Who do NZ'ers trust? - the winners and losers

Thursday 27 May 2004

Who do New Zealanders trust? - the winners and losers

What do the Waitangi Tribunal and McDonald's have in common? What is the link between the country's Ambulance services and a company famed for its chocolate products?

The answers to these, and other curious comparisons, lie in the fourth annual Reader's Digest "Who Do You Trust?" survey in New Zealand, released today (Thursday 27 May).

The poll of 600 New Zealanders* decided that professionals who are prepared to risk their own lives to save the lives of others are most trusted, while the people who run the country are least trusted.

Firefighters shot to the top of this year's poll of 26 trusted professions, while pilots came in second followed by ambulance officers, nurses and pharmacists.

Kiwis showed, once again, they have little faith in politicians, ranking them at the bottom of the list. Real estate agents, journalists and car salesmen fared little better.

Meanwhile, success for our firefighters did not stop with the professions' list. A new category this year - government services - saw the New Zealand Fire Service come in ahead of the Police, the Defence Force and New Zealand Post.

According to the poll, The Waitangi Tribunal was the least trusted of the 27 government services ranked, along with Parliament, Child Youth and Family, Work and Income and the Immigration Service.

Another new category this year, charities, produced some compelling results. The country's Ambulance services inched out children and animals, with Plunket taking second place and the SPCA, third.

Next on the list was the Cancer Society, followed by the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind.

More than 55 product brands were surveyed, with longevity proving a winner. Cadbury, a company that has been selling chocolate products in New Zealand for over 80 years, topped the most trusted brands list followed by Wattie's, Fisher & Paykel and Sanitarium.

The survey of "New Zealand's Most Trusted" is featured in the June issue of Reader's Digest magazine.

* All data weighted to the New Zealand population using census data to ensure a representative sample.

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New Zealand's Most Trusted - Charities, Government Services, Professions and Brands

Reader's Digest surveyed 600 New Zealanders to find out the professions, government services, charities and brands that New Zealanders trust the most. All data was weighted to the New Zealand population using census data to ensure a representative sample.

Charity (20)
Ranking
Ambulance services
1
Plunket
2
SPCA
3
Cancer Society
4
Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind
5
Red Cross
6
Heart Foundation
7
Pink Ribbon - Breast Cancer
8
Salvation Army
9
IHC
10
Rotary International
11
Lions Club
12
Yellow Ribbon - Suicide Prevention
13
Life Education Trust
14
Barnardos New Zealand
15
Save the Children
16
World Vision
17
Variety Club
18
Amnesty International
19
Greenpeace
20

Professions (26)
Ranking
Fire fighters
1
Pilots
2
Ambulance officers
3
Nurses
4
Pharmacists
5
Doctors
6
Police officers
7
Teachers
8
Dentists
9
Plumbers
10
Religious ministers / priests
11
Builders
12
Accountants
13
Architects
14
Auto mechanics
15
Financial advisors
16
Lawyers
17
Social workers
18
Bartenders
19
Psychologists
20
Taxi drivers
21
CEOs
22
Real estate agents
23
Journalists
24
Car salesmen
25
Politicians
26

Government Services (27)
Ranking
New Zealand Fire Service
1
New Zealand Police
2
New Zealand Defence Force
3
New Zealand Post
4
Universities
5
MetService
6
District Courts
7
State schools
8
Department of Conservation
9
Ministry of Consumer Affairs
10
Human Rights Commission
11
Land Transport Safety Authority
12
New Zealand On Air
13
Family Court
14
Crown Research Institutes
15
District Health Boards
16 =
Transit New Zealand
16 =
Commerce Commission
17
ACC
18
Inland Revenue Department
19
Local Councils
20
Pharmac
21
New Zealand Immigration Service
22
Work and Income
23
Child, Youth and Family Service
24
Parliament
25
Waitangi Tribunal
26

Brands (56)
Ranking
Cadbury
1
Wattie's
2
Fisher & Paykel
3
Sanitarium
4
Griffin's
5
Panadol
6
Kellogg's
7=
Panasonic
7=
Pak 'n' Save
8=
Toyota
8=
Nestle
9
Farmers
10
Maggi
11
Philips
12
Woolworths
13
Air New Zealand
14
Sony
15
New World
16
The Warehouse
17
Nurofen
18
Briscoes
19
Subway
20
BMW
21
Gregg's
22=
Telecom
22=
Ford
23
Palmolive
24
Mitsubishi
25
Holden
26
Vodafone
27
Continental
28
Dove
29
ASB
30
Nissan
31=
Qantas
31=
Kmart
32
Subaru
33
National Bank of NZ
34
Countdown
35=
Pantene
35=
Honda
36=
Pizza Hut
36=
Kiwibank
37
Rexona
38=
Samsung
38=
Foodtown
39
Sunsilk
40
Burger King
41
Westpac
42
KFC
43
Avon
44
BNZ
45
Telstra
46
Origin Pacific
47
ANZ
48
McDonald's
49

ENDS

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