Latest news with #IpsosIssuesMonitor
Scoop
7 hours ago
- Business
- Scoop
New Zealanders' Worry About Cost Of Living On The Rise Again Following The Budget 2025 Announcement
New Zealand / Aotearoa, 17 June 2025 - Ipsos New Zealand has released the 28th edition of the Ipsos Issues Monitor which tracks the issues most important to New Zealanders today and which political parties are best able to manage them. The survey has been running since 2018. The quarterly survey of 1,002 New Zealanders reveals that following a steady decline since May 2024, more than one in two (55%) consider inflation / cost of living to be the most important issue. Healthcare follows as the second highest concern, while the economy remains the third most important issue, with slight increases (by 2pp) for both issues. Notably, New Zealanders' concern for the economy has reached the highest level since February 2021. Key findings for the New Zealand market include: Inflation / cost of living is still the primary concern for one in two New Zealanders. While not statistically significant, the proportion of New Zealanders selecting this as a key issue has risen by 5 percentage points from the previous wave in February. Healthcare / hospitals remains the second top issue and continues on its upward trend, reaching its highest level of concern since tracking began (43%). Concerns around the economy continue to rise over the long-term, once again reaching the highest level seen since February 2021. Issues change in importance across generations: Inflation / cost of living is the primary concern for New Zealanders aged 18-64, while those aged 65+ are significantly less likely to be concerned about it Healthcare continues as the primary concern for those aged 65+, it ranks third and second respectively for those aged 18-34 and 35-64 Housing is the second most important issue for 18-34 age group and fifth for 35–49-year-olds, while it is outside of the top-5 issues for those aged 50+ While concern for the economy is relatively consistent across all the age groups, unemployment is more significant issue for young New Zealanders aged 18-34 (23%). Although political leaning has an impact on the perception of importance for multiple issues, both those intending to vote on the 'left' if there was an election tomorrow, and those intending to vote on the 'right' continue to agree that inflation / cost of living and healthcare are the two primary concerns facing New Zealand. However: The economy and crime are of significantly higher concern to right-leaning voters Left-leaning voters are significantly more concerned about poverty / inequality. Following a significant decline, New Zealanders' rating of the current coalition government's performance has stabilised, rising by 0.1 points to 4.3, with 39% of New Zealanders scoring it 0-3 out of 10. Labour is now perceived as the political party most capable of handling three of the top five issues – inflation / cost of living, healthcare, and housing, while National is seen to be most capable of managing the economy and crime. Beyond the top 5 issues, National is now seen as being the most capable of managing just one of the remaining fifteen issues: Defence / foreign affairs / terrorism. New Zealanders' top five concerns are largely in line with our Australian counterparts, with both countries identifying inflation / cost of living as their top issue and showing a similar level of concern for the economy. More Australians are concerned about housing than us, while more of us are concerned about healthcare. Carin Hercock, Country Manager, Ipsos New Zealand, said: 'Despite several reductions in the OCR, New Zealanders are still feeling the impact of high living costs. This is particularly an issue for young adult New Zealanders who are increasingly concerned about inflation, housing costs and unemployment.' Amanda Dudding, Executive Director Public Affairs, Ipsos New Zealand, added: 'No matter your political stance, inflation and healthcare are seen as the most important issues for New Zealanders. Healthcare is now the leading issue for 7 out of 10 New Zealanders over 65 years and is well ahead of the level of concern felt during the peak of Covid community transition. '
Scoop
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Labour Moves Ahead Of National On Controlling Cost Of Living, Ipsos Poll Finds
