UNICEF NZ (UN Children’s Fund)
Media Release
For immediate release

The Kiwi Necessities: What We Can’t Live Without
-       Live Below the Line for UNICEF –

We may be a nation renowned for our love of coffee, cheese and fine wine, but according to a new survey from UNICEF NZ and UMR Research*, we’d find it hardest to live without our greens.

The survey, released in the lead-up to the Live Below the Line campaign, looks at the food, people and modern conveniences New Zealanders would find most difficult to give up for a five day period.

Over a quarter (29%) of respondents named fruit and vegetables as the food they’d find it hardest to live without, whilst the internet is the modern convenience we wouldn’t want to give up (23%). 60% of men identify their partner as the person they’d find it hardest to be without, compared with only 36% of women. 

During the Live Below the Line campaign thousands of Kiwis will give up their usual diet to live on a budget of $2.25 a day for five days and raise funds for charities like UNICEF NZ (www.unicef.org.nz/lbl ). The aim is to experience a taste of the extreme poverty experienced by 1.2 billion people around the world. 

The survey also shows:

·         Most Kiwis couldn’t live without internet access (23%), placing more importance on it than their car (19%), fridge (14%) and washing machine (6%)
·         The over 60’s age group would find it the hardest to give up beer and wine (9%)
·         More New Zealanders would rather keep their mobile phone (13%) than have heating in their homes (10%)
·         For those people who have kids, the majority (60%) said they would find it hardest to live without their children for five days.
More survey results including regional specific stats in the notes to editors section

Pip Bennett, Campaign Co-ordinator at UNICEF NZ, said “The survey shows that us Kiwis value our greens more than many people would think, but it’s not a surprise that a coffee loving nation like ours would also find it difficult to give up our caffeine fix. 

“Live Below the Line is a tough challenge but you only need to give up your favourite foods for five days and you can keep your home comforts and support of your loved ones throughout! In contrast, over a billion people live in extreme poverty every day spending the equivalent of NZ$2.25 not only on food, but on all their living costs.

“We are challenging Kiwis to step into their shoes for a few days by Living Below the Line for UNICEF – funds raised will make a huge difference in helping kids around the world to get a healthier start to their lives.

“Although the event officially takes place at the end of the month, you can take the challenge at any time, with the website staying active to receive donations.”
UNICEF NZ is one of 8 key charity partners in the 2013 Live Below the Line campaign which takes place from 23rd-27th September.
The campaign is run by Global Poverty Project. It launched in New Zealand in 2011 and has raised a combined total of $500k for charities working against extreme poverty. The campaign also runs in the US, UK and Australia.

For more information on Live Below the Line for UNICEF NZ go to: www.unicef.org.nz/lbl  
-ends-
Notes to editor
Additional survey results:
·         Men (29%) would find it more difficult to give up the internet than women (18%).
·         18-29 year olds are the age group who would find it hardest to give up their best friend (28%) - all other age groups are under 10%.
·         Females would find it harder to give up their pet (13%) than their best friend (10%).

Wellington and Wairarapa Statistics
·         Wellingtonians would find it more difficult than other regions to give up their internet (30%) and mobile phone (19%).
·         Wellingtonians (14%) would find it more difficult than Aucklanders (9%) to give up their pet.
·         Wellingtonians would find it the easiest out of all the regions to give up their car (7%).
·         The top five modern conveniences that Wellingtonians would find most difficult to give up are: the internet (30%), their mobile phone (19%), home heating (17%), fridge (12%) and car (7%).

Auckland Statistics
·         Aucklanders would find it more difficult than other regions to give up meat (21%).
·         Aucklanders find it less difficult than other regions to give up coffee (21%).
·         The top five modern conveniences that Aucklanders would find most difficult to give up are: the internet (27%), car (20%), their mobile phone (18%), fridge (17%) and TV (6%).

Canterbury Statistics
·         Cantabrians would find it easier out of all the regions to give up bread (11%)
·         Cantabrians would find it more difficult than other areas of NZ to give up heating (19%)
·         Cantabrians would find it more difficult than other regions to give up their pet (15%)
·         The top five modern conveniences that Cantabrians would find most difficult to give up are: their home heating (19%), internet (18%) and car (18%), their mobile phone (13%) and TV (11%).

*Survey information
·         Results are based upon questions asked in the UMR Research nationwide Online Omnibus survey.
·         This is a survey of a nationally representative sample of 1000 New Zealanders 18 years of age and over conducted online.
·         Detailed quotas and weighting are used to ensure that the sample is as representative as possible.
·         Fieldwork was conducted from July 31st  to August 12th 2013
·         The margin of error for a sample size of n=1000 for a 50% figure at the ‘95% confidence level’ is +/- 3.1%.

ENDS

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