Excellent appraisal of the latest Helen Clark Foundation report on the collapse of Social Cohesion in Q+A this morning.
The stats are bleak:
This number jumps to 48% of men under 44 believing this would be better than democracy!
12 months of watching this hard right Government strangle off the common good for their donors interests can’t help those numbers, alongside post Covid bitterness blaming Jacinda for the temerity of putting public health first.
After the mass immigration policies of both Party’s minus any investment in infrastructure, that result is no surprise and neither is this one…
That last one highlights how wrong the Government have gotten their deeply flawed Treaty Principles Referendum.
This break down in social cohesion follows polls taken last year showing the same thing…
New Zealand broken and in decline – new survey
A global wave of disillusionment and disenfranchisement has not spared New Zealand, with a majority of respondents to a survey here agreeing that New Zealand society is broken and the country is in decline.
Ipsos New Zealand asked 1001 Kiwis about their hopes for the future and their views of the state of the nation in the final week of February. The results, exclusively obtained by Newsroom, line up with the pollster’s findings from 28 countries overseas: People believe the economy is rigged to benefit the rich and powerful and traditional politicians aren’t doing anything about it.
Three in five respondents told Ipsos that New Zealand society was in decline and that the country is broken, aligning closely with results from overseas. This is the first time New Zealand has been included in this survey, which Ipsos has run elsewhere five times since 2016.
Paul Spoonley, the former director of centre of research excellence He Whenua Taurikura, said the findings align with the long-running Edelman Trust Barometer study, which doesn’t include New Zealand.
“What they’re recording internationally, which is repeated in this Ipsos survey, is a very rapid decline in trust, particularly in governments and in experts, and a decline in the level of social cohesion internationally,” he said.
“What you see repeated in both the Edelman Trust Barometer and the Ipsos survey is this dissatisfaction, but more than that, distrust of leaders, within government or out. Attached to that distrust is a post-Covid pessimism in the collective.”
…yes this spike in extremism is deeply concerning, BUT as Jack Vowles points out, we’ve had levels of dissatisfaction that were higher in the past…
Jack Vowles: Stop the panic – we’ve been here before
New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. The data is from February this year. There is no earlier IPSOS data to compare it with, but the inference is clear. We are on a downward track towards dangerous populism and authoritarianism.
The New Zealand Election Study (NZES) has been in the field during much the same period, collecting post-election opinion. We have been asking similar questions over the past thirty years, asking people to agree or disagree with the following statements. This data can provide a useful longer-term perspective.
‘Most members of Parliament are out of touch with the rest of the country’. The percentage agreeing is up since 2020 – 51 per cent in 2023 compared to 43 per cent in 2020. But looking further back, agreement has ranged in the low to mid-forties since about 2005, but in 2002 it was at about 49 per cent. In 1993, the first year we asked the question, it was 60 per cent.
‘People like me don’t have any say over what the government does’. 45 per cent agree this year, up from 40 per cent in 2020. But in 2011 48 per cent agreed with the statement, and in 1993, 63 per cent.
‘The New Zealand Government is largely run by big interests’. 51 percent agreed in 2023, up from 36 per cent in 2020. But the 2020 number was unusually low. Normally agreement has tracked up and down around 40 per cent since 2002. In 1993, 60 percent agreed. There is a slight tendency for agreement with this statement to be higher under National governments, but there may be no causal connection.
‘A few strong leaders could make this country better than all the laws and talk’. 51 per cent agreed with this statement in 2023, up from 43 per cent in 2020. But since 1996 agreement with this authoritarian position has normally tracked well over 50 per cent, dropping down from 56 per cent in 2011 to the low point of 43 per cent in 2020. 2023 is a reversal of the trend, but we have been there before.
How satisfied are you with the way democracy works in New Zealand? Those very or fairly satisfied: in 2023, 69 per cent. Down from 73 per cent in 2020. But 69 per cent is still higher than all the previous numbers except those from 1996. Normally, those who are satisfied have tracked at about 65 per cent. Those not satisfied in 2023 were 25 per cent.
…where Jack I think is wrong is in terms of the radicalisation and polarisation we now have.
Yes there was a deep dissatisfaction with the system in the previous years Jack compares to, but the difference is why people are dissatisfied and the new extents of radicalisation they have mutated into.
