current income tax settings. On 30 September, Labour released its Rainbow Manifesto, with key policies including reformed surrogacy laws, a new LGBTQ+ refugee quota, and restrictions on gay men donating blood.

On 1 October, Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni released the party's full election manifesto, focusing on improving children's education and funding youth training and work programmes. In early October, Labour confirmed that if re-elected it would extend diplomatic recognition to the State of Palestine by inviting Izzat Salah Abdulhadi, the head of the General Delegation of Palestine to Australia, to present credentials as the Palestinian Ambassador to New Zealand. Following Hamas attack on Israel, Hipkins paused plans to extend diplomatic recognition to Palestine on 10 October.

National

National's campaign chairperson was MP Chris Bishop while Jo de Doux served as its campaign director. The party also enlisted the services of media buyer Rainmakers, independent creative advertising contractors Sue Worthington and Glenn Jamieson, and advertising company Topham Guerin.

The National Party has not run candidates in Māori electorates since the . In 2019, list MP Jo Hayes expressed a desire to contest Te Tai Hauāuru; Leader Judith Collins stated her support in July 2020, but said it would not be possible for the due to time constraints. After the election, Collins affirmed the party's intent to contest Māori electorates in 2023. After Christopher Luxon replaced Collins as leader, he confirmed that these plans would continue, but stated that it was a "pragmatic" move and that he felt Māori electorates were incompatible with the principle of "one person, one vote". List MP Harete Hipango was the first confirmed candidate, announced in April 2023 to be contesting Te Tai Hauāuru.

In May 2023, Luxon confirmed that National would not work with Te Pāti Māori if it formed the next government after the 2023 election, citing National's disagreement with the party's support for co-governance in public services and alleged separatism.

On 23 May, a National spokesperson admitted the party had been using images created by artificial intelligence in some of their attack ads on social media, while Luxon was unaware of this. In June, the party removed numerous videos featuring movie and television content from their TikTok account after ''Newshub'' contacted studios about whether National was breaching their copyright.

On 11 June, National announced that it would end New Zealand's ban on genetic modification and establish a national biotechnology regulator if elected into government. On 18 June, National announced that it would make gang membership an aggravating factor in criminal sentencing. On 25 June, National unveiled several law and order policies including limiting sentencing discounts, scrapping "cultural reports" and the Government's "prisoner reduction" target, and boosting investment in victim support funding and rehabilitation programmes for remand prisoners.

In early July, the National Party campaigned on building a new medical school at the University of Waikato to address the national shortage of doctors and reversing the Labour Government's cuts to the replacement Dunedin Hospital. On 16 July, Luxon confirmed that National's election slogan would be "Get our country back on track". He also announced that National would create a NZ$500 million fund for repairing both state highways and local roads. On 30 July, National announced that it would take a tough stance against gangs. On 31 July, National announced a NZ$24 billion transportation package that included building 13 new roads of "national significance," investing in three new bus "transport corridors" in Auckland, upgrading the lower North Island's railway infrastructure, and investing in road infrastructure in both the North and South Islands. Luxon also proposed creating a National Infrastructure Agency to coordinate government funding, promote investment, and improve funding, procurement and delivery.

On 9 August, National proposed banning cellphones in schools in order to help students focus and improve their academic outcomes. On 19 August, National released its official party list; with senior MP Michael Woodhouse opting to stand solely as an electorate MP due to his disagreement with his list ranking. On 21 August, National campaigned on spending NZ$280 million to fund 13 cancer treatments. On 22 August, Luxon confirmed that National would not support ACT's proposal to repeal the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Act and proposed Treaty of Waitangi principles legislation. On 23 September, National announced a new "Parent Visa Boost" which would allow relatives to visit family members in New Zealand for five years, with the possibility of renewal for another five years. Visa-holders would have to have health insurance since they would not be eligible for superannuation and other entitlements.

On 28 August, Luxon confirmed that National would be abandoning its historical "teacup" deal with the ACT Party and would be contesting ACT leader David Seymour's Epsom seat. On 30 August, National announced a proposed $14.6 billion in income tax cuts aiming to relieve " the squeezed middle". These will be funded by a reduction in the public service and by new taxes on foreign home buyers, foreign gambling operators and commercial buildings.

On 3 September, Luxon released National's election year pledge card at the party's campaign launch in South Auckland, which listed eight priority promises. Members of Freedoms NZ protested outside the venue hosting the campaign launch. On 5 September, National announce that it would demote the Māori partnership boards, which the Government had established as part of its 2022 health sector reforms. On 6 September, National campaigned on investing NZ$257 million over the next four years to increase the number of electric vehicle chargers to 10,000 and stated it would end the Government's "clean car" discount programme and "ute tax." On 7 September, National released its tourism policy, which would be funded by a proposed International Visitor Levy.

On 21 September, National announced that it would fast track visa processing for international students and expand their working rights. On 22 September, National unveiled its 100-point economic plan; with a focus on cutting "wasteful" spending and red tape, delivering tax relief, and promoting economic growth, trade and investment. On 24 September, National campaigned on reversing the Government's "blanket speed limit reductions" and restoring highway and local roads' speed limits to 100 km and 50 km respectively.

On 25 September, National leader Christopher Luxon said he could pursue a coalition with Winston Peters New Zealand First after the elections. On 26 September, National proposed a "traffic light system" to transition Jobseeker beneficiaries into the work force, including benefit reductions or mandatory community work. On 29 September, National releases its fiscal plan, promising lower taxes and to reduce government spending and net debt. On 1 October, National released its 100-day action plan. Key promises included removing Auckland's Regional Fuel Tax, banning gang patches and insignia, restoring the 90-day employment period for businesses, banning cellphones in schools, and repealing the Government's Three Waters and "RMA 2.0" legislation.

On 5 October, Luxon announced that a National government would create a Minister for Space. In addition, Willis conceded that under National's proposed tax policy only 3,000 households would get full tax relief but denied that National had misled voters about its tax plan. Former Prime Minister Sir John Key also released a video urging voters to give their "party vote" to National in order to prevent a hung government.

