Labour is cautiously optimistic a new poll might spell trouble for the coalition.

The Taxpayers' Union-Curia poll earlier today showed it could not form a Government - pushed by drops in support to ACT and NZ First. 

Leader Chris Hipkins says it shows the country's heading in the wrong direction.

"We know we've got a lot of work to do - we've still got a year and a half to go, so polls at this point are interesting. And it's nice to be doing well in them and we've still got a fair amount of water to flow under the bridge."

Chris Luxon's taken a hit - down 3.8 points in preferred Prime Minister rankings to 20.7 percent - while the Labour's Hipkins rose 2.3 points to 17.6 percent.

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