Democratic deficit
The survey has some concerning data on the public’s view on central government. 56% of those surveyed said they believed the public had either no influence or only small influence on the decisions that the Government make.
The most cynical (surprise, surprise) are those living in Tauranga (63% believing the public has no or little influence on government decisions), those over 50 (63%), and NZ Europeans (60%). Add these three groups together, and what do you get? Well, a description of New Zealand First voters.
The least cynical are 15-25 year-olds (42% beliving the public has no or little influence on government decisions), Asians (31%) and Pacific peoples (36%). What do these groups have in common? Well, my first stab at a guess is that these groups all have some appreciation of what not voting is like. Young people commonly feel disenfranchised because all the big decisions about their lives have until the age of 18 been made other people - parents, teachers, etc. Asians and Pacific peoples tend to hail from places - or have ancestors who do - where fully functioning democracy was a pipedream, and so are less complacent about the liberties enjoyed by New Zealanders than Pakeha.
Whatever these demographic differences, however, this level of cynicism in central government must be a concern. Labour had hoped that their practice since 1999 of “we set out clearly what we’re going to do and then do it” would rebuild Kiwis’ confidence in the democratic process after two decades of broken promises from politicians.
This survey would suggest there’s still a long way to go. It’ll be interesting to see whether the turnout for this year’s election is down on last election’s, continuing a long-running trend in western democracies of fewer and fewer people turning out to vote. (The obvious exception being last year’s US Presidential election.)
