More than half (53%) of New Zealanders rate housing as a top issue in society – twice higher than any other issue. Housing has consistently been the top concern by far since Ipsos began tracking in 2018; it was briefly displaced by the economy and unemployment during the peak COVID period last year but has quickly bounced back to unprecedented levels.

In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave, the Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor asked 1,003 New Zealanders to select from a list of 20, the three most important issues facing the country and to rate the ability of the country’s political parties to best manage these issues.

The top three issues facing New Zealanders in June 2021 are housing / price of housing (53%), followed by healthcare / hospitals (27%) and inflation / cost of living (27%).

Key findings include:

• A third (37%) of New Zealanders claim to be personally impacted by the housing situation; however, there are some groups hit harder than others, such as:

58% of tenants o 54% of those of Māori ethnicity

51% of those aged 18–49, compared to 20% of those aged 50+

49% of those living in Auckland.

General housing affordability and high rentals are the main issues impacting these New Zealanders.

• Concerns for unemployment have declined to pre COVID-19 levels after skyrocketing last year during the peak pandemic period. The economy followed a similar pattern, but the current level of concern is still higher than the pre COVID-19 period.
• The ratings of government performance have declined for the second time consecutively. Perceived performance increased at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and despite dropping since, remains higher than pre-pandemic levels.
• The Labour Party continues to be perceived as the most capable of handling the majority of the issues facing New Zealanders, with the exception of issues facing Māori where the Māori Party is preferred.
• Whilst housing is the top issue in New Zealand, just 22% of Australians consider it a top issue, where healthcare tops the list (38%).

Housing

In February 2021, concerns around housing reached 60%, the highest to date. June has seen a decrease to 53%; however, housing remains the top concern for New Zealanders, well above any other issues. At a regional level, concerns are felt most strongly in Wellington (68%) and least in Canterbury (39%).

Around a third (37%) of New Zealanders claim to be personally impacted by housing issues. These issues have had a significantly greater impact on tenants (58%), those aged under 50 years (51% vs 20% of those aged 50+), those of Māori ethnicity (54%) and Auckland residents (49%). The main issues that individuals are facing are affordability and increasing prices (both house and rental prices), a shortage of housing and achieving the required deposit.

Around 40% of tenants admit to struggling over the past year to save enough for a deposit to buy a home. They are also more likely to not move despite wanting to due to house / rental prices (31%), move in with extended family to share costs (15%) and move further away from where they want to live due to rental / house prices (15%).

In terms of the political party most capable of managing housing issues, 38% of New Zealanders consider Labour to be most capable of doing so, while 23% believe the National Party is best suited.

Other key issues facing New Zealanders

Inflation / cost of living is considered a top issue by more than a quarter (27%) of New Zealanders and has been a top-5 issue since tracking began in 2018. The Labour Party is considered by two-fifths (42%) of New Zealanders as most capable of managing this issue, while the National Party is considered most capable by 25%.

Women (32%) are more likely to be concerned about this issue than men (22%), as are those aged under 50 years (34% vs 18% of those aged 50+ years).

Healthcare / hospitals has been one of the prominent issues facing New Zealand and this time ranks second (27%). Those aged 50+ years are more likely to be concerned about healthcare / hospitals (40% vs 17% of those aged under 50 years).

Poverty / inequality is a key issue for 26% of New Zealanders and has also been a consistent top-5 issue. It is more likely to be a concern for women (32% vs 20% men). More than half (51%) of New Zealanders believe that the Labour Party is most capable to handle it – just 14% believe the same of the National Party.

Rounding off the top-5 issues is the economy. While it became the top issue in May 2020, it has since decreased and is now considered a top issue for 22% of respondents. It is more of a concern for men (27% vs 17% of women). When evaluating which political party is best suited to manage this issue, New Zealanders are losing confidence in the Labour Party. Since February 2021, there has been a 6-percentage point decrease (42%). Conversely, there has been a 5-point rise in the number of those who perceive the National Party as most capable (33%).

Government Performance

The government’s performance rating soared during the height of the pandemic (May ‘20 – 7.6) but has continued to decline for the past couple of waves (Jun ‘21 – 6.4) However, it remains higher than prepandemic levels (Mar ‘20 – 5.8).

The Labour Party has been rated more favourably by women (6.7) and those aged under 50 years (6.7).

The Labour Party remains the party perceived to be most capable of handling most of the issues facing New Zealanders.

New Zealand vs Australia

In New Zealand, housing is by far the top issue; however, it is just the fourth most important issue in Australia (26%). The top issue in Australia is healthcare (38%), closely followed by the economy (34%).

When looking at similarities between the top-5 issues of New Zealand and Australia, the economy (NZ 22% vs AU 34%), housing (NZ 53% vs AU 26%), healthcare (NZ 27% vs AU 38%), and cost of living (NZ 27% vs AU 27%) are all common issues.

A notable difference between the two countries is that unemployment is the 5 th most important issue in Australia at 24%, whilst in New Zealand it is a top issue for only 11% and is ranked 11th.

Carin Hercock, Managing Director, Ipsos New Zealand, said: “Housing continues to be the biggest issue worrying New Zealanders and it is concerning that tenants - those that don’t have the security of their own home - are the group being most impacted by the current housing market. It is pleasing to see that concerns around unemployment and the economy have continued to decline since their peak during the worst of COVID-19 impact in 2020; however, we have seen concerns about healthcare begin to rise again, which may be related to perceptions of increased risk posed by the new COVID-19 delta variant.”

Amanda Dudding, Research Director, Public Affairs, Ipsos New Zealand, added: “Our Ipsos NZ Issues Monitor has been telling us the same story since the study began – housing is a big issue for New Zealanders. This measure we looked a bit deeper and found that housing is particularly an issue for our Māori population, our young people and those living in Auckland. In addition, if you’re renting, housing issues are even more likely to be problematic. Some respondents shared stories about the problems they’re facing, and they are heart-breaking.”

© Scoop Media