Kiwi Nah-Yeah-ers

(Floating Centrists)

Kiwi Nah-Yeah-ers (Floating Centrists) make up 10.4% of Kiwis, representing the most ethnically diverse and urban-concentrated segment of New Zealand society.

Sitting in the non-ideological centre, they navigate politics through a pragmatic search for personal stability, career advancement, and financial security rather than rigid partisan loyalties.

They maintain solid trust in mainstream news and evidence, but feel less attached to other traditional national identity markers.

With a high concentration of undecided voters, they evaluate political leaders based on practical economic opportunities, open-minded and willing to support common-sense progress.

Stability, opportunity, security, moderation, acceptance, and practical progress

Stability, opportunity, security, moderation, acceptance, and practical progress

NOW: Jobs and employment, housing affordability, and securing economic opportunity are their leading everyday challenges. TOMORROW: Housing and basic costs becoming unaffordable, the impact of Artificial Intelligence on the jobs of the future, and

NOW: Jobs and employment, housing affordability, and securing economic opportunity are their leading everyday challenges. TOMORROW: Housing and basic costs becoming unaffordable, the impact of Artificial Intelligence on the jobs of the future, and declining living standards dominate their long-term outlook. DIVIDES: They worry particularly about the divide between rich and poor, whilst culture war issues like constitutional, cultural, and identity conflicts remain low priorities.

Kiwi Nah-Yeah-ers are heavily concentrated in Auckland and other city centres and spreading out into our urban suburbs. Many rent, often group flatting with other young professionals, university students, and recent migrants, or living with family w

Kiwi Nah-Yeah-ers are heavily concentrated in Auckland and other city centres and spreading out into our urban suburbs. Many rent, often group flatting with other young professionals, university students, and recent migrants, or living with family while building their careers and saving for a home.

Moderate and digital-first news consumers who access news broadly through online portals, commercial radio, TVNZ 1News, Stuff, and social media. Display relatively high trust in mainstream news reporting and low susceptibility to conspiracy theories

Moderate and digital-first news consumers who access news broadly through online portals, commercial radio, TVNZ 1News, Stuff, and social media. Display relatively high trust in mainstream news reporting and low susceptibility to conspiracy theories compared to more cynical groups like Yeah-nah-ers.

Chloe

Kiwi Nah-Yeah-er

Chloe lives in a flat in Eden Terrace, Auckland, sharing a rental apartment with flatmates while working full-time in digital marketing.

Asian and overseas-born, Chloe represents the young, career-focused, and open-minded demographic balancing high Auckland rent, career advancement, and daily expenses.

Chloe wants a stable, inclusive country where hard work leads to tangible progress, but she doesn't view life through a rigid political lens.

For her, politics should be about practical problem-solving: ensuring job market growth, lowering living costs, and making housing attainable for her generation.

In her daily life, Chloe focuses on personal progress and wellbeing.

She spends her weekends exploring local Auckland cafes, keeping fit, and catching up with friends.

She supports diversity and environmental care as standard baseline values, but she quickly tunes out when political debates become aggressive or overly ideological.

During her morning commute on the Western Line train into central Auckland, Chloe checks Stuff, TVNZ 1News, and the NZ Herald on her phone, occasionally skimming social media feeds.

She generally trusts news reporting and relies on verified information when making up her mind.

Chloe sees herself as sitting firmly in the political centre.

Having voted National in 2023 after voting Labour in 2020, she remains completely undecided about 2026.

She holds no brand loyalty to any political party and will wait until election campaign time to see which leaders offer the most realistic, common-sense economic plan — a classic Kiwi Nah-Yeah-er.

Some more Kiwi Nah-Yeah-ers

Kevin is an Asian-New Zealander software quality analyst renting in central Auckland. Representing urban, overseas-born professionals, he focuses on job market stability, the impact of AI on employment, and saving for his first home. Pragmatic an

Kevin is an Asian-New Zealander software quality analyst renting in central Auckland. Representing urban, overseas-born professionals, he focuses on job market stability, the impact of AI on employment, and saving for his first home. Pragmatic and non-ideological, he judges political leaders on concrete economic performance rather than party rhetoric.

