Trust in Parliament decreased the most in 2023 compared with other institutions, but overall people had the least trust in the media. Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson
A loss of trust in New Zealand's major institutions as highlighted in a Stats NZ survey is deeply concerning as it could lead to a lack of engagement in society, a university lecturer says.
Stats NZ's 2023 General Social Survey which measures people's wellbeing showed that people's trust in police, the media, courts, Parliament and the education and health systems had fallen since 2021.
People's trust has been declining in key institutions since 2021
University of Auckland Business School's Dr Clare Dale told Checkpoint people who mistrusted withdrew from engagement.
"So people don't vote if they don't trust, people don't help other people if they don't trust, the effects are profound and part of what drives the issue too is so much conflicting information about both the causes and the consequences of for example the job losses that have impacted so many of us over the last little while."
It was difficult to know whether the public service job cuts which the government said were necessary were happening because the system had been mismanaged, or whether too many people had been employed - but whatever the reasons the effect of thousands of people losing their jobs was devastating, she said.
Data shows trust in institutions on the decline
Stats NZ senior analyst Rosemary Goodyear said trust was "very" important and part of the glue that held society together.
"We don't know why people are rating their sense of trust differently but we do know people have been through a really challenging time, not just in New Zealand but around the world and we're seeing similar effects in other countries."
Dale agreed that the international context was important.
"You've got to keep a global context going as well as the local context, there are wars in at least two major areas of the globe and this impacts on all of us, it impacts on our sense of wellbeing, our safety, our willingness to leave home and participate, our willingness to take small risks of social interaction. It's huge."
Nearly two in five people were finding it hard to meet everyday costs with 48 percent of people reporting that they had gone without or cut back on fresh fruit and vegetables in 2023, the survey showed.
Both renters and homeowners were finding accommodation costs more expensive in 2023, it showed.
Dale said it was likely that there was a connection between people's trust levels and their financial struggles in day-to-day life.
"Massive increased rates have hit everyone who has a mortgage and if you're a renter those costs from the owner have been passed onto you so rents are astronomical and mortgages are astronomical and then you've got the price of food."
It was essential that people's sense of trust was restored so they could go about their lives in a positive way, she said.
In terms of feeling better sunshine and fresh air helped people feeling better, as well as seeking out more positive news, she said.
Goodyear said although people's sense of belonging had declined, but it was not all bad news.
"We do also know that people still rate their life satisfaction quite highly - so at 7.6 out of 10 where like 0 is very low life satisfaction and then 10 is very high. So while there's some concerning things we also know that in general New Zealanders are still feeling positive about their lives."