Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott (L) and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key speak during a joint news conference on Abbott's first official two-day visit, in Auckland
IN PHOTO: Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott (L) and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key speak during a joint news conference on Abbott's first official two-day visit, in Auckland February 28, 2015. Reuters/David Rowland

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key's latest approval ratings remain high despite his latest controversy. The "ponytail-gate" controversy appeared to have had little impact on his popularity and perception of his political party.

Half of the recent Herald-DigiPoll was conducted before news of the prime minister repeatedly pulling the ponytail of a waitress at a café in Parnell broke out. The other half of the poll was done after the fiasco.

Nandan Modak, general manager of DigiPoll, said National fell 0.7 percentage points in the second half of the polling and Mr Key dropped 0.8 points. The National party received 51 percent support from 50.4 in December. The number of women who support the party remains the same as December at 45.4 percent.

The poll suggested that Mr Key’s popularity as prime minister has dropped slightly from 65 percent to 64.6 percent. Labour party leader Andrew Little drew 13.9 percent approval from 13.6 in December. The approval rating of New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has improved up to 12 percent after winning the Northland election in March.

The Labour party leader said that while the movement for Labour had been “pretty negligible,” it was expected at the beginning of the parliamentary cycle. Little added that he was “not fazed” or boosted by the result of the poll.

The story of Mr Key grabbing the ponytail of a waitress had made international news as New Zealand was gearing up for the commemoration of Anzac Day. Since the last poll in December, the National party has talked down the possibility of achieving its main election promise of putting the budget back into surplus in the current year, reports New Zealand Herald.

The survey said support outside of Auckland for New Zealand First has slightly increased since December from 5.8 percent to 7.2 percent. The Greens party improved its approval rating in Auckland from 11.3 percent to 15.8 percent.

Mr Key is the first New Zealand Prime Minister to visit Saudi Arabia, reports TVNZ. The prime minister is expected to push New Zealand’s proposal for a free trade deal and discuss issues human rights issues with Saudi ruler, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

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