Greens

The Green Party's campaign was led by the Campaign 23 Committee, which was convened by deputy mayor of Nelson Rohan O'Neill-Stevens and party activist Gina Dao-McClay. Chennoah Walford served as campaign director while the party enlisted the services of media buyer and advertisement company "Reason." On 18 May, the party announced it would campaign on climate change, housing, inequality, tax reform, and the cost of living. On 20 May, the Greens released their finalised list of 31 candidates, which excluded Elizabeth Kerekere, who left the party to sit as an independent MP until the election whereupon she retired. Following the success of Chlöe Swarbrick's 2020 Auckland Central campaign, the Green Party ran three additional "two tick" campaigns in this election; Ricardo Menéndez March in Mount Albert, Julie Anne Genter in Rongotai, and Tamatha Paul in Wellington Central. The Green Party also campaigned for electorate votes in Panmure-Ōtāhuhu, Tāmaki Makaurau, and Te Tai Tokerau.

In June 2023, the Greens announced they would be introducing various wealth and taxation proposals including tax cuts for anyone earning below NZ$125,000, a minimum income guarantee of NZ$385 per week, a wealth tax on assets worth above NZ$2 million, a 1.5% trust tax, a 45% top income tax rate, and a corporate tax rate of 33%.

In early July 2023, the Greens announced their "Pledge to Renters." Key provisions included imposing rent controls on landlords, introducing a rental "warrant of fitness," providing a government underwrite for housing providers, accelerating the public housing building programme, and creating a national register for all landlords and property managers. On 9 July, the party announced its election manifesto. Key provisions include establishing a new climate change ministry, expanding the criteria for carbon emissions, decriminalising drugs, boosting the refugee intake to 5,000, introducing rent controls, and building 35,000 new public homes.

On 17 July, the Greens launched their Hoki Whenua Mai policy. Key provisions include introducing legislation to return all confiscated land to the indigenous Māori people, removing a 2008 deadline for Treaty of Waitangi breaches, and establishing a process for privately owned land. On 23 July, the Greens formally launched their election campaign along with the slogan "The Time Is Now" and a new campaign video.

On 6 August, the Greens proposed setting up a national dental service to provide free dental health care, which would be funded by a wealth tax. On 13 August, the Greens announced a Clean Power Payment and Zero Carbon Homes upgrade with the goal of equipping homes with solar panels and replacing fossil fuel appliances like gas heaters.

On 10 September, the Greens launched its oceans policies, which included creating an independent Ocean Commission and passing a Health Ocean Act. On 16 September, the Greens co-leader Marama Davidson campaigned on raising workers' minimum annual leave from four to five weeks. On 19 September, Davidson announced that the Greens would support expanding the free school lunch programme to 365,000 children.

On 23 September, the Greens campaigned on introducing a full amnesty for all overstayers accompanied with residency pathways. On 26 September, the Greens pledged to double Best Start payments and extend it to children under three years in order to combat child poverty. On 1 October, the Greens released a document, entitled "The Future is Up to Us", unveiling its three priorities: income guarantee, affordable and healthy homes, and climate action. The party also released an independent fiscal review to support their plan.

ACT

The ACT Party's campaign committee chairperson was Nick Wright and campaign chairperson was Stu Wilson. The party also enlisted the services of American pollster Joe Trippi & Associates as its media buyer. ACT has campaigned against gun control. Contrary to the Greens, ACT leader David Seymour has said that he believes it's inequitable for a small portion of New Zealand's population to bear a substantial share of the country's tax revenue. In late April, ACT confirmed that it would be running "two-ticks" campaigns for both Seymour and Deputy Leader Brooke Van Velden in Auckland's Epsom and Tāmaki electorates.

The party launched its campaign on 4 June 2023, with Seymour announcing a policy to create a new "Ministry of Regulation" to police red tape and introduce a new law to ensure that regulation is underpinned by law-making principles. On 9 July, ACT vowed to lower the youth justice age back to 17 years. In 2016, the previous National Government had raised the youth justice age to 18 years, with 17 year olds being tried in youth courts for most offences except serious offences such as murder, sexual assault, aggravated robbery, arson, and serious assaults. On 13 July, ACT released its Oranga Tamariki (Ministry for Children) policy which advocated making the Independent Children's Monitor (ICM) an independent Crown entity, separating social workers' jobs into mentors and Child Protection Officers, and transferring youth justice functions from Oranga Tamariki to the Department of Corrections.

On 16 July, ACT released their finalised list of 55 candidates, with notable newcomers including former Federated Farmers president Andrew Hoggard and former National MP Parmjeet Parmar. On 30 July, ACT announced that it would seek to speed up the Employment Relations Authority's (ERA) personal grievance process in order to help small businesses. On 17 August 2023, Seymour joked about bombing the Ministry for Pacific Peoples during an interview with Newstalk ZB following revelations about wasteful spending by the Ministry earlier in August. During the interview, Seymour claimed "in his fantasy' he would "send a guy like Guy Fawkes" into the Ministry's headquarters and "it'd all be over", apparently implying he would have it Terrorism in New Zealand, blown up. This was a reference to the Gunpowder Plot, planned in 1605 by English Christian terrorism#History, Catholic plotters but foiled at the last minute. ACT has campaigned for the abolition of the Ministry, alongside the Human Rights Commission (New Zealand), Human Rights Commission and Ministry for Women. Seymour's remarks were criticised by Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni and former National Party minister Alfred Ngaro as inflammatory and insensitive towards Pasifika New Zealanders.

On 20 August, Seymour announced that ACT would set performance benchmarks for public sector organisations, "key performance indicators" for public sector chief executives, and would restore "performance pay" for public sector chief executives.

