'Chaff': Winston Peters rejects Pacific poll as NZ First eyes general election breakthrough

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has rejected a new PMN-HorizonResearch survey showing many Pacific voters believe his party does not understand their communities.

The Foreign Minister says the findings do not reflect support on the ground.

Speaking with William Terite on Pacific Mornings ahead of New Zealand First’s campaign launch this weekend, Peters dismissed the poll as unreliable and predicted his party would again outperform expectations at the ballot box.

“I think that those polls are chaff because they're so badly manufactured and with such few numbers

“They write you [off] and then for the last moment, it happened in 2023 way up till the election,” he said.

Senior National Party leaders, including Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, have been invited to appear on Pacific Mornings to respond to the PMN-HorizonResearch Pacific Issues Survey and discuss the issues raised by Pacific voters.

The invitations have not been accepted. PMN News continues to offer all major parties the opportunity to respond to the survey findings.

The survey found 59 per cent of Pacific voters believe New Zealand First does not understand the needs of Pacific communities.

The figures were even higher for its coalition partners, with 72 per cent saying National does not understand Pacific people well and 74 per cent saying the same of ACT.

Watch Winston Peters' full interview below.

The survey also found the cost of living remains the biggest issue for Pacific voters, with almost nine in 10 saying it will influence how they vote.

Peters acknowledged the coalition has not done enough to ease household pressures but argued it inherited deep economic problems from the previous Labour government.

"The cost of living crisis was left with us by the [Labour] Party, and we haven't done as well as we should have done on it, I agree with that.

"They left us with massive borrowing debt, high inflation. Every indicator you had was adverse and going downwards," he said.

Peters also sought to draw a clear line between New Zealand First and its coalition partners. He said his party never promised to solve the country’s biggest challenges within a single term.

"They kept on saying we can fix it in three years. New Zealand First never said that. We said this is so seriously bad that we're going to take a while to fix this up,” he told Terite.

His comments come after political commentators told Terite the Pacific vote can no longer be taken for granted, with trust and delivery on key issues likely to shape this year's election.

The PMN-Horizon Research polling also found Pacific voters want parties to earn their support by addressing the rising cost of living, improving health services and increasing access to affordable housing.

Peters, who ranked fourth in the survey's preferred prime minister rankings on 10 per cent, behind Labour leader Chris Hipkins on 36 per cent and Prime Minister Luxon on 11 per cent, said many voters have yet to make up their minds. The survey found 15 per cent were still undecided.

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has dismissed the PMN-Horizon Research Pacific Issues Survey, saying it underestimates his party's support ahead of the general election. Photo/RNZ/Samuel Rillstone

New Zealand First launches its election campaign this weekend at the Manukau Pacific Centre in Auckland where Peters is expected to unveil new policy commitments and make the case that his party offers a distinct alternative to both Labour and its coalition partners.

"We're going to announce a number of policies about where we're going forward... that'll turn this country around,” he told Terite.

"We don't want Pepsi and Coke over and over again, Tweedledum and Tweedledum, year [in] and year out. They've got a choice this time.”

Watch New Zealand First candidate Alfred Ngaro's full interview below.

Peters also pointed to his record as Foreign Affairs Minister, saying New Zealand First has delivered strongly for the Pacific.

"The way we've done it in foreign aid and our assistance to the Pacific, we have been unparalleled in our success. So give us a chance, you won't regret it."

New Zealanders go to the polls on 7 November 2026.