Beaming Jacinda Ardern thanks loyal supporters while millions of New Zealanders head to the polls - as the Labour leader, 40, looks set to defeat rival 'Crusher Collins' and secure three more years in power
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern thanked her supporters in Auckland on Saturday as millions of Kiwis headed to the polls.
The Labour leader, 40, is expected to win three more years in power with the first results of the general election published at 5pm Sydney time (7pm New Zealand time).
Polls on Friday gave Ms Ardern a double-digit lead over the main opposition National Party, led by former lawyer Judith Collins, who is nicknamed 'the Crusher' over her 2009 plan to crush boy racers' cars.
The campaign has been dominated by coronavirus and Ms Ardern is expected to be rewarded by voters after the country halted the domestic spread of Covid-19, allowing most of normal life to resume with only 1,883 cases and 25 deaths.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (pictured on Saturday) thanked her supporters at a community hall in Auckland as millions of kiwis headed to the polls
The general election, which was delayed by a month due to coronavirus, is expected to hand the Labour leader (pictured today) three more years in power
National Leader Judith Collins is pictured with campaign volunteers on Friday
The Labour party could even win an outright majority after Ms Ardern, an unmarried mother-of-one, governed in coalition with the nationalist New Zealand First party for the last three years.
Ms Ardern's re-election was far from assured before the pandemic, amid criticism that her government has failed to transform the country despite an ambitious domestic policy.
But she has won international praise for her handling of a series of crises during her tenure, including the Christchurch terror attack in March 2019 and the White Island volcano eruption in December that year.
If Labour wins outright, it would be the first party to govern alone since New Zealand switched to a form of proportional representation in 1996.
Even a coalition of Labour and the Greens would be the first full-throated left-leaning government in decades.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at the Kilbirnie Mosque on March 17, 2019 after the Christchurch terror attack
Ms Ardern and partner Clarke Gayford pose with their baby daughter Neve Gayford in August 2018
Ms Ardern has promised tax hikes on Kiwis earning over $180,000 to fund policies including free apprenticeships to help the economy recover after Covid-19.
The prime minister on Friday urged voters to deliver her a strong mandate, promising a swift recovery from the pandemic.
New Zealand is at the lowest level of restrictions with no limits on gatherings and social distancing merely a suggestion, allowing fans to return to sports grounds.
The election was postponed by a month after a new outbreak surfaced in Auckland, but this has since been quelled with no active cases in the community.
'If you want pace and speed, give us a strong mandate,' Ardern said in an interview on Radio New Zealand.
Labor: Key policies
Tax: New top rate of tax at 39 per cent for income over $180,000 (current max rate is 33 per cent on income above $70,000)
Wages: Increase the minimum wage to $20 (currently $18.90) and double sick leave from five to 10 days a year
Foreign Affairs: Increase foreign aid, seek nuclear disarmament and trade deals with the EU and the UK
Energy: Achieve 100 per cent renewable electricity generation by 2030
Public housing: Build 18,000 public houses
Training and employment: Provide free access to apprenticeships for two years
Immigration: Allow a broader range of people to get visas and re-start the refugee intake program
Community: Ensure schools have gender neutral bathrooms
Source: Labour manifesto
National: Key policies
Tax: Temporary tax cuts for two years worth up to $4,026 for people on below $90,000. No tax increases
Wages: Postpone increase to minimum wage
Foreign Affairs: Reform the World Trade Organisation, strike free trade deal with the US, UK and EU
Energy: Reverse ban on new oil and gas mining. Scrap targets for renewable energy
Public housing: Allow state housing tenants to buy their homes
Training and employment: Pay businesses $10,000 for each full time new employee. Require secondary schools to teach financial capability
Immigration: Relax requirements for technology related work visas and grant more investor visas
Debt: Reduce the government debt to GDP ratio to below 30 per cent by 2030
Normal life: Fans pack into a stadium in Wellington last weekend to watch the All Blacks play Australia, after New Zealand scrapped most restrictions relating to coronavirus
A man walks past signs supporting a 'yes' vote on legalising marijuana ahead of Saturday's referendum taking place at the same time as the general election
Defending her record on domestic issues, Ms Ardern said: 'If we genuinely want to make sure what we are doing on child poverty and on climate change isn't just a three-year burst, I have to make sure it's sustained.
'It took decades to create, I need more than three years to fix it.'