On 27 August, ACT pledged to remove Māori wards and constituencies, Māori wards in local governments. On 3 September, Seymour announced that ACT would reverse the Government's ban on oil and gas exploration, ease the consent process for offshore wind projects, and remove the Te Mana o te Wai framework from the resource consenting process. On 6 September, Seymour confirmed that ACT's "red tape review" would focus on the early childhood education sector, health services, primary industries, and financial services.

On 13 September, Seymour unveiled ACT's law and order policies which included reforming the reparations process in favour of victims, imposing tougher sentences for crimes against vulnerable workers, reinstating Sentencing and Parole Reform Act 2010, "three strikes" legislation, and building 500 additional prison beds and 200 youth justice beds. On 15 September, ACT campaigned on stripping welfare beneficiaries off their benefits if they did not seek treatment for drugs and stress or seek work. On 17 September, ACT launched its election campaign on a platform of opposing co-governance and introducing legislation setting out the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. The campaign launch was interrupted by Freedoms NZ candidate Karl Mokoraka. A Newshub cameraman and visual journalist were also allegedly assaulted by an ACT supporter. Seymour condemned the alleged assaults and vowed to support the investigation.

On 20 September, ACT launched its education and early childhood education policies, with a focus on combating bureaucratic "micro-management" and truancy. Following the pre-election fiscal and economic update, ACT announced on 21 September that it would revise its budget to delay tax cuts and proposed defence spending boosts. On 22 September, ACT unveiled its senior citizens policy, which included reforming the Retirement Commission, ending the ban on pseudoephedrine, and boosting the health workforce. On 23 September, ACT promised to introduce a new "Unite Visa" that would allow to visit family in New Zealand for up to five years, with a renewal requirement each year and an annual fee of NZ$3,500 to cover potential health costs.

On 26 September, ACT announced it would scrap several climate change policies including the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Act and focus on building infrastructure to cope with climate change. On 28 September, ACT announced several policies that would make it easier for landlords to evict tenants and terminate tenancies. On 29 September, ACT announced that it would amend the COVID-19 inquiry's terms of reference to give the public a greater say. That same day, Seymour suggested that an ACT government would reduce New Zealand's carbon emissions cap to match its trading partners' emissions. On 30 September, ACT unveiled its small business policy plan which involved abolishing Fair Pay Agreements, not raising the minimum wage for three years, and removing the 2 January public holiday.

Te Pāti Māori

Te Pāti Māori's campaign was led by campaign chairperson and party president John Tamihere and the party enlisted the services of creative agency "Motion Sickness." Labour minister Meka Whaitiri defected to Te Pāti Māori on 3 May 2023. On 15 June, Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, Rāwiri Waititi released a Facebook video targeted towards Chris Hipkins and Christopher Luxon, calling for the pair to "shut their mouths and stop using our iwi as a political football to score points", in regards to the tangihanga of Steven Taiatini, who was the Ōpōtiki president of the Mongrel Mob, Mongrel Mob Barbarians. Waititi is of the Whakatōhea iwi. Both Hipkins and Luxon objected to Waititi's comments, citing concerns of safety.

Te Pāti Māori launched its election campaign at Te Whānau O Waipareira's Matariki event in Henderson, New Zealand, Henderson, Auckland. Waititi and fellow co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer led the event, which featured a music concert. The party campaigned on advancing the interests of the Māori people, combating racism, and the "second-rate" status of Māori, as Ngarewa-Packer labelled it. During the campaign launch, a man attempted to assault Waititi but was removed by security. The man was later given a warning for disorderly conduct and resisting police.

On 27 July, Te Pāti Māori announced a raft of tax policies including a zero tax policy on those earning below NZ$30,000, a new 48% tax on those earning above NZ$300,000, raising the companies tax rate back to 33% and a wealth tax on millionaires. On 2 August, the party campaigned on ending state care for Māori children and replacing the present Oranga Tamariki (Ministry for Children) with an independent Mokopuna Māori Authority that would network with Māori organisations, iwi (tribes), and hapū (sub-groups) to ensure that Māori children remained connected with their whakapapa (genealogies). On 20 August, Te Pāti Māori released its official candidate list of 30 candidates.

New Zealand First

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says if NZ First is elected to government, New Zealand First would remove Māori names from government departments and bring back English names. The party has also resisted changes to the age of eligibility for Superannuation. Additionally, New Zealand First is against vaccine mandates and proposes that gang affiliation should automatically serve as an aggravating factor in crime sentencing.

On 23 July, NZ First launched its election campaign with the slogan "Let's take back our country." Peters announced that the party would campaign on five key issues: combating so-called "racist separatism," fighting Australian-owned banks and the "supermarket duopoly," investing in health, social services, and elderly care, and adopting "tough on crime" policies including building a "gang prison" and designating all gangs as terrorist organisations. On 30 July, NZ First campaigned on moving the Ports of Auckland and the Royal New Zealand Navy's Devonport, New Zealand, Devonport base to Northport, New Zealand, Northport, extending the North Island Main Trunk Line to Marsden Point, a new four-lane alternative highway through the Brynderwyn Range, and establishing a full inquiry into the Government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand.

On 16 August, NZ First released a policy on transgender people on bathrooms and sports; which included introducing legislation requiring public bodies to have "clearly demarcated" unisex and single-sex toilets, restricting toilet access to individuals from the opposite sex, and requiring sporting bodies to have an "exclusive biological female category." The National Party criticised the policy. On 20 August, NZ First released a policy of making New Zealand English, English an official language of New Zealand and withdrawing from the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.

On 3 September, NZ First released a cowboy-themed campaign video featuring Peters riding a horse. On 10 September, Peters claimed that Māori people were not indigenous to New Zealand on the grounds that they originated in the Cook Islands and China during a public meeting in Nelson. National Party Luxon criticised Peter's remarks but avoided confirming or denying whether his party would enter into coalition with NZ First in a future government. On 16 September, NZ First released its 31 member party list which included several former NZ First Members of Parliament including Peters, Shane Jones, Mark Patterson (New Zealand politician), Mark Patterson, Jenny Marcroft, and former Mayor of Wellington Andy Foster.

