Dame Jacinda Ardern posted a video on her website on Sunday 11 October backing Labour leader Chris Hipkins and asking supporters to donate, and it was also emailed to Labour supporters (Bloomberg, New Zealand Herald, Newstalk ZB, The Post, The Straits Times). She lives in Australia and had not been involved in the campaign publicly before. Reports note that Labour has declared only $890,000 in donations above $20,000 this year, against $2.3 million for National and $2.4 million for ACT. On Tuesday 6 October a panel of 100 undecided voters chose Hipkins over Christopher Luxon 49 to 24 after the first leaders' debate (1News, Stuff). Two polls, from TVNZ and RNZ, have the centre-left bloc narrowly ahead, and the election is on 7 November.
Campaign money and name recognition matter in a close race decided by coalition arithmetic. Ardern is still New Zealand's best-known recent leader, and the video shows Labour reaching for donors at a time when it trails on large donations.
If you are on the electoral roll you can vote from 21 October; check that your enrolment is correct, because the rule requiring enrolment two weeks before polling day is a live campaign issue.
Supporters say a respected former leader can lift Labour's fundraising and turnout.
Critics say the video shows Labour is short of money and leaning on a leader who left office in 2023.
One video does not move a poll. What to watch is whether Labour's small-donation total, which it does not have to disclose quickly, matches the late-campaign spending that National and ACT can afford.
Bloomberg, New Zealand Herald, Newstalk ZB, The Post, The Straits Times, 1News, Stuff (6–11 Oct 2026)
Ardern backs Hipkins and Labour in a campaign video, four weeks before the 7 November electionArdern backs Hipkins and Labour in a campaign video, four weeks before the 7 November election
The former prime minister, who lives in Australia, asked supporters to donate to Labour. A panel of undecided voters gave the first leaders' debate to Chris Hipkins, and two polls put the centre-left bloc narrowly ahead.
Dame Jacinda Ardern ended her silence on the 2026 campaign on Sunday 11 October with a video on her own website in which she backs Labour leader Chris Hipkins and asks supporters to donate, according to Bloomberg, the New Zealand Herald, Newstalk ZB, The Post and The Straits Times. Ardern, who resigned as prime minister in January 2023 and now lives in Australia, called Hipkins an old colleague and a friend. The same video was emailed to Labour supporters, so it works as a fundraising appeal rather than a campaign-trail appearance. She had not been involved in the campaign publicly until now, the reports say. Money is where Labour is weakest. Reports on the video note that the party has declared only $890,000 in donations above $20,000 this year, against $2.3 million for National and $2.4 million for ACT. Labour usually does better with small donations, which do not have to be declared straight away, so the declared totals understate what it raises from small donors. Ardern left office more than three years ago after five and a half years as prime minister, and her intervention tests how much weight an overseas-based former leader still carries. Hipkins, who succeeded her, led Labour into the 2023 election, which National won, and National now governs with ACT and NZ First.
The endorsement comes four weeks before the 7 November election. After the first televised leaders' debate on Tuesday 6 October, a panel of 100 undecided voters favoured Hipkins over National leader Christopher Luxon by 49 to 24, according to 1News and Stuff. Hipkins has called himself prime minister in waiting, and Luxon said before the debate that he was looking forward to it. Two polls, from TVNZ and RNZ, have the centre-left bloc narrowly ahead, a gap attributed to Luxon ruling out any deal with the Opportunity party, which could end up holding the balance of power. Because New Zealand votes under MMP, one party almost never wins a majority, and coalition talks are expected after polling day. Luxon's main pitch is no new taxes; Labour proposes a capital gains tax on investment property and businesses, and Hipkins has pressed Luxon on whether existing taxes would rise, pointing to a National fuel tax proposal. Hipkins has also promised to reverse the government's rule that voters must be enrolled two weeks before election day, which the Electoral Commission estimates could see about 55,000 votes disallowed. Inside the coalition, NZ First leader Shane Jones has publicly warned Luxon over National's fisheries plan, Stuff's live coverage showed. The 7 November date was set in January, and overseas voting opens on 21 October, so a large share of ballots will be cast before election day itself. DailyDrop has not found a poll taken since the debate.