With local body elections over, this quarter started with a lull in social media chatter.

Prior to the weather events, the most popular story over this quarter was the decision by Kaipara Mayor Craig Jepson to ban karakia at council meetings. This was met with a distinct backlash from the local community and in many online spaces.

Comments made by new Auckland Mayor, Wayne Brown, on the future of the city’s assets caused a distinct spike in discussion levels. This was followed up by concern around reports of upsetting comments in the workplace.

The most significant event of this quarter was the Auckland floods, coming right at the end of our reporting period. Initial conversation has been dominated by a backlash against the way the mayor and council handled the disaster. We will keep an eye on this for the April report.

January’s survey took place before the weather event. The results provide a more positive outlook than we have seen in the last two quarters of the survey. Perceptions of satisfaction in the key areas are back up to the levels seen in April last year.

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