Where does each party stand on the issues that are important to Oxfam supporters?
We asked political parties about a range of issues and assessed their responses against specific commitments. Our scorecard puts the answers side by side, so you can see where the parties stand and make your own informed choice this November.
💚= supports
🧡= nearly there
💔= does not support
? = no clear position
ABOUT THE SCORECARD:
How the scorecard works
The scorecard helps voters see where each political party stands on key issues that affect people and communities, in Aotearoa and around the world. It brings together parties’ stated positions in one place so people can make their own informed decisions.
The questions reflect issues that are important to Oxfam’s work and our supporters, including tackling inequality and supporting communities affected by climate change. Each question focuses on a specific policy action or commitment.
We sent each party an identical set of prompts on issues including climate justice, gender justice, economic policy and Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and asked them if they supported each position or not. We also looked at publicly available policies, announcements and statements. We then took their responses to our survey, as well as published policy positions, and assigned them a ‘score’ on each issue. Finally, we returned to each party with their score and allowed them a chance to add additional comments or clarity on their positions. You can see the full list of questions and responses, as well as links to policy positions for each party here: LINK.
First, we asked them to respond to our survey questions. Then, we looked for a clear, publicly stated commitment that directly addressed the question. Where a party’s position was unclear or didn’t fully meet the question, we reflected that in the scorecard with ? rather than making assumptions.
Yes. We gave parties three weeks to respond to our survey questions before we completed our assessments. Once we had assessed each party, we also gave them an additional ten days to provide information or clarify their position before the scorecard was finalised.
No. Act, National, and New Zealand First opted not to participate in our survey and assessment. We still researched their positions on each issue, and where possible, provided that information in our scorecard.
That’s okay. We still researched each party’s position on every issue and included that information in the scorecard where possible. We also gave parties the opportunity to provide feedback or clarify their position after our initial assessment.
All parties have been given the opportunity to provide additional information or clarify their position. During the election campaign, we will consider new information where it provides clear evidence of the party’s position and is relevant to the question being assessed. If this results in changing their score on a given issue, we will update the scorecard and re-publish it accordingly.
It means we couldn’t find enough clear, specific information to determine whether the party supported the commitment in the question. We didn’t make assumptions about what the party might do.
It means a party has made a commitment that goes some way towards the action in the question, but doesn’t fully meet the specific commitment. In some cases, this means they agree to one or two of the commitments in a category (such as Promote Climate Justice), but not all three. So, they get some credit for being ‘nearly there.’
Because broad statements tend to be pretty vague and don’t always tell us what a party would actually commit to doing. The scorecard looks at specific actions so voters can see how parties’ stated policies compare on particular issues.
About fairness and Oxfam’s role
No. The scorecard is intended to be an educational asset to help voters clearly see where each party stands on the specific issues and actions important to Oxfam supporters. Every score is backed up by published policies and commitments or the party’s own answers to our survey. You can see the full list of survey responses and policy links here: LINK
No. The scorecard provides information about parties’ stated positions on specific issues. It’s up to each voter to decide which issues and policies matter most to them.
Oxfam is independent of political parties and does not endorse candidates or parties. We advocate for action on issues such as inequality and climate change, and we hold powerful decision-makers to account for the choices they make and the impact those choices have on people and communities. The scorecard reflects the issues and commitments we are asking political parties to address, while leaving voters to make their own decisions about who to support.
We included parties that met our criteria for inclusion in the scorecard: parties currently represented in Parliament and/or polling above 5%.
Evidence and methodology
We used parties’ official policies, websites, announcements and public statements, along with information provided directly by the parties in answer to our survey. You can find all answers, comments, and links to policy positions here: LINK.
The scorecard reflects parties’ positions at the time it was published [30 September 2026]. If a party makes a significant change after publication, we may update the information or note the change where appropriate.
We welcome feedback and encourage people to look at the evidence behind each assessment. The scorecard is intended to make parties’ positions easier to compare, while recognising that voters may interpret policies differently or place different weight on different issues.