Sure you might be pissed off with NZ politics in 1996, because that was the first year NZ First swept the Māori electorates and we had MMP, the difference now is that the dissatisfaction is driven by social media hate algorithms that has radicalised and polarised the dissatisfied in a far more extreme fashion.
Yes dissatisfaction has been higher in the past, but the extreme nature of the radicalisation is what is different now.
There’s a vast difference between being unhappy with what Ruth Richardson was doing in 1993 and the belief that Jacinda, her family and the entire front bench of the Labour Party should be hanged for crimes against humanity at a Covid Nuremberg trial!
The manner in which social media school chambers have radicalised voters into Qanon militia speaks to a deeper wound and is reminiscent of the way global Muslim youth were radicalised in the 1990s and 2000s thanks to online Jihadist recruitment videos.
Citizens should feel angry and cynical at a system that is rigged in favour of the rich!
The Left should lean into that populism!
We need to focus on how to combat this terrible racist, anti-worker, anti-Treaty, anti-renter, anti-beneficiary, anti-environment Government who are selling out the common good for the interests of their donor friends.
We have to re-establish the egalitarian mission by promoting policy that directly challenges the capitalist status quo in meaningful ways.
Without vision, the Left is lost.
There are 4 magical pillars of the NZ economic ‘success’
1 – Stealing Indigenous land and never paying back the full value.
2 – Selling basic milk powder to China
3 – Selling each other houses and pretending that makes us rich.
4 – Addiction to a low wage economy.
The migration exploitation rules are garbage because NZ loves exploiting migrant labour!
We are addicted to it.
We say locals are too lazy for these jobs when really what we say is locals won’t allow themselves to be exploited as easily as migrant workers.
There is of course a solution here.
Universals Union membership for every migrant worker crossing the border.
That way domestic workers know they are not competing against exploited labour.
That way migrant labour can’t be exploited without the Union stepping.
That way the migrant worker and domestic worker are all protected by the solidarity of the Union.
We don’t want a solution to exploited labour, that’s why Universal Union Membership for migrant workers is ignored and non-solutions like this are promoted.
We need economic resilience, we need community resilience, we need radical reform to strengthen sustainability.
We need more Left Universalism.
We need to lift the tax yoke off working people, beneficiaries and the middle classes and we need to put it on the Banks, the Corporations, the Billionaires and the mega wealthy.
We need more Democratic Infrastructure, not less!
Why do we need these things?
Because the climate is shutting down and we face a bleak future where Billions will suffer and die thanks to catastrophic climate change.
This change will be forced upon us whether we like it or not.
This demands more connections, more bonds that bind us together to emotionally, socially, economically and politically survive what is coming.
Māori communalism is going to teach us a lot.
Here are some thoughts on what the Left should be considering:
The Right to Strike: A 10 day nation wide national strike would achieve more for working people than a dozen elections. We don’t have the right to strike in this country for God’s sakes, stand on your feet or live on your knees!
Iwi backed new Supermarket: Bring in a 3rd player into the supermarket duopoly that is Iwi backed with a focus on cheap prices for consumers, best prices for producers and high wages and work conditions for workers. Take 30% of the Supermarket Industry by force (allowed under the Commerce Commission powers) and use this as the backbone for a new food security system.
Mārae Civil Defence: Use Marae as the backbone of Civil Defence throughout NZ with resources based there alongside new building grants to strengthen those Marae.
Ministry of Green Works: We need to be able to build our own sustainable infrastructure, we need social housing builds and we need vast upgrading of the existing infrastructure to be adaptable to climate change.
New Mental Health First Responders: A whole new branch of first responders to deal specifically with mental health issues to talk people down and seek help rather than calling then Police and arresting people.
Artist Benefit: As part of a degrowth Capitalism model, pay Artists to make public art, use that art as a means to deal with the wondrous grief caused by the destruction of the planet.
Māori Parliament: An indigenous Parliament that amplifies Māori political voices.
Universal Student Union: Allow Student Unions to be the incubators for tomorrows politicians and stop students simply being cash cows for corporate education.
Universal Migrant Union: Stop migrant worker exploitation with universal student membership.
Retirement Village Unions: These scumbag retirement villages abuse their elderly and sick clients, universal Retirement Village Unions would stop them being exploited.
