Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has pushed out the General Election to 17 October.

Jacinda Ardern said “the Electoral Commission, via the Ministry of Justice, has advised me that a safe and accessible election is achievable on this date. This short delay gives the Commission more time to prepare including freeing up facilities for early voting during school holidays.”

National Deputy Leader and Campaign manager Gerry Brownlee told Chris Lynch it was the right decision.

He said it was important to get the health crisis under control first, before parties start campaigning.

Mr Brownlee said the National Party was still considering when to restart campaigning, but it won’t happen under Alert Level 3.

Jacinda Ardern said “moving the date by four weeks also gives all parties a fair shot to campaign and delivers New Zealanders certainty without unnecessarily long delays.”

“With the re-emergence of Covid-19 in our community these are not ordinary times and so while the decision as to the election date sits with me, I spoke with all party leaders to seek their views.

“Covid will be with us for some time to come. Continuously pushing out an election does not lessen the risk of disruption and this is why the Electoral Commission has planned for the possibility of holding an election where the country is at Level 2, and with some parts at Level 3.”

“I will not change the election date again.”

Key dates

·         Today: Business committee meets this afternoon to agree a parliament timetable

·         6 September: Parliament dissolves

·         13 September: Writ Day, nominations close 18 September

·         3 October: Advance voting begins, last day for return of the writ is 12 November

·         17 October: Election day