On 26 September, Peters announced that an NZ First government would place a two-year cap on the Jobseeker benefit to combat welfare dependency. On 6 October, NZ First released its election manifesto, which proposed abolishing Goods and Services Tax (New Zealand), Goods and Services Tax (GST) for basic foods. Following a live-televised TVNZ debate that same day, the party stated it would support a select committee of inquiry to explore the viability of removing GST for from basic foods.

New Conservatives Party

In August 2023, the New Conservatives Party, New Conservatives leader Helen Houghton released the party's Family Builder policy, which was costed at NZ$9.1 billion for its first year. Key provisions included allowing workers to keep the first $20,000 they earned, child tax credits, allowing couples to split their income, and shifting funding from early childhood centres to parents with the goal of encouraging at least one parent to raise children at home. Houghton said that the Family Builder policy was intended to encourage parents not to split up and to protect the family unit.

The Opportunities Party

The Opportunities Party aligns with the Greens on various policy fronts, including the endorsement of Universal Basic Income (UBI) and for a more progressive tax system. The proposed tax reforms include implementing an income tax rate of 45% for individuals earning over $250,000 per year, while those earning less than $15,000 per year would be exempt from income tax completely. On 16 June, during a Q&A Wellington Central candidate Natalia Albert, although acknowledging the similarities, said one key divergence from the Greens was that they were open to forming a coalition with either National or ACT.

To secure a place in Parliament, The Opportunities Party primarily banked on their leader Raf Manji, Raf Manji's potential victory in the Ilam (New Zealand electorate), Ilam electorate. In March 2023, TOP announced its NZ$1.5 billion "Teal Deal" policy aimed at youths that would allow people under the age of 30 years to use a "Teal Card" to purchase bikes, scooters, free health care, and skills-based training. The party also proposed a national civic service programme for young people, with participants being given a NZ$5,000 tax-free savings boost. On 17 June, Manji confirmed that TOP was developing an artificial intelligence candidate.

On 16 August, TOP released its health plan, which included fully-funded contraception, increasing placements at medical, nursing, and dentistry schools, boosting the voluntary bond scheme for health professionals and workers, establishing a fully-funded ambulance service, and fully-funded contraception, antenatal ultrasounds, and doctor visits. On 20 August, Manji announced that TOP would introduce a new NZ$3 million investor visa policy that would be used to support a fund to resettle climate refugees in New Zealand.

On 6 September, TOP's deputy leader Natalia Albert announced the party's democracy policy, with key provisions including a four-year parliamentary term, lowering the mixed-member proportional threshold, and lowering the voting age to 16 years.

Debates

TVNZ announced their debate schedule on 29 August. Newshub announced their debate schedule on 7 September. A debate hosted by ''The Press'' between Chris Hipkins and Christopher Luxon was scheduled for 3 October, but after Hipkins caught COVID-19, Luxon pulled out due to being unable to provide any alternative dates.

Issues

According to TVNZ's and Vox Pop Lab's Vote Compass online tool, the top five issues in the general electorates were cost of living (28%), the economy (17%), healthcare (14%), crime (9%), and the environment (8%). Within the Māori electorates, the top five issues were the cost of living (35%), Māori issues (15%), the economy (14%), healthcare (9%) and social justice (9%).

Law and order

According to a Vote Compass survey, 73% of respondents believed that too many offenders avoided prison sentences in New Zealand. According to data released by the Ministry of Justice (New Zealand), Ministry of Justice, there were a total of 8,500 prisoners incarcerated in New Zealand prisons in June 2023; it was the lowest imprisonment rate per 100,000 people in over 20 years. This was part of the Labour Government's policy of reducing the prison population by 30%, which Labour has vowed to scrap if re-elected. While the National and ACT parties have campaigned on reversing the 30% prison reduction target, Te Pāti Māori has advocated abolishing prisons and replacing it with a tikanga-based (Māori customary) system. The Greens have emphasised rehabilitation and restorative justice.

Vote Compass also found that 76% of respondents supported harsher punishments for youth offenders. While 92% of National and ACT voters supported harsher punishments, 73% of Labour voters agreed while 18% disagreed. The survey concluded that conservative party supporters favoured a more punitive and individualised approach towards crime while liberal party supporters thought that crime was rooted in structural factors including poverty and discrimination.

Co-governance and the Treaty of Waitangi

Co-governance and the Treaty of Waitangi were polarising issues during the 2023 general election, with ''The Spinoff'' comparing campaign discussions around these issues to the "iwi vs Kiwi (nickname), Kiwi" debate during the 2005 New Zealand general election. While the incumbent Labour and Green parties were sympathetic to co-governance, they avoided campaigning strongly on the issues due to the controversy that co-governance generated in 2022. Labour has supported the expansion of Māori wards and constituencies in local and regional councils. The opposition National, ACT, and New Zealand First parties have opposed co-governance to varying degrees, despite the former two instituting co-governance arrangements during the Fifth National Government of New Zealand, Fifth National Government. While National and ACT have opposed the expansion of Māori wards in local government, ACT has accepted other co-governance arrangements such as Auckland's Tūpuna Maunga Authority and the Waikato River Authority. Meanwhile, NZ First has rejected all power-sharing arrangements with Māori including co-governaning indigenous biodiversity. While the Labour and Green parties have supported the Government's Water Services Reform Programme, National and ACT have campaigned on repealing the programme in its entirety.

In terms of the Treaty of Waitangi and treaty settlements, Labour has supported expanding Te Haetea, the online database for monitoring Treaty settlement commitments. The Green and Māori parties have advocated reforming the Treaty of Waitangi Tribunal and Treaty settlements by reopening historical claims, allowing hapū (sub-tribes) to negotiate claims, boosting Tribunal funding and broadening the Tribunal's scope to include private property. The Māori Party has also sought to include council-owned land in Treaty settlements, make Tribunal recommendations binding, remove fiscal and deadline limits, and to end "full and final settlements" in the Treaty process.

