26 February 2013

Graffiti And Dangerous Driving Top Christchurch Concerns

Christchurch residents say they have enough money to meet basic needs, trust others and think diversity is a good thing more than people in other bigger cities, according to the 2012 Quality of Life Survey released today.

Co-sponsored by Christchurch City Council, the survey canvassed the views of residents on issues affecting their quality of life across New Zealand’s largest urban centres, including Auckland, Porirua, Hutt and Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.

Run every two years since 2002, the fieldwork for the latest findings was conducted in August through to October 2012. The Christchurch results are similar to those of other bigger cities, and show a trend of declining perceptions of wellbeing overall across the country since the last survey in 2010.

Concerns over alcohol and drugs, graffiti, vandalism and air pollution emerged as key issues Christchurch people were increasingly unhappy about. Concerns about dangerous driving plague Christchurch people more than residents of any other city surveyed.

Key findings for Christchurch are:

• 77% say their quality of life was extremely good or good (95% in 2010)

• 35% say their quality of life had decreased significantly or to some extent (17% in 2010)

• 76% saw dangerous driving as a problem compared to a 6 Council total of 67% (73% in 2010)

• 75% saw alcohol and drugs as a problem compared to a 6 Council total of 59% (66% in 2010)

• 82% say graffiti was a problem compared to a 6 Council total of 61% (73% in 2010)

• 47% saw air pollution as a problem compared to a 6 Council total of 25% (51% in 2010)

• 68% saw vandalism as a problem compared to a 6 Council total of 47% (51% in 2010)

• 66% say they were happy or very happy (the lowest happiness rating of all cities, down from 91% in 2010) with the people of Banks Peninsula most happy (78%) and those in Burwood-Pegasus least happy (60%)

• 51% strongly disagreed or disagreed that they understood Council decision making

• 46% strongly disagreed or disagreed they had confidence in Council decision making

Mayor Bob Parker said, “Given everything Christchurch people have been through, and the timing of this survey at the end of a hard winter, it’s understandable residents feel their quality of life isn’t what it was.

“I believe the tide has now turned and with a boost in the rebuild and there’s a more positive mood in the city.

“The Council is also investing time and energy to address many of the areas residents are concerned about. We’re pushing ahead with a Local Alcohol Policy, aggressively tackling graffiti around the city, and our Suburban Centres Programme is now well underway supporting the rebuild of local community facilities that contribute so much to people’s lifestyles.

“The Council is confident it can provide Christchurch people more confidence in its decisions in the future and improve its ratings,” the Mayor said.

Many of the findings of this Quality of Life Survey are consistent with the CERA Wellbeing Survey 2012 that was undertaken at a similar time, and was released last week.

The full results of the Perceptions of the Quality of Life Survey can be found on the Quality of Life Project website: http://qualityoflifeproject.govt.nz/

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Researcher’s note: All comparisons between 2010 and 2012 results are made for general indicative purposes only, as the methodology changed from a telephone survey in 2010 to an online and postal survey in 2012.

http://www.ccc.govt.nz

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On Failures Of Care For Those With Mental Disabilities

Hard to imagine a more disturbing insight into the treatment of the vulnerable than the Health Ministry report on Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau. The Ministry has found that the country’s only kaupapa Maori intellectual disability residential care provider has been “seriously dysfunctional.”

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