August 2023

Discussion levels have flattened out as we approach the general election; central government issues instead are taking up the majority of attention when it comes to politics. A lot of the discussion about local government is through the lens of relationships with central government. For some regions, this has been fraught, while other regions are concerned about what change might mean to seemingly established plans.

Within the local government related arena, the Wellington hostel fire generated the largest spike in discussion. Many suggested that more could have been done to prevent the tragedy, particularly stricter or better enforced regulation from the Wellington City Council. Similarly, the death of a student on a school trip to a cave resulted in questions about local regulations.

Auckland’s mayor continues to be able to generate spikes in conversation. The ongoing disputes around finances in Auckland and the future of its airport also featured.

Eliminating the peak in January, July’s satisfaction survey results show the overall trend in public perceptions across the country, since October last year, has been on a slow positive incline which is great to see. Auckland’s significantly better result around opportunities for residents to have their say looks like a win and hopefully something that comes through in next quarter’s results as well.

The information presented here provides a holistic view of public perceptions by combining data from a nationally representative sample of New Zealanders with social media trend analysis.

If you would like to unpack this more, get in touch with Liz Morley liz@researchfirst.co.nz