Christchurch Central: new boundaries, new attitudes?

Friday, 5 September 2014, 9:43 am
Press Release: Roy Morgan Research

Christchurch Central: new boundaries, new attitudes?

Electors in the redistributed Christchurch Central—won in 2011 by the National Party by fewer than 50 votes—are now less likely than the average NZ elector to trust the Government or think it’s doing a good job, data from Roy Morgan Research shows.

Who doesn’t love a close election race? On November 26 2011, equal numbers of voters in Christchurch Central wanted Labour’s Brendon Burns to hold the seat as wanted Nicky Wagner of the National Party to take charge. After the inclusion of special votes and a judicial recount, Nicky Wagner scored the win by just 47 votes, ousting Labour from the seat for the first time.

A voter in the new Christchurch Central is 30% more likely than the average Kiwi elector to believe that terrorists deserve the same rights as other criminals and 10% more likely to think it’s the Government’s duty to support those who can’t find work, research from December 2011 to April 2014 shows.

On average, voters in Christchurch Central are 8% more likely to say Maori culture is an essential component of New Zealand society or that globalisation brings more problems than it solves, and 7% more likely to distrust the NZ Government: 46% vs 43% nationally.

Attitudes of Christchurch Central electors – indexed to New Zealand norm (100):

Click for big version.

Just 44% of Christchurch Central’s voters believe the Government is doing a good job running the country, compared with almost half of all voters in New Zealand. 55% of all Kiwi voters agree that obedience and respect for authority are the most important values children should learn; but in Christchurch Central, where 1 in 3 voters is aged under 35, just 45% agree.

Nationally, over 1 in 4 voters on the general roll believe homosexuality is immoral; in Christchurch Central, it’s only around 1 in 6.

Pip Elliot, General Manager New Zealand – Roy Morgan Research, says:

“Roy Morgan’s Electorate Profiles can provide parties and candidates with a greater understanding of voters’ attitudes towards Government, personal and societal issues.

“Just recently launched in New Zealand, Roy Morgan’s Helix Personas segmentation tool also gives real insight into the minds of voters across the country.

“A massive 23% of voters within the new Christchurch Central boundaries are classed as being an ‘Areas in Transition’ type of person, who nationally make up just 1% of the population. People in this persona are often unmarried young singles and couples, confident and educated, who place a high value on their social life, their independence and their freedom to make their own choices.”

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Roy Morgan Research

New Zealand's leading social and market research company

A full service research organisation specialising in omnibus and syndicated data, Roy Morgan Research has over 70 years' experience in collecting objective, independent information on consumers. Roy Morgan Research was set up in New Zealand in the 1990s and has been collecting information across a wide range of industries in New Zealand ever since. Roy Morgan currently has over 10 years of trended data on a geographically and demographically representative sample of over 12,000 New Zealanders aged 14+.

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