Almost half of voters will be considering the issue of climate change when heading to the polls this election.
The latest Newshub Reid Research poll asked voters whether a party's emphasis on fighting climate change would influence their vote:
- 47 percent of respondents said yes
- 45 percent said no
- 7 percent didn't know
Labour leader Jacinda Ardern paid a visit to a less photogenic location on the campaign trail on Friday, a family home in St Kilda that was inundated in the 2015 floods.
- Labour wants net zero carbon emissions by 2050
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Ms Ardern was in South Dunedin to draw attention to its vulnerability to sea level rise as a result of climate change.
"I think if you asked people whether or not they were worried about sea level rise in areas like here they would say yes," she said.
"Regardless of whether it triggers people to vote we've got a duty of care to people in these communities to do our bit."
National leader Bill English shut down Labour's climate change stance, saying "They're making strong moral statements on it but don't appear to be taking much extra action on it other than pushing farmers into the ETS [Emissions Trading Scheme]."
When it comes to climate change, National and Labour's supporters have directly opposed positions.
63 percent of Labour voters say parties' actions on it will affect how they vote, while 63 percent of National voters say it won't.
That was reflected in a cafe that Bill English visited today, with National supporters saying:
"I have a problem with climate change if you look back thousands of years this has happened before," and another saying climate change policies wouldn't impact their vote at all.
Voters do seem to be warming to the issue, with one in two considering climate change when they go to the polls. Considering Jacinda Ardern's strong stance on the issue - making farmers pay for polluting the air - Labour will be hoping it's enough to get them over the line.
Newshub.
