An internet panel poll that put New Zealand First in the running to return to Parliament and took a chunk off National's support is not credible, Prime Minister John Key says.The Horizon Poll surveyed 2000 voters in November. People participate in Horizon
An internet panel poll that put New Zealand First in the running to return to Parliament and took a chunk off National's support is not credible, Prime Minister John Key says.
The Horizon Poll surveyed 2000 voters in November. People participate in Horizon polls by joining a website, and can win prizes for participating.
The poll put New Zealand First support at 6 percent -- support which if replicated on election day would be enough to see its leader Winston Peters return to Parliament, and play a role in deciding which party governed.
NZ First won just over 4 percent of the vote in the 2008 election and Mr Peters lost his Tauranga seat, so the party did not make it back into Parliament.
The poll put National on 34.7 percent, Labour on 28.3 and the Greens at 7.9.
Mr Key told NewstalkZB the poll was not credible.
"I just don't accept the poll to be perfectly honest," he said.
"If you look at every public polling company...they haven't had a poll where National's been under 48 percent for two years, actually I don't think they've had a poll where we've been under 40 percent for the entire time I've been either leader of the opposition or prime minister."
He told Breakfast on TVNZ that internet polls were unreliable.
"Internet polls are capable of doing anything. I think it's great place to sell newspapers, I don't it's necessarily a good thing for political analysis."
Before the last election Mr Key ruled out forming a support arrangement with Mr Peters' party. He hasn't repeated that stance -- yet.
"It's very hard to take Winston Peters seriously... I will worry about it if he decides to throw his hat in the ring, I will make the call then."
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