Emma is a university-educated compliance coordinator living in Te Aro, Wellington. Managing high central rental costs, she relies on mainstream news and evidence to form opinions. Sitting squarely in the political centre, she prioritizes pragmati

Emma is a university-educated compliance coordinator living in Te Aro, Wellington. Managing high central rental costs, she relies on mainstream news and evidence to form opinions. Sitting squarely in the political centre, she prioritizes pragmatic problem-solving, economic security, and functional public services over divisive cultural debates.

Lucas is a young retail lead and recent graduate living in a Christchurch flat. Balancing entry-level wages against everyday living expenses, he represents young urban voters navigating early career growth. He seeks political stability, housing a

Lucas is a young retail lead and recent graduate living in a Christchurch flat. Balancing entry-level wages against everyday living expenses, he represents young urban voters navigating early career growth. He seeks political stability, housing access, and moderate governance to ensure long-term financial security and progress.

Arjun is an Indo-Kiwi procurement coordinator based in suburban Albany, Auckland. Focused on family security, career growth, and saving for a home deposit, he expects governance to deliver infrastructure and economic opportunity. He avoids politi

Arjun is an Indo-Kiwi procurement coordinator based in suburban Albany, Auckland. Focused on family security, career growth, and saving for a home deposit, he expects governance to deliver infrastructure and economic opportunity. He avoids political polarisation, favouring sensible, practical policies that build national stability.

Who Nah-Yeah-ers…

…are most SIMILAR to

Most similar in political posture, media trust, and floating vote

Both groups sit squarely in the non-ideological centre, sharing a trust in mainstream news while rejecting conspiracy narratives and culture war rhetoric.

They feature the highest proportion of undecided floating voters heading into 2026, having split their 2023 votes between major parties rather than locking into a single brand.

Most similar in urban demographic profile and social tolerance

Both segments skew younger, live predominantly in urban centres, and show high acceptance of social inclusion and diversity.

However, Kiwi Nah-Yeah-ers lack the intense political engagement, environmental urgency, or systemic reform demands of Progressive Reformers.

Who Nah-Yeah-ers…

…are most DIFFERENT to

The Institutional Trust & Optimism Contrast

Grassroots Conservatives exhibit severe news distrust, deep political cynicism, and widespread pessimism about New Zealand's future.

Floating Centrists differ sharply by maintaining trust in news evidence, holding a neutral-to-positive outlook, and focusing on future opportunities rather than cultural decline.

The Demographic & Ideological Contrast

Established Traditionalists form an older, financially secure, right-leaning bloc focused on traditional authority, strict meritocracy, and removing Treaty references from law.

Floating Centrists represent a young, diverse, renting demographic that prioritizes housing access and economic stability over rigid social hierarchies or constitutional debates.

  • Our next challenge is to hear the views of Kiwis, in their own voices.

    • Take our full Great KIWI KWIZ [coming] which will confirm what kind of Kiwi you are, and give you more detail about where you agree and where you differ from others.

    • Tick the box at the end of the Great KIWI KWIZ saying you’d like to participate in an online focus group.

    • Then we’ll be in touch…

    • AND of course, quotes will all be anonymised using different names to protect your privacy.


  • Our Pen Portrait PERSONA are created using the data from our foundational survey which asked 2,501 Kiwis for their views …

    …about themselves, their values, their concerns and what they thought about the big issues facing our country which was undertaken by Our Tomorrow and Kantar.

    So these persona draw on the detailed responses of Kiwis to our more than 125 questions. We then segment all answers by more than 95 different categories - age, gender, issues of concern and the like and compare the responses to those of other segments, their answers to other questions and their balance of choice between other available responses to each question. 

    That’s a lot of data - so we have a fairly good sense of the motives and beliefs of this segment, and while it's important to remember it doesn’t represent a real person, it should give you an idea of the sort of person who falls within this segment. 

    The last bit is magic. It's where we use AI and more importantly good old human understanding of humans to create the story of our persona. Part science, part art.

    A little bit like horoscopes - you’ll likely find some things in these persona and go ‘Yep, that sounds like me’, but for other things you’ll be like ‘Hmmm, that’s not quite right’ and hopefully only a few where you go “Yeah nah, that’s not me at all”.

    Let us know what you think in the comments below…