Labour has overtaken National as the party New Zealanders consider most able to handle the cost of living, according to the latest Ipsos Issues Monitor survey. The topic has remained the top concern for New Zealanders since February 2022, and has now gone up five points since the last survey in February 2024 - bucking a steady downward trend. Labour overtaking National on ability to handle the issue for the first time since October 2021 - climbing 4 percentage points to 32 percent, compared to National's 1-point drop to 31 - will be a worry for Prime Minister Christopher Luxon who made it a key election issue in 2023. Labour also remains New Zealanders' top pick on the number 2 issue healthcare - rising 4 points to 40 percent to National's 24, up 1 point - with the issue also increasingly a concern, hitting another new record at 43 percent. National is still on top when it comes to the economy at 35 percent but that's a 1-point drop from February, Labour closing the gap by the same amount, rising to 30 percent. Concern about the economy lifted 2 points to 32 percent. Housing and law and order are the fourth-equal concern at 25 percent, with worry about housing dropping 2 points and law and order holding steady. Labour gained three points to 32 percent on housing while National stayed steady at 27 percent, and Labour gained 4 points to 26 percent on law and order with National still in the lead but dropping two points to 34 percent. Labour has also overtaken National on petrol prices and taxation, meaning it's now considered the party most able to handle all the 6th to 20th-ranked issues other than climate change (Greens), pollution and water (Greens), Issues facing Māori (Te Pāti Māori) and Defence/Foreign Affairs (National). Ratings of the coalition's performance rose slightly from the last survey's record low of 4.2 out of 10, to 4.3. The Ipsos New Zealand survey was carried out between 23 to 30 May and asked 1002 New Zealanders what they thought were the top three most important issues facing the country today. The poll is conducted through online panels, and has a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percentage points. It had no external sponsors or partners, is initiated and run by Ipsos "because we think it is important for businesses and organisations to understand the challenges that New Zealanders face in the context of their everyday lives". Results were weighted by age, gender and region to reflect the wider New Zealand population. Some results may sum to 100 percent and others may show a difference higher or lower than the actual due to rounding, multiple responses, or the exclusion of "don't know" or "not stated" responses.
Otago Daily Times
13 hours ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Labour moves ahead in cost of living poll
By Russell Palmer of RNZ Labour has overtaken National as the party New Zealanders consider most able to handle the cost of living, according to the latest Ipsos Issues Monitor survey. The topic has remained the top concern for New Zealanders since February 2022, and has now gone up five points since the last survey in February 2024 - bucking a steady downward trend. Labour overtaking National on ability to handle the issue for the first time since October 2021 - climbing 4 percentage points to 32%, compared to National's 1-point drop to 31 - will be a worry for Prime Minister Christopher Luxon who made it a key election issue in 2023. Labour also remains New Zealanders' top pick on the number 2 issue healthcare - rising 4 points to 40% to National's 24, up 1 point - with the issue also increasingly a concern, hitting another new record at 43%. National is still on top when it comes to the economy at 35% but that's a 1-point drop from February, Labour closing the gap by the same amount, rising to 30%. Concern about the economy lifted 2 points to 32%. Housing and law and order are the fourth-equal concern at 25%, with worry about housing dropping 2 points and law and order holding steady. Labour gained three points to 32% on housing while National stayed steady at 27%, and Labour gained 4 points to 26% on law and order with National still in the lead but dropping two points to 34%. Labour has also overtaken National on petrol prices and taxation, meaning it's now considered the party most able to handle all the 6th to 20th-ranked issues other than climate change (Greens), pollution and water (Greens), Issues facing Māori (Te Pāti Māori) and Defence/Foreign Affairs (National). Ratings of the coalition's performance rose slightly from the last survey's record low of 4.2 out of 10, to 4.3. The Ipsos New Zealand survey was carried out between May 23 to 30 and asked 1002 New Zealanders what they thought were the top three most important issues facing the country today. The poll is conducted through online panels, and has a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percentage points. It had no external sponsors or partners, is initiated and run by Ipsos "because we think it is important for businesses and organisations to understand the challenges that New Zealanders face in the context of their everyday lives". Results were weighted by age, gender and region to reflect the wider New Zealand population. Some results may sum to 100% and others may show a difference higher or lower than the actual due to rounding, multiple responses, or the exclusion of "don't know" or "not stated" responses.
