Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions in New Zealand

Executive Summary

Trust in others and in public institutions in New Zealand is comparatively high. High levels of trust helped New Zealand’s administration navigate the COVID-19 pandemic with minimum impact on society and the economy. Some of the reasons behind this effective response included a high reliance on expertise, an emphasis on shared goals coined by the slogan “a team of five million”, and high confidence in the functioning of a politically neutral, effective, and trusted public service that worked in a co-ordinated manner. However, despite the positive outcomes achieved on many fronts, New Zealand is not exempt from challenges to its democracy. The Wellington protests -- an anti-vaccine demonstration fueled by misleading information that led to occupation of the Parliament surroundings and other key locations in the country in February 2022 -- highlighted the pervasive effects of mis- and disinformation, even when policies have delivered their intended outcomes.

According to the 2021 OECD Trust Survey, implemented as part of this study, trust in New Zealand is highest in the police (73%) and the courts (65%) and lowest in local government councilors (45%) and the media (35%). Just over half (56%) of New Zealanders reported trusting the public service, which is above the OECD average (50%), but only in the middle of the benchmarking group of small, advanced economies and other anglophone countries considered for this study.

The drivers of public trust also vary according to the institution and level of government considered, suggesting a need for different strategies to ensure that policies and reforms addressing trust are correctly targeted. The responsiveness of public services and the reliability of government in addressing future challenges are important drivers of trust in the public service. Levels of trust in local governments are most influenced by meaningful engagement opportunities and fairness of treatment. Similarly, trust in Parliament is predominantly influenced by meaningful engagement opportunities, but also by expectations of having a say in what the government does and the reliability of institutions in addressing future environmental challenges and maintaining the stability of business conditions.

In a context where complexity is the norm, governments are expected to respond rapidly and effectively to people’s changing demands and expectations. New Zealand needs a competent and trusted public service to help ensure the well-being of the country and all its people. The public service act, enacted in 2020, emphasizes “a spirit of service to the community” as the fundamental characteristic of the public service, to be nurtured across all organisations. In the framework of the act, New Zealand Public Service Commission released the first briefing on the state of the public service in December 2022. The briefing states the vision for the public sector and discusses progress to promote stewardship and transform the public sector. This report is expected to contribute to these efforts. It recognizes that in some instances the perceived quality of public services is deteriorating, requiring complementary actions to improve satisfaction and preserve and strengthen public trust.

The main recommendations of this report revolve around six main areas: 1) Upgrading measures of trust to build a robust evidence base; 2) Strengthening responsiveness of services for people’s well-being; 3) Enhancing preparedness and strengthening foresight in policy making; 4) Improving transparency and achieving meaningful engagement; 5) Reinforcing the integrity system; 6) Preserving and strengthening fairness. The main findings and recommendations are summarised below.

 

