By Ainsley Thomson New Zealand’s two main parties launched their election campaigns on Sunday, with Christopher Luxon’s National and Chris Hipkins’ Labour both pledging to restore the idea that hard-working New Zealanders should be able to get ahead.

Campaign slogans — “Fixing the Basics. Building the Future” for National and “Better Starts Now” for Labour — and promises on pensions, student loans, government debt and supermarket competition featured at the two events, both held in Auckland.

The campaigns come ahead of the knife-edge election on Nov. 7. National and Labour are languishing in the polls, with both regularly drawing less than 30% support. National has lost voters as high living costs and rising interest rates erode its credibility on the economy after pledging to revive growth, while Labour has failed to persuade people that it offers a compelling alternative.

That disillusionment is driving voters to smaller parties, which could play an outsized role in deciding who forms a government. It echoes elections across other developed economies, where years of cost-of-living pressures have diminished support for the established parties. Hipkins, who was prime minister for 10 months in 2023 after Jacinda Ardern stood down, said the election was simply about the cost of living.

“It’s about the couple who work full-time and still have to check their bank balance before they go to the supermarket. The parent who is doing everything right and wants to put something aside for a holiday with the kids,” Hipkins said. “This is middle New Zealand. They get up, go to work, look after their families and do their best. And right now, far too many of them are working harder than ever and still going backwards.” Labour pledged to cut student debt by 10% for people who remain in the country for three years after graduating, pitching the policy as a way to ease the financial burden on young New Zealanders and give them another reason to stay.

“It’s about the couple who work full-time and still have to check their bank balance before they go to the supermarket. The parent who is doing everything right and wants to put something aside for a holiday with the kids,” Hipkins said. “This is middle New Zealand. They get up, go to work, look after their families and do their best. And right now, far too many of them are working harder than ever and still going backwards.” Labour pledged to cut student debt by 10% for people who remain in the country for three years after graduating, pitching the policy as a way to ease the financial burden on young New Zealanders and give them another reason to stay.

“Over the last few years, 2,000 people have been leaving New Zealand every single week,” Hipkins said. “I’m determined to give young Kiwis more reason to stay here and make a life for themselves in New Zealand.” Luxon, the current prime minister, offered a more upbeat assessment of the economy. “Exports are booming, tourism is strong, and construction is finally turning around. Our economy as a whole is growing, faster in the last year than the UK, the US, Australia, Canada, the EU and Japan,” according to Luxon.

The prime minister said that “220,000 new jobs are forecast to be created in the next four years, with wages rising faster than inflation.” Luxon unveiled National’s 2026 pledge card, with 10 commitments that he called his “personal promise to every New Zealander,” the first of which was economic growth that delivers new jobs and higher wages. Others included no new taxes and an extension to paid parental leave to 30 weeks from 26.

He focused in particular on tax and his party’s promise not to introduce any new ones. “National will continue to make the necessary choices to reprioritise wasteful spending, so we can invest in frontline services without blowing the books or needing new taxes and loading on more debt,” he said.