MEDIA RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday 21 March, 2017

NEWSHUB POLITICAL POLL USING NEW METHODOLOGY AND “POWER RATING” FEATURE TO BE RELEASED TODAY

The results of its first Newshub-Reid Research poll of the year will be released from midday today - marking six months to go until the Election.

A new methodology has been developed that combines the use of both telephones and the internet to ensure the highest level of accuracy ahead of the Election on September 23.

And for the first time, the Newshub Power Rating feature will show how voters believe New Zealand’s two potential leaders, Bill English and Andrew Little are performing head-to-head.

“We have changed the way we poll to reach the most Kiwis,” said Political Editor Patrick Gower. “You can’t stand still when it comes to polling, it is too important.”

The poll will still sample 1000 people but the updated methodology sees 25% of respondents participating through an internet panel. The remaining 75% have been contacted via traditional landline telephone poll method. The poll will have the same margin of error of 3.1%.

“We are using the best mix of the new and the traditional that has worked well,” said Gower.

“We are using the internet to get to those harder-to-reach voters.”

The Power Rating feature is measured by respondents indicating how they think the two leaders are performing on a scale of ‘well’ or ‘poorly’ - with the net figure showing whether the leaders have a “positive” or “negative” rating.

“The Power Rating is a powerful piece of data that tells us who voters think is doing the best out of Bill English and Andrew Little,” said Gower.

The Power Rating is backed up by a data set that dates back until John Key took power which can be tracked to show how voters think leaders are performing over time.

Results will start to be released from 12pm today via Newshub and radio with further updates on Newshub Live at 4pm and Newshub Live at 6pm.

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