Main Findings	Main Recommendations
Upgrading measures of trust to build a robust evidence base
New Zealand collects measures of experience and satisfaction with the public service through the Kiwis Count survey. Results from the OECD Trust Survey shed light on the fact that complementary regular information is needed to understand how people perceive the competences and values of the public service and their relationship to levels of trust.	Questions included in the Kiwis Count Survey allow tracking the evolution of trust over time but can be complemented with measures that align with the OECD Survey on the Drivers of Trust. Regularly collect answers to questions on the drivers of trust that can provide guidance on where to invest to preserve and strengthen trust in public institutions. Measures on the expected responsiveness of services, the reliability of long-term policies, engagement opportunities and perceived integrity and fairness can allow monitoring the effects of different policies and actions over time, as well as their relationship to trust levels.
There are variations in trust levels by population groups. Māori, young people, people outside the large urban areas, the less educated and those with less income have consistently lower levels of trust in institutions. Indicative evidence suggests that there is important variation when looking jointly at socioeconomic characteristics within populations groups (e.g. ethnicity and education or income levels)	Expand sample sizes in survey-based research for having representativeness by combined socioeconomic characteristics. This would allow analysing systematically the differences within and across populations groups. Quantitative analysis can be complemented by qualitative evidence obtained for example through text analysis, focus groups or cognitive testing that can contribute to an understanding of why some groups or sub-groups are systematically distrustful.
Strengthening the responsiveness of services for people’s well-being
43% of New Zealanders believe that government will improve a service when people complain, while 38% are sceptical that the service would be improved. Findings show that responding to people’s complaints on service provision is the most important driver of trust in the public service.	Ensure all public services use “learning loops” to address citizen feedback. Systems to gather and act on citizen feedback are central to public service responsiveness. It is crucial to ensure that these are present throughout frontline services. All agencies should analyse the experience of different sub-groups and communities, to identify the differing problems they face.
In line with many OECD countries, just over 40% of New Zealanders see the public sector as innovative. The adoption of innovative ideas is a significant driver of trust in local government in New Zealand.	Government could strengthen public sector innovation through cross-agency learning mechanisms. Digital services can make interactions with government institutions faster and easier, and promote the provision of seamless services. New Zealand has undertaken successful digital reforms in taxation. This should galvanise ongoing efforts on digital government. There is room to proactively ensure further transparency in how personal data is used.
New Zealand has a highly centralised government, with limited local government involvement in service delivery. Just 45% of the population reported trusting local government, the lowest of the benchmarking group of countries.	Ensure local government has appropriate competence and capacity that can aid responsiveness. Local government policy should actively consider the local government roles and competences needed to boost responsiveness. New Zealand could also consider putting in place institutional mechanisms to help citizens to seek redress for issues with local government.
Enhancing preparedness and strengthening foresight in policy making
Preparedness to cope with future crises is a key driver of trust in the public service. While the response to COVID-19 in New Zealand was considered successful, it is important to strengthen institutional mechanisms for long-term policy foresight.	Integrate long-term thinking into policy making. The Long Terms Insight Briefs are a powerful tool, yet it is important to advance conversations on how they might affect/influence policy. Core public service agencies should focus on building institutional memory and the technical capacity for long-term thinking
New Zealand has a well-defined institutional framework for climate change policy. Yet only 35% of the population is confident that New Zealand will succeed in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.	To further improve trust, policy must bridge gaps in hitting emission targets. Adaptation will be important in shielding the public, and both central and local authorities must maintain capability to deliver adaptation.
62% of people survey respondents in New Zealand believe that it is likely that government institutions will be ready to protect people’s lives if a serious new contagious disease spreads. New Zealand is however highly exposed in comparative terms to natural hazards.	Provide faster and more citizen-focused responses to disasters. Strengthen post-event accountability and lesson-learning functions in central government. Ensure transparency to citizens on how risk management decisions and recovery activities are undertaken.
Failures to effectively address widely recognised policy issues are a risk to levels of trust: Levels of satisfaction with the education system are low (50% compared to 57.6% on average in OECD and the lowest of the benchmarking group) and there is declining attainment as measured by OECD PISA results New Zealand has high and rising housing costs compared to OECD peers. Child poverty in New Zealand is comparatively high and has pervasive implications as a replicator of inequalities over time	Identify what factors contributed to New Zealand’s successful response to the COVID-19 crisis in terms of effectively harnessing a relatively small pool of public health expertise and reallocating resources to address key needs would help identifying transferable lessons for other pressing issues.
Improving transparency and achieving meaningful engagement
Results from the Trust Survey find that over three-quarters of the New Zealand population expect information about administrative process to be easily available. However, there are limitations, as several regulatory exemptions and restrictions apply to sharing information.	Promote a culture of more proactive disclosure of information. Extend efforts to use plain language, set clear goals, target audiences and messages, and identify best channels to reach different publics.
Less than half of New Zealanders expect to be consulted on issues affecting their community and only 37% expect that the views expressed by people in public consultations will be adopted.	Ensure that opportunities for citizens’ engagement are meaningful and broