Wellington, 6 October 2022 – The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor finds that concerns about inflation / cost of living, continue to rise, and the issue remains the number one issue worrying New Zealanders.

Concerns about crime / law and order have also increased significantly to 31%, up from 19% in February this year.

In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave of the Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor, we asked 1,000 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.

Key findings include:

• The top-5 issues currently concerning New Zealanders in September 2022 are inflation / cost of living (58%), followed by housing / price of housing (33%), healthcare / hospitals (32%), crime / law (31%), and the economy (23%).
• Inflation / cost of living first climbed into the top spot in February 2022, and since then has continued to trend upwards. It is now at the highest level of concern since measurement began in early 2018. The National Party is seen by more New Zealanders (40%) than any other political party as being the most capable of handling this issue, well above Labour at 26%. New Zealanders think this issue is here to stay, as it is also the issue felt to be the most important issue New Zealand will be facing over the next 5 years.
• Meanwhile, housing continues to decline in importance, with 33% of New Zealanders placing it in their top three issues, compared with 60% at its height in February 2021. While it remains the second biggest issue, it has dropped to its lowest level, equal to a temporary dip during the height of COVID-19 impacts on New Zealand in May 2020.
• Concerns about crime / law (31%) have also been increasing since February and the issue now sits in fourth position, the highest level recorded since surveying began in February 2018. When looking into the future however, crime / law is seen as the second most important issue New Zealand will be facing over the next 5 years.
• While New Zealanders rate climate change as the 6th most important issue facing New Zealanders now (21%), when asked about issues over the next 5 years, climate change increased to 4th position (29%).
• Concerns for petrol prices / fuel (17%) have decreased significantly following a temporary spike in February (25%) and May (28%) 2022.
• The government’s performance rating has stopped the steady decline it was experiencing since November 2020.
• When asked which political party New Zealanders believe is the most capable of managing the issues, the National Party was seen as most capable of managing 4 of the top 5 issues: inflation / cost of living, housing / price of housing, crime / law & order and the economy. Labour is only seen as most capable of handling healthcare / hospitals.

Amanda Dudding, Research Director, Public Affairs, Ipsos New Zealand, said: “New Zealanders are feeling the pinch every day, so it’s not surprising that inflation and the cost of living remains the top issue facing our country. It’s the top issue for Australians at the moment too. It doesn’t seem New Zealanders expect it to be solved quickly either, as it is the top issue we expect to be facing over the next 5 years as well.

When we ask the issues that New Zealand will be facing over the next 5 years, it’s interesting to see that climate change increases significantly compared to what we’re facing now. This is not surprising as over time we’ve seen climate change pushed down the priority order when other issues, such as those driven by COVID, have increased in urgency and priority.”

Jonathan Dodd, Research Director, Ipsos New Zealand, said: “The continued rise of crime as an issue of concern is of particular interest as it is one issue where people tend to feel more vulnerable, regardless of their background - especially as high-profile daylight robberies become more brazen. It also challenges our cultural notions of New Zealand being a safe country, further undermining our sense of security.”

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