Pensioner Unions: Give our elderly a voice!
Sugar Tax to fund free dental.
Financial Transaction Tax to target speculators
Free Public Transport to lower emissions and make an impact on the wallets of the poor.
Wealth Tax aimed at the super wealthy
Inheritance Tax only realised after death
First $20 000 tax free for everyone
Lower GST to 10% to take the tax burden off the poor
Nationalise Early Childhood Education to lower the cost for working mothers and fathers
Without vision the Left have nothing to offer to counter the collapse of social cohesion.
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The stats don’t lie, this CoC is destructive. Trevor, you and your ilk are responsible.
National responsibility is to stop the rot caused by 6 years of miss management.. Labour did a good job when covid struck but went downhill from there. Borrow and spend is not a pathway to on going success.
Why does an iwi supermarket have to be based on stealing from the existing markets . Ngi Tahu are wealthy and brilliant business people .They have the land and could easily open a supermarket if it suited their business plan
Did you even read the column Trevor? Cut, axe and slice has never been a pathway for success. What it does is collapse social cohesion as pointed out clearly here. Things deteriorated the day National was elected and now people are turning back to Labour because they realise now that it’s country’s people were included. National have mismanaged the economy , put people on the streets and sent unemployment skyrocketing and you call that good. No wonder the UK ended up the way it did.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2025/03/30/senior-doctors-speak-out-over-concerns-about-staffing-patient-safety-at-nelson-hospital/
Nationals success story above Trevor, spending is essential part of infrastructure whether it be structural or personnel. Economics 101.
Labour were on track but you fell the right wing Fox like media hype.
So National allows spending millions on consultants instead of employment into roles at hospitals…
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/health-nz-to-cut-204-million-of-contractor-and-consultant-spend-agency-using-contractors-to-fill-roles/XMFZDB5DBRBVVNGXLRTK6WEZDM/
Once contractors are axed then what Trevor?
Meanwhile lives are lost at Nelson hospital.
Why would they invest millions in something that will not have a GREAT ROI.They will leave the colonists to carry on rorting the public .They are way s.arter than that .They wait and buy watercare in Auckland when it goes tit’s up in the next 5 years
Trevor doesn’t care – he likes being a peasant and having a boot to lick. The steady stream of urine on his face makes him feel warm and safe.
No surprise in this poll. I add to details my feeling about Paul Spoonley. I have a lack of trust and respect for him too in the direction of his wisdoms.
Why so, Greywarbler?
Nicola Willis ruled out Government owning or running supermarkets.
Which was one of her best options to significantly reduce prices, thus maintaining her position as Finance Minister.
If she can’t get control of the high cost of living, voters will be calling for her to go
Fuck man she could not even land two pre ordered ships after all the work was already done ,how do you think she could open a chain of supermarkets .One thing though Luxon will allow an Indian company to come in and do it under his knight hood trade agreement .They would be allowed to bring in 100k of staff to work there and live in the back of the shop and work for free .That would cut the cost to the owner but not prices to the consumer .
Keep MMP
A financial transactions tax
&
a wealth tax
&
death duties
and we could get rid of GST
Neither of those idiots now in charge and the next lot of likely morons will do all of this. They are gutless and they are still driven by neo liberal economic ideas that the poorest should pay the most.
NZ has been going down hill for a long time ,But now us lemmings are right on the edge of the cliff and ready to plunge over .We are going to hell in a hand basket .
Social cohesion rolls easily off the tongue as if it needs no unpacking. A simple enough definition would go something like this: the degree to which people in a society are bound together and share common values, promoting a sense of belonging, inclusion, and participation.
Little wonder there’s a perception that the system is rigged in favour of the rich. Little wonder there’s a perception that immigration in the last 3 decades in particular has undermined former shared values. Little wonder indigenous peoples – not only in NZ – feel aggrieved. More generally, given the wider acceptance of diversity, little wonder minorities continue to feel marginalized. Little wonder there’s a decline in trust, particularly in governments and in experts.
An unpopular view.
We’re a low wage economy because we allow migrants in who are happy to work on low end wages, which holds down the price of labour. The solution is obvious, withdraw the escape route to australia and only allow high end immigration (>100k).
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