MEDIA RELEASE 4 June 2015 Trust and Confidence in Members of Parliament compared with local councillors, lawyers, journalists and others such as those working in the Ambulance Service, the Fire Service and the Police The issue: In July 2013, following a number of controversies impacting Parliament and parliamentarians (e.g. a leaked GCSB report, a ministerial inquiry into Novopay, and SkyCity’s extension deal) we conducted a poll to measure the level of trust and confidence that New Zealanders had in their parliamentary representatives compared with a range of other professions and occupations. Almost two years on, we decided to repeat this poll, by including the question in our regular monthly omnibus survey. Each omnibus survey is completed by telephone survey and involves a nationally representative sample of n=500 New Zealanders, 18 years of age and over. The poll question: The following question was asked: Now I would like to ask you about what your opinion is about a number of occupations that often feature in the news. On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 means ‘no trust and confidence’ and 10 means ‘full trust and confidence,’ how would you rate your trust and confidence in the following:           Members of Parliament Local council members School teachers Doctors and nurses Lawyers Journalists People who work for the government The Police The Fire Service The Ambulance Service Key results: The graph overleaf shows the level of trust and confidence respondents have in the various professions and occupations, with a column for each of 2013 and 2015. Respondents were considered to have trust and confidence in each profession/occupation, if they rated it between seven and 10 on the scale. As can be seen from the graph, the professions/occupations fall into two groups; a group who were relatively highly rated in terms of trust and confidence (i.e. 75 percent or more), and a group who were relatively poorly rated (i.e. less than 50 percent). Research New Zealand 4 June 2015 1 More specifically, the levels of trust and confidence range from a low of 23 percent for journalists and 25 percent for Members of Parliament, to 93 percent for the Fire Service. There are no significant differences in the levels of trust and confidence when measured by age group, gender, region and income. However, compared to 2013, trust and confidence in Members of Parliament has increased, with 25 percent of respondents now saying they have trust and confidence in MP’s (up from 18 percent in 2013). As a result, MP’s have moved up one place and are now the second-lowest ranking of all the occupations measured (after journalists at 23 percent). Furthermore, since 2013, trust and confidence has decreased at a statistically significant level for five occupations: doctors and nurses (87 percent in 2015, down from 91 percent in 2013), the Police (75 percent, down from 84 percent), school teachers (75 percent, down from 81 percent), the Fire Service (93 percent, down from 97 percent), and the Ambulance Service (92 percent, down from 96 percent). Despite the decreases, these are still the five occupations ranking the highest in terms of trust and confidence. Figure 1: Trust and confidence in professions/occupations Percentage of respondents who have trust and confidence in each occupation Trust and confidence 100 97 91 80 84 81 75 93 96 92 87 75 60 47 40 20 43 42 44 30 31 25 23 23 18 0 Journalists Members of Parliament Local council members Lawyers People who School work for the teachers government 2013 The Police Doctors and The Fire nurses Service The Ambulance Service 2015 Comment: “These results reflect little major change in rankings between the two years; not that we would expect to see much change in this regard. However, what is interesting is the slight improvement in trust and confidence for MPs. We will be keen to see if this is sustained”, said Research New Zealand Director, Emanuel Kalafatelis. Research New Zealand 4 June 2015 2 The Research New Zealand poll of 500 people aged 18 and over was conducted by telephone from 7-27 May 2015. The maximum margin of error for the sample as a whole is +/-5.1% (at the 95% confidence level). The data has been weighted to ensure it is an accurate representation of the general population of New Zealand. The poll was not taken on behalf of any organisation, but as part of Research New Zealand’s monthly survey of attitudes and opinions. Contact: Emanuel Kalafatelis Director Research New Zealand Limited P O Box 10-617 Wellington 6143 Ph. 04-462-6401 (DDI); 027-500-4401 (M) Research New Zealand is an independent, New Zealand-owned research organisation undertaking social and business research. www.researchnz.com Research New Zealand 4 June 2015 3 Table 1: Trust and confidence in occupations, by age group Unweighted base = Journalists Members of Parliament Local council members Lawyers People who work for the government School teachers The Police Doctors and nurses The Ambulance Service The Fire Service Total 500 % 23 25 31 43 44 75 75 87 92 93 18-34 years 61 % 20 29 33 42 39 74 67 87 93 92 35-54 years 165 % 24 27 32 41 45 75 80 86 91 92 55 years and over 274 % 25 20 30 45 48 75 77 87 93 95 Table 2: Trust and confidence in occupations, by gender Unweighted base = Journalists Members of Parliament Local council members Lawyers People who work for the government School teachers The Police Doctors and nurses The Ambulance Service The Fire Service Total 500 % 23 25 31 43 44 75 75 87 92 93 Male 250 % 21 23 31 39 44 76 73 85 92 91 Female 250 % 25 27 32 47 45 74 78 88 93 95 Table 3: Trust and confidence in occupations, by income Unweighted base = Journalists Members of Parliament Local council members Lawyers People who work for the government School teachers The Police Doctors and nurses The Ambulance Service The Fire Service Research New Zealand 4 June 2015 Total 500 % 23 25 31 43 44 75 75 87 92 93 Under $40,000 158 % 25 23 33 46 43 79 76 85 89 91 $40,000$80,000 151 % 25 23 37 40 47 76 77 89 94 96 Don’t know/ refused 50 % 19 19 22 25 31 63 68 78 85 76 $80,000 and over 141 % 20 32 27 48 47 73 76 89 96 96 4 Table 4: Trust and confidence in occupations, by region Unweighted base = Journalists Members of Parliament Local council members Lawyers People who work for the government School teachers The Police Doctors and nurses The Ambulance Service The Fire Service Research New Zealand 4 June 2015 Total 500 % 23 25 31 43 44 75 75 87 92 93 Upper North Island 230 % 25 25 30 42 45 74 73 86 91 94 Lower/Central North Island 110 % 20 30 34 40 45 73 75 87 89 89 South Island 160 % 21 21 31 46 44 78 80 88 96 94 5