National Party leader Ms Collins has tried to exploit fears of a left-wing government raising taxes and being hostile to business.
Ms Collins, 61, argues that she is best placed tackle the post-pandemic financial challenges.
While life is back to normal in New Zealand, its borders are still shut, its tourism sector is bleeding, and economists are predicting a lasting recession.
The economy shrank 12.2 per cent in the second quarter to its worst level since the Great Depression.
Ms Ardern has pledged to increase taxes for top earners, while Ms Collins has promised short-term tax cuts, but they have otherwise shown few major differences on policy.
'The relative lack of policy differences mean that much of the debate has been about competence - which party and which leader can be trusted to 'get the job done',' said Geoffrey Miller, analyst at political website Democracy Project.
Business confidence, which hit historic lows in the early months of Ms Ardern's government, has improved after her successes.
Still, there has been criticism of Ms Ardern's economic policies and a looming summer season with no international tourists will be a major test.
Challenger: Ardern's rival, National Party leader Judith Collins , has tried to stir fears of a left-wing government raising taxes
'She won't be able to ride this wave of personal popularity forever,' said Miller. 'New Zealand has done well with management of Covid-19 but chapter two of the story starts from Sunday.'
About 1.7million of the 3.5million registered voters have already cast ballots.
New Zealanders will also decide whether to legalise recreational cannabis and euthanasia in two referendums.
A vote in favour of legal marijuana would make New Zealand only the third country in the world to legalise the drug so after Uruguay and Canada.
The euthanasia measure, which would also allow assisted suicide, would apply to people who have terminal illnesses, are likely to die within six months, and are enduring 'unbearable' suffering.
Countries that allow some form of euthanasia include the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Canada, Belgium and Colombia.
Lara Greaves, a lecturer in New Zealand politics at the University of Auckland, said she thinks the marijuana referendum is destined to fail.
'I think the problem is that we would be going from criminalisation, and a bit of medicinal use, to full-on recreational use,' she said.
'Probably what needed to happen to get the public on board was to have a phase of decriminalisation.'
She said a large turnout of younger voters would be necessary for the measure to have any hope of passing but that was far from certain.
Ms Ardern has declined to say how she intends to vote, saying she wants to leave it for people to decide.
Cars drive past a billboard on Friday urging voters to vote 'no' against euthanasia in Christchurch
A man leaves a polling station in Auckland, New Zealand after voting in the general election
The prime minister did admit during the campaign to smoking marijuana when she was younger.
One vocal proponent of the marijuana referendum has been former Prime Minister Helen Clark.
A position paper from her foundation argues that indigenous Maori have faced disproportionate and excessive punishment from the legal system when caught with the drug.
'Cannabis use is a reality in New Zealand, and the results of our current policy approach damage our health, worsen social equity, and drive crime,' Clark's foundation said.
Arguing against the referendum is a number of community and religious groups who have formed the 'Say Nope to Dope' campaign.
They say today's marijuana is strong, addictive and harmful, and that keeping it illegal deters people from using it.
If the euthanasia referendum is approved, it would become law, whereas if the marijuana referendum is approved, it would still require lawmakers to pass matching legislation.
The results from both referendums will be announced on October 30.
Jacinda Ardern's time in power
Jacinda Ardern, 40, won the top job after the 2017 election when Labour formed an alliance with two other parties. The following year, she became only the second world leader to give birth while in office.
She became a role model for working mothers around the world, many of whom saw her as a counterpoint to President Donald Trump. And she was praised for her handling of last year's attack on two Christchurch mosques, when a white supremacist gunned down 51 Muslim worshippers.
She moved quickly to pass new laws banning the deadliest types of semi-automatic weapons.
In late March this year, when only about 100 people had tested positive for COVID-19, Ms Ardern and her health officials put New Zealand into a strict lockdown with a motto of 'Go hard and go early.'
She shut the borders and outlined an ambitious goal of eliminating the virus entirely rather than just trying to control its spread.
With New Zealand having the advantage of being an isolated island nation, the strategy worked. New Zealand eliminated community transmission for 102 days before a new cluster was discovered in August in Auckland.
Ms Ardern swiftly imposed a second lockdown in Auckland and the new outbreak faded away. The only new cases found recently have been among returning travelers, who are in quarantine.
The Auckland outbreak also prompted Ardern to postpone the election by a month and helped increase the early voter turnout.