In terms of constitutional arrangements, Te Paati Māori has proposed several major constitutional changes including the creation of a separate Māori parliament, entrench the Māori electorates, allowing Māori to switch between the general and Māori electoral rolls anytime, and expanding the scope of the Waitangi Tribunal process. The Greens also support entrenching the Māori electorates, implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and its local He Puapua strategy, and creating a citizen's assembly based on Treaty principles. By contrast, ACT and NZ First oppose the entrenchment of both the Declaration on Indigenous Rights and the He Puapua documents.

In late September 2023, Horizon Research published the results of a survey on how New Zealanders' voting choices were influenced by their views on co-governance, the Treaty of Waitangi, and racial harmony. The Horizon Research study also identified a large gulf between Māori and European/Pākehā voters on the issues of co-governance and honouring the Treaty. On co-governance, 28% of European voters surveyed said that stopping co-governance policies was an important influence on their party vote choice, compared with 17% of Māori respondents. 62% of prospective ACT voters opposed co-governance, compared with 45% of New Zealand First prospective voters and 40% of prospective National voters. Regarding the Treaty, 46% of Māori respondents regarded honouring the Treaty as an important influence on their party vote, compared with 20% of European respondents. The survey found that 31% of voters regarded racial harmony as important; with 34% of Māori and 30% of Europeans regarding racial harmony as important.

Disinformation and misinformation

Several researchers including Victoria University of Wellington political scientist Lara Greaves, psychologist and artificial intelligence commentator Paul Duignan, and University of Auckland research associate Sarah Bickerton expressed concern that artificial intelligence could be used to spread misinformation and disinformation during the lead-up to the 2023 general election. Similarly, Sanjana Hattotuwa of The Disinformation Project, Joshua Ferrer, and InternetNZ expressed concerns about microtargeting being used as a tool for spreading disinformation and facilitating foreign election interference online. By contrast, Victoria University political scientist Jack Vowles opposed calls to ban microtargeting and argued that microtargeting could be used for positive purposes such as promoting educational policies among teachers.

In early August 2023, the Electoral Commission confirmed it was considering an investigation of controversial Stop Co-Governance organiser Julian Batchelor's pamphlets for allegedly breaching electoral advertising laws. Batchelor's pamphlets included a section telling people not to vote for parties which supported co-governance. Electoral law expert Graeme Edgeler opined that this section constituted an electoral advertisement. According to ''1News'', the Electoral Commission had warned Batchelor that electoral adverts must have an official promoter statement, including a name and address. In response, Batchelor claimed that the infringement was "extremely minor" and would be hard to prove in court.

In mid August, Stuff reported that several NZ First candidates including property and commercial lawyer Kirsten Murfitt, Auckland consultant Janina Massee, Matamata-Piako (New Zealand electorate), Piako district councillor Caleb Ansell, and Kevin Stone had espoused COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and "plandemic" conspiracy theories, New World Order (conspiracy theory), New World Order conspiracy theories, climate skepticism, QAnon, and homophobia. In response, party leader Winston Peters claimed that NZ First's candidate list was provisional and defended the party's candidate selection process.

On 21 August, ACT candidate Elaine Naidu Franz resigned after 1News uncovered a LinkedIn post likening COVID-19 vaccine mandates to concentration camps. ACT leader David Seymour described her comments as "unacceptable" and welcomed her decision to resign as an ACT candidate. A second ACT candidate Darren Gilchrist of Waikato apologised for a Telegram (software), Telegram post claiming that COVID-19 vaccines contributed to a surge in drowning in 2021. A third ACT candidate Anto Coates also resigned after describing COVID-19 as a mass hysteria and writing a parody song suggesting that former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had thought about sending people to gulags. Seymour defended ACT's candidate vetting process while Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer accused the party of courting conspiracy theorists and being secretive respectively.

On 7 September, the Labour Party removed a social media attack advertisement which falsely claimed that the National Party would end free public transport for disabled people. In truth, disabled "Total Mobility" users have never been eligible for free public transport or the half-price public transport fees announced in the 2023 New Zealand budget in mid-May 2023.

On 18 September, Radio New Zealand reported that National's Hamilton East (New Zealand electorate), Hamilton East candidate Ryan Hamilton (New Zealand politician), Ryan Hamilton, a serving Hamilton City Councillor, had for two decades espoused anti-fluoridation and vaccine hesitancy views at odds with the National Party's positions on fluoridation and vaccination. Hamilton had also posted social media posts opposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates and alleging that the number of COVID-19 deaths had been inflated. In response to media coverage, National claimed that Hamilton had since changed his views on fluoridation.

On 16 November, Victoria University of Wellington political scientist Mona Krewel's "New Zealand Social Media Study" found that misinformation and disinformation were not problematic in election campaigning during the 2023 general election. The study was based on an analysis of over 4,000 Facebook posts from political parties and their leaders during the five week period leading to 14 October. The Social Media Study found that fake news posts remained below 3% throughout the election campaign, with a weekly average of 2.6% over that five week period. Krewel's study also observed that various parties and politicians promoted "half truths" or "small lies" throughout the campaign. One notable example was the National Party claiming that the Ministry for Pacific Peoples had hosted breakfasts to promote Labour MPs. In truth the Ministry had held these breakfasts to explain the 2023 New Zealand budget to constituents.

Polarisation and vandalism

The 2023 electoral campaign has been noted for its increased divisiveness, with a far more tense and discordant campaign than 2020 New Zealand general election, 2020. Some political commentators, such as Henry Cooke, have written about heightened political polarisation.

