Wednesday, April 11, 2007

New survey on the Government’s performance

The Government gets ticks from the public for its performance in protecting the environment, fighting unemployment and dealing with security threats.

But its performance in providing a decent standard of living for the old and health care for the sick is rated less highly, and it gets the thumbs down for failing to control crime. Taxation is another big source of dissatisfaction.

A new survey, by Massey University’s Department of Marketing, also provides evidence that a decade of MMP has increased satisfaction with New Zealand’s political system, though the report’s author, Professor Phil Gendall, says perceptions of being disenfranchised remain high.

The survey is part of the International Social Survey Programme, which involves leading academic institutions in 40 countries. Surveys cover a different topic every year in a roughly seven-year cycle: The last on the role of government was in 1997.

Key findings include:

 Perceptions of the role of government have changed relatively little over the past 10 years, except for a sharp decline in the expectation that the Government should provide a job for everyone who wants one.
 Most people favour cuts in Government spending but there is strong support for more spending in health, education and law enforcement.
 The belief that low and middle-income earners pay too much tax is widespread and has increased since 1997, most sharply amongst middle-income earners.
 The introduction of proportional representation (MMP) has reduced dissatisfaction with the political system, but the feeling that ordinary people have little influence over the Government remains widespread.
 New Zealanders have liberal views on actions designed to challenge the Government. Most believe organising public meetings, protest marches and demonstrations should be permitted. Even when people with extreme views want to overthrow the Government, most believe they should be allowed to publish books or hold public meetings to express these views.
 Concerns about terrorism are reflected in widespread support for measures such as phone tapping, detention without trial and random stopping and searching, if the Government suspects a terrorist act is about to happen.
 New Zealand is generally regarded as free of the corruption that characterises some other countries. But about 15 per cent believe there is corruption among some politicians and public officials. And there is a strong perception that the treatment people get from public officials depends on who they know.
 Concerns about smoking, drinking and obesity show up in strong support for interventions designed to reduce the undesirable effects of cigarettes, alcohol and unhealthy food. Nearly half support extending the smoking ban to include all public places, and 75 per cent support returning the drinking age to 20.

- There is strong support for stricter enforcement of existing liquor laws, and some support for requiring warning labels on alcohol.
- There is strong support for removing GST on fresh fruit and vegetables and for more regulation of food advertising, particularly advertising to children.

The nationwide mail survey, of 2250 people aged 18 and over selected from the Electoral Roll, was conducted between August and October 2006. The response rate was 60 per cent and the maximum margin of error is plus or minus 3 per cent.

New Zealand has been included in the ISSP surveys since 1991. Data from the surveys is stored in central archives in Madrid and Cologne and allows researchers to monitor differences between countries and changes over time.

The full report is available at http://marketing.massey.ac.nz/issp.asp

ENDS

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