New Zealand opposition National party is holding a strong lead over the ruling Labour in an opinion poll released on Sunday.
The TV One Colmar Brunton poll showed National on 53 percent support, down one point since its last poll in December, and Labour also down one point to 34 percent.
The gap between the main parties was 19 points -- the same as it was in December.
National's leader, John Key, increased his lead over Labor leader and Prime Minister Helen Clark in the preferred prime minister stakes.
Key gained one point to 36 percent while Clark slipped from 30 percent to 27 percent.
Sunday's poll showed the Greens up from 4.6 percent to 6 percent, putting them safely over the 5 percent threshold the party must achieve in the next election to stay in Parliament.
New Zealand First was down from 2.2 percent to 1.7 percent while the Maori Party was up from 1.7 percent to 3.3 percent.
The Colmar Brunton poll usually rates National higher than other surveys.
On Jan. 26, a New Zealand Herald Digi Poll put National on 47.5percent and Labour on 38.7, a gap of 8.8 points.
On Feb. 11, a New Zealand Morgan poll showed National slipping 6.5 points to 45.5 percent and Labour gaining three points to reach 36.5 percent, a gap of nine points.
Sunday's poll showed a small drop in the number of people who thought the economic outlook was getting better -- 28 percent compared with 31 percent in December.
The poll was conducted between Feb. 9 and 14. It questioned 1,000 voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent.
New Zealand is expected to hold its general election this year
Source: Xinhua
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