During the second of the three leaders' debates, as moderated by Patrick Gower, Paddy Gower on Three (TV channel), Three, Chris Hipkins read out a quote by Rob Ballantyne, the New Zealand First candidate for Rangitata (New Zealand electorate), Rangitata, that he described as explicitly racist. The quote said to Māori: "Cry if you want to, we don't care. You pushed it too far. We are the party with the cultural mandate and courage to cut out your disease and bury it permanently." Hipkins then asked Christopher Luxon why he was willing to work with New Zealand First. Luxon responded by agreeing that the quote was racist, but said that he was "going to make the call [to Winston Peters on election night] if it means stopping you, Te Māori and the Greens from coming to power." Hipkins later committed to calling out racism and defending Te Tiriti, while accusing ACT and NZ First of Incitement to ethnic or racial hatred, race-baiting. David Seymour condemned the statement while Ballantyne later claimed to journalist Tova O'Brien that he was talking about "elite" Māori.

The widespread defacement of electoral billboards has caused concern. A billboard featuring Priyanca Radhakrishnan, who is defending Maungakiekie (New Zealand electorate), Maungakiekie for Labour, was vandalised with misogynistic language. Several billboards featuring Māori politicians have been defaced with racial slurs, including ''Coon (slur), coon'' and on one occasion ''nigger'', and the word "Māori" repeatedly cut out. National Party billboards were also vandalised but not in overtly racist or misogynistic ways.

On 29 September 17 Māori leaders including David Letele signed an open letter to National Party leader Christopher Luxon calling on him to "condemn the racist comments made by NZ First, condemn the race-baiting policies of the ACT Party, and commit himself to representing all of us, including Māori." In response, Luxon accused Labour leader Hipkins of creating a campaign built on fear and negativity. NZ First leader Winston Peters accused the letter writers of racism and reiterated his claims that co-governance was Apartheid. ACT leader David Seymour accused the signatories of making false accusations of racism while ignoring the alleged racism of the Māori Party. In response to Seymour's remarks, Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer accused Seymour of suffering from White Saviourism and of taking no responsibility for his alleged ignorance. In turn, Hipkins accused Luxon of exploiting race since he became National Party leader.

On 5 October, while interviewing Greens co-leader James Shaw, journalist Tova O'Brien revealed that the Green candidate for Maungakiekie, Sapna Samant, had a history of racist tweets. These included "White people are stupid" and "can be fooled easily" and also called Labour Minister Priyanca Radhakrishnan "****ing useless " and an "incompetent" minister. Shaw was unaware of this and when asked if Samant was a good fit for the Green Party, Shaw said, from "what you're saying, it doesn't sound like it". She had also tweeted "Defund the police" which Shaw stated was not Green Party policy.

Political violence and intimidation

There have also been several acts of political violence and intimidation. On 26 September, Angela Roberts, a list MP and the Labour Party candidate for Taranaki-King Country, was physically assaulted at a town hall meeting. At the Rotary International, Rotary Club in Inglewood, New Zealand, Inglewood, Taranaki, a man who was confronting Roberts "grabbed [her] shoulders" and shook her violently "in order to emphasise the point he was making" before slapping her across the face. Chris Hipkins spoke to the media and condemned the incident. He also addressed Labour MPs and candidates directly, saying that if they were "criticised for not going to that meeting because you don't feel safe going there, I will absolutely defend you doing that." Roberts later said to Radio New Zealand, RNZ "It feels like, incrementally, there is a growing acceptance of aggression in politics and our democratic processes. This must change." She thanked National MP Barbara Kuriger for reaching out to her after the incident.

On 29 September, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, Te Pāti Māori's candidate for Hauraki-Waikato allegedly suffered a home invasion, in which her house was vandalised and a threatening letter was left behind. Te Pāti Māori put out a statement saying that the "premeditated and targeted attack" was "the latest of three incidents to take place at Hana's home just this week... to our knowledge, this is the first time in our history that a politician's home and personal property has been invaded to this extent." The party blamed "right-wing politicians [race-baiting] and [fearmongering] for votes" for emboldening the perpetrators.

On 5 October, an elderly Pākehā/European New Zealander man alleged to be a well-known National Party campaigner was issued a trespass notice by police for allegedly intimidating Maipi-Clarke. Police subsequently confirmed that they were investigating five reports about behaviour against Maipi-Clarke but did not believe that the incidents were racially motivated or coordinated. Detective Inspector Darrell Harpur confirmed that a person had been trespassed from Maipi-Clarke's Huntly, New Zealand, Huntly home. While Police confirmed the theft of an election hoarding from Maipi-Clark's home, they clarified that the incident had been incorrectly reported as a ram-raiding, ram raid rather than a theft. Police also confirmed they were investigating a related burglary and the threatening letter but were unable to establish any criminality. Te Pāti Māori president John Tamihere contested the Police statement and confirmed it would be filing a civil lawsuit against the elderly National Party campaigner following the 2023 election. In response to media coverage, the National Party defended the elderly campaigner and rejected assertions he had trespassed on Maipi-Clarke's property. National stated that the elderly Pakeha man had only wished to congratulate Maipi-Clarke for participating at a "meet the candidate event" but had left since Maipi-Clark was not at home.

On 2 October, National's campaign chair Chris Bishop reported that several National Party candidates and volunteers had encountered several alleged incidents of intimidation, death threats, assaults including a candidate being forced to move houses, a dog attack, and at least one burglary. Bishop alleged that "malevolent actors" were attempting to disrupt the 2023 election and also claimed that the Mongrel Mob's endorsement of the Labour Party had placed National Party candidates and supporters at risk. In one incident, National's Auckland Central (New Zealand electorate), Auckland Central candidate Mahesh Muralidhar, his partner, and several volunteers were illegally filmed by a member of the Head Hunters Motorcycle Club who uploaded the video on social media, where it attracted vitriol and abusive language from gang members including a senior Headhunter. The National and ACT parties condemned threats and violence against political candidates as "unacceptable" and "disgraceful." National blamed the intimidation and violence on gang members while ACT urged people to report these incidents to the Police.

