HERALD POLL UNSCIENTIFIC AND INACCURATE

The latest Herald Digi poll released yesterday has been described by Party Leader Graham Capill as ‘inaccurate, unprofessional and misleading’.

“It is time news agencies stopped manipulating the voters and told the truth. That the largest newspaper in the country can publish such misleading, unscientific, front page stories and show no willingness to rectify the misinformation is thoroughly reprehensible,” Mr Capill said.

In particular the Party is concerned that:

1) Despite up to 25% of respondents indicating they had not decided, the Herald’s graph failed to even mention this group. It chose to mislead readers into thinking that all 840 respondents had ‘voted’ for the Parties listed.

2) Of the 25% undecided, 7% were ‘pressed’ into choosing who they were most likely to vote for. Again, the graph made no mention of this fact and the pressure exerted raises serious questions about the objectivity of the poll.

3) When adding up the percentages given for each Party, a total of 95% is reached. What happened to the other 5%?

4) Upon enquiry, the Herald tells us that the Christian Heritage Party got 1.9%. Why was this not reported? If NZ First can get a mention at 2.2%, 0.3% seems a very small margin to make this arbitrary decision.

5) The Greens have not yet left the Alliance. They are not even recognised as a stand alone party in Parliament. Why are they then given separate identity in this poll? Are voters aware of this and how does this impact on the Alliance Party figures?

Mr Capill said, “It is time editors were more responsible in how they present the facts taken from polls. Polls rarely just report objective facts, but often colour perception. If MMP is about encouraging a mix of views to be represented in Parliament, it is time newspapers included that same mix in their stories.

“The Herald has failed to accurately inform its readers and misled them on several serious fronts. Our plea is for a fair go!” Mr Capill said.

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