The National Party annual conference is underway at the Christchurch Town Hall and the party has released a new promotional video.
The video promises to put "you" at the centre of the party's policies - a shift away from last year's video which was centred on leader Simon Bridges.
- 'I simply don't believe it': Simon Bridges rejects poor polling
- Leaked polling shows National below 40 percent under Bridges
- Labour Party poll leak: Simon Bridges' favourability drops again
Bridges has had a difficult year with leaks, the Jami-Lee Ross saga, his comments about an "emotional junior staffer" taking down a petition, and consistently poor favourability in public polling. The latest Newshub Reid-Research poll saw National fall to 37.4 percent under his leadership.
Leaked internal National Party polling from when Bridges first became leader has also shown the party dropping below the important 40 percent mark.
But Bridges is still fighting, saying National is more than a one man band.
"I don't believe leadership is just some crass popularity contest. I believe it is much more important than that. It is about the vision and the values and securing victory for National in 2020.
"In that rugby game we're talking about, in the second half, we are very strong. I think we've got our best plays to come. I believe we are the best campaigners in New Zealand."
Bridges compared being in Opposition to a rugby match a few times in the interview with Newshub political editor Tova O'Brien.
"We're mid-term, we're halfway through the game. I think our second half is going to be much stronger than our first-half. We're, if you want to put it this way, a fitter team, a more experienced team. We've got the talent and we're going to go well.
"The first half has had its ups and downs. But the truth is we've held together, we've been unified and we've been strong."
Newshub.
