Recent reports reveal an accelerating decline in New Zealand’s trust in politicians and media. The only way to fix this is through accountability and transparency, which is only made possible with free speech, says Nick Hanne, the Free Speech Union's Education Partnership Manager.

“As reported by the Democracy Project, the 2023 NZES (New Zealand Election Study) survey revealed a decline in the trust and respect of politicians and the integrity of the political process.

“In response to: ‘Most politicians act in the best interests of all’, 36% of respondents disagreed, and only 29% of respondents agreed. And the ratings of ‘Most politicians are trustworthy’ have dropped consistently since 2017.

“Similarly, the recent Acumen-Edelman survey also displays a rapid decline in the public’s trust in media, with only 36% saying they trust the media to do what is right.

“Democracy depends on all voices being heard, and transparency is key for the public’s trust in our leaders. Where there is a lack of transparency, we must hold our leaders to account.

“The would-be-censors continue to tell us that our speech should be regulated, but how would we keep our leaders accountable without the ability to call them out?

“And how will our trust in the media improve if we limit the words available to us and the topics that can be discussed? Kiwis are already sceptical about where they get their information from.

“If we limit speech and put censorial powers into the hands of a few, the lack of trust will only get worse.

“Our democracy depends on all voices being heard, and this includes holding politicians and journalists to account. It is only with free speech that we have democracy.”

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