Protests and disruptions

Members of the Freedoms New Zealand disrupted Labour leader Chris Hipkins' campaign visit to the Ōtara Markets on 20 August, a National Party press conference featuring leader Christopher Luxon and transport spokesperson Simeon Brown on 28 August, and the Labour Party's campaign launch on 2 September. In early September 2023, The Disinformation Project's director Kate Hannah claimed that the disruptive activities of "fringe" parties were instigated by lobby groups. She also expressed concern that these disruptive activities would discourage public participation in the democratic process.

Social media

On 8 September, ''The New Zealand Herald'' reported that several political parties including the National, Green, ACT, NZ First, and Labour parties were using the video-sharing platform TikTok to reach younger voters in the 18–24 age group, which accounted for 418,831 eligible voters. National launched its TikTok account in November 2022 with Labour following suit in September 2023. By September 2023, National had gained 54,000 TikTok followers, the Greens 13,400 followers, ACT 12,200 followers, and Labour 1,400 followers. Popular election-related TikTok content included interviews featuring ACT leader David Seymour and NZ First candidate Shane Jones' rendition of the song "Don't Stop Believing." During the lead-up to the election, TikTok added a pop-up directing New Zealand viewers searching for election-related content to the Electoral Commission's website.

On 20 October, ''The Spinoff'' reported that several political parties had spent large sums on online advertisements on Meta Platforms' Ad Library (which appears on Facebook and Instagram) and Google. The highest spender was the ACT Party, which spent NZ$334,900 on Meta advertising and NZ$444,000 on Google advertising. The second highest spender was Labour, which spent NZ$250,400 on Meta advertising and NZ$66,000 on Google advertising. The third highest spender was National, which spent NZ$215,500 on Meta advertising and NZ$63,000 on Google advertising. Other parties advertising on Meta's platforms included Green Party (NZ$143,300), Te Pāti Māori (NZ$44,700), TOP (NZ$31,600), and NZ First (NZ$17,900). NZ First also spent NZ$44,400 on Google advertisements.

On 21 October, Radio New Zealand estimated that National, Labour, ACT, the Greens, NZ First and Te Pāti Māori spent between NZ$1.5 and NZ$2.3 million on Meta and Google platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Google and YouTube in the three month period leading up to the 2023 election. The two major parties Labour and National focused on the economy. Labour also spent heavily on health advertising including on promoting its policy of free dental care for people under the age of 30 years. While National and ACT also spent heavily on crime-related advertising, the Greens were the only party to spend on climate change-related advertisements. During the final stages of the campaign, Labour published several attack advertisements targeting National leader Christopher Luxon. While most parties did not target gender segments, 81% of Green ads were viewed by women while 63% of ACT ads were viewed by men. NZ First targeted the over 65 age demographic.

Ethnic engagement and representation

In mid September 2023, Ngaire Reid, the managing director of Reid Research, stated that Chinese New Zealanders along with Māori and Pasifika New Zealanders were often reluctant to participate in opinion polls, causing these ethnic communities to be underrepresented in opinion polling. Market research firm Trace Research director Andrew Zhu stated that opinion polls could help the Chinese community to feel more engaged in the political process. On 21 September, Trace Research published the results of a survey which found that 70.9% of ethnic Chinese voters supported the National Party, 13.4% supported ACT, 12.5% supported Labour, and 1.4% supported the Greens. Support for right-wing parties within the Chinese community rose in 2023 while support for Labour declined compared with the 2020 general election. Trace Research found that ethnic Chinese voters were most concerned with rising living costs, law and order, economic growth, racial equality and healthcare.

In early October, Radio New Zealand reported that several young Asian voters were concerned that Asian communities were not being heard in the 2023 election and that there was a lack of "meaningful" engagement with political parties. Key issues among Asian voters included health, employment, the economy, and income equality.

On 4 October, Radio New Zealand reported that a record number of Indian New Zealanders were standing as candidates in the 2023 general election across the political spectrum. National had five ethnic Indian candidates, ACT four, Labour two, and the Greens two. Notable ethnic Indian candidates included ACT's Pakuranga (New Zealand electorate), Pakuranga candidate Parmjeet Parmar, National's Auckland Central (New Zealand electorate), Auckland Central candidate Mahesh Muralidhar, and Labour Maungakiekie (New Zealand electorate), Maungakiekie MP Priyanca Radhakrishnan.

Opinion polls

Several polling firms have conducted opinion polls during the term of the 53rd New Zealand Parliament (2020–present) for the 2023 general election. The regular polls are the quarterly polls produced by Television New Zealand (''1News'') conducted by Verian (formerly known as Colmar Brunton and Kantar Public) and Discovery New Zealand (''Newshub'') conducted by Reid Research, along with monthly polls by Roy Morgan Research, and by Curia (New Zealand Taxpayers' Union, Taxpayers' Union). The sample size, margin of error and confidence interval of each poll varies by organisation and date.

Seat projections

Voting

Overseas voting opened on 27 September with overseas voters having until 7:00 pm on 14 October (New Zealand time; UTC+13) to cast their vote. 74 voting locations were established overseas including 10 in Australia, four in China, four in the United States, and one in the United Kingdom. Overseas voters were also given the option of downloading their voting papers from "vote.nz," and uploading it onto the website. By 27 September, the Electoral Commission confirmed that 78,000 voters had overseas addresses.

EasyVote packs were sent to voters starting in late September 2023. These packs contain the voter's personalised EasyVote card, which is used by polling booth staff to help identify and locate the voter on the electoral roll. The packs also contain a list of candidates and a list of voting places and opening times.

On 4 October, Stuff reported that an estimated 1.4 million eligible voters had not yet received their EasyVote pack. While the Commission emphasised that voters did not need an EasyVote card to vote, delays in posting the cards to households had caused concern. In response, Hipkins confirmed that the Labour Party's general secretary had raised the issue with the Electoral Commission. In addition, all EasyVote packs for Epsom, Mount Albert and Pakuranga (New Zealand electorate), Pakuranga had to be reprinted after a quality assurance check found several packs containing misprinted voting place lists, delaying delivery in these electorates.

Advance voting began on 2 October 2023, with 1,376,366 advance votes cast. This was significantly down on the 2020 general election, in which 1,976,996 votes were cast in advance, but still ahead of the 1,240,740 advance votes cast for the 2017 election.

On 6 October, Radio New Zealand reported that 2,600 polling booths would be set up across New Zealand for the 2023 general election. While 800 of these booths would open early, 265 would not be open on polling day. Of those booths only open during advance voting, 61 were located in rural electorates while 204 were situated in regional and urban electorates. In response, the Electoral Commission issued a statement that the opening days and times of individual polling booths were determined by several factors including agreements with the individual location, staffing levels, and local demand.

Following election day, Te Pāti Māori president John Tamihere and David Letele, Dave Letele criticised the Electoral Commission for alleged "unacceptable" treatment of Māori voters at polling booths including reports of long queues, enrolled voters being told to cast special votes, insufficient ballot forms, and voters being incorrectly told that they could not vote if they did not have an EasyVote card.

Results

Preliminary results were gradually released after polling booths closed at 7:00 pm on 14 October. The Electoral Commission aimed to have 50% of votes counted by 10:00 pm and 95% counted by 11:30 pm. The preliminary count only included ordinary votes (approximately 2.2 million); it did not include the 603,257 special votes, which can take up to 10 days to be returned to their correct electorate and need to be approved before they are counted. The polling booth rolls will also be compiled into a master roll to ensure nobody has voted more than once. Official results, including special votes and a recount of the ordinary votes, were released by the Electoral Commission on 3 November 2023, 20 days after the election.

Compared to the preliminary results, the official results showed the National Party had dropped two seats, meaning that it no longer had a majority with ACT, and must obtain the support of NZ First in order to form a government. The Māori Party took two more electorate seats, one of which was won by a margin of four votes.

Detailed results

, colspan=12 align=center,
, - style="text-align:center;"
! colspan=2 rowspan=2 style="width:213px;" , Party
! colspan=4 , Party vote
! colspan=4 , Electorate vote sum
! rowspan=2 , Total
seats
! rowspan=2 , +/-
, - style="text-align:center;"
! Votes
! Of total
(%)
! Change
(Percentage points, pp)
! Seats
! Votes
! Of total
(%)
! Change
(Percentage points, pp)
! Seats
, -
,
, 1,085,851
, 38.08
, 12.51
, 5
, 1,192,251
, 43.47
, 9.34
, 43
, 48
, 16
, -
,
, 767,540
, 26.92
, 23.09
, 17
, 855,963
, 31.21
, 16.86
, 17
, 34
, 31
, -
,
, 330,907
, 11.61
, 3.75
, 12
, 226,575
, 8.26
, 2.52
, 3
, 15
, 5
, -
,
, 246,473
, 8.64
, 1.06
, 9
, 149,507
, 5.45
, 1.99
, 2
, 11
, 1
, -
,
, 173,553
, 6.09
, 3.49
, 8
, 76,676
, 2.80
, 1.73
, 0
, 8
, 8
, -
,
, 87,844
, 3.08
, 1.92
, 0
, 106,584
, 3.89
, 1.73
, 6
, 6
, 4
, -
, (TOP)
, 63,344
, 2.22
, 0.72
, 0
, 27,975
, 1.02
, 0.13
, 0
, 0
,
, -
,
, 34,478
, 1.21
, ''new''
, 0
, 32,240
, 1.18
, ''new''
, 0
, 0
, ''new''
, -
,
, 16,126
, 0.57
, 0.29
, 0
, 3,585
, 0.13
, 0.11
, 0
, 0
,
, -
,
, 13,025
, 0.46
, 0.01
, 0
, 12,566
, 0.46
, 0.17
, 0
, 0
,
, -
,
, 9,586
, 0.34
, 0.09
, 0
,
,
,
, 0
, 0
,
, -
,
, 6,786
, 0.24
, ''new''
, 0
, 12,060
, 0.44
, ''new''
, 0
, 0
, ''new''
, -
,
, 5,018
, 0.18
, ''new''
, 0
, 5,829
, 0.21
, ''new''
, 0
, 0
, ''new''
, -
,
, 4,532
, 0.16
, 1.31
, 0
, 3,167
, 0.12
, 1.64
, 0
, 0
,
, -
,
, 2,513
, 0.09
, ''new''
, 0
, 0
, 0.00
, ''new''
, 0
, 0
, ''new''
, -
,
, 2,105
, 0.07
, ''new''
, 0
, 2,623
, 0.10
, ''new''
, 0
, 0
, ''new''
, -
,
, 1,530
, 0.05
, ''new''
, 0
, 433
, 0.02
, ''new''
, 0
, 0
, ''new''
, -
, style="background-color:#ffffff" ,
, style="text-align:left;" , Unregistered parties
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
, -
,
,
,
,
,
, 34,277
, 1.25
, 0.87
,
,
,
, -
! colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" , Valid votes
! 2,851,211
!
!
!
! 2,742,677
!
!
! colspan=3 ,
, -
, colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" , Spoilt vote, Informal votes
, 16,267
,
,
!
, 40,353
,
,
, colspan=3 ,
, -
, colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" , Disallowed votes
, 16,633
,
,
!
, 59,043
,
,
, colspan=3 ,
, -
, colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" , Below electoral threshold
,
,
,
!
,
,
,
, colspan=3 ,
, -
! colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" , Total
! 2,884,111
! 100.00
!
! 51
! 2,842,073
! 100.00
!
! 71
! 122
!
, -
, colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" , Eligible voters and voter turnout, turnout
, 3,688,292
, 78.20
, 4.04
!
, 3,688,292
, 77.06
, 5.18
, colspan=3 ,

Electorate results

The table below shows the results of the electorate vote in the 2023 general election:

;Key