New Zealand's general election is on Saturday 7 November, and there are now 100 days to go. MPs across Parliament have started talking about how they will campaign, as RNZ reported in a feature published today (RNZ).

Labour's campaign chair, Kieran McAnulty, said the party believed it had a real chance to make the current government the first one voted out after just one term. New Zealand has used a voting system called MMP since 1993. Under MMP, no government has been voted out after a single three-year term. Labour wants to make that record the big question of the campaign.

National Party leader Christopher Luxon took a different approach. He said his party would spend the next 100 days showing voters what would be lost without a National-led government. The message is about protecting what is already there, rather than promising something new.

The numbers still favour the governing parties. National is at 28.7 percent in the most recent RNZ-Reid Research poll. New Zealand First, led by Winston Peters, is at 11.5 percent. On those numbers, the governing parties would still be able to form a government.

ACT leader David Seymour pointed to laws still going through Parliament. The Arms Act and the Employment Leave Act were being debated that week, he said, and ACT would release more policy over the next 100 days. The aim is to show the coalition has delivered on its promises, not just made them.

Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said her party would campaign on cheaper bills, a healthy environment, and restoring honesty to politics. That pitch focuses on the cost of living and the environment, areas the Greens have focused on for several elections, with an added focus on political trust.

The Prime Minister announced the election date on 21 January. Political parties had until Wednesday 25 February to notify their eligibility. Voters must be enrolled by midnight, 13 days before Election Day.

What the RNZ feature captures is Parliament shifting from passing laws to campaigning. Each leader has chosen a different message. Labour is pointing to history. National is talking about continuity. ACT is highlighting its track record. The Greens are focusing on household costs and trust in politics.

For those working in and around the Beehive, the next 100 days will mean policy releases, candidate selections, and daily Question Time, where MPs quiz ministers in Parliament. The poll numbers give the governing parties a working margin, but margins can shift. McAnulty's claim about a one-term government is hopeful at this stage; the polling does not yet back it up. What it does is give Labour a clear line of attack, and one that will be tested against every poll between now and 7 November.

The three governing parties — National, ACT and New Zealand First — will need to manage their remaining legislative work and the appearance of staying united. Peters polling at 11.5 percent gives New Zealand First a strong position within the group and a good bargaining hand if the numbers tighten after election night. Whether the three parties campaign on a shared record or separate platforms will be one of the key questions of this election.

Swarbrick's focus on "restoring honesty to politics" is aimed at that same question of unity, and at the trust issue that sits under every campaign. Whether it connects with voters who are worried about their power bills and mortgage rates is the test the Greens face.

All of this plays out against a fixed date. There is no room for strategic timing. The election is on 7 November, and the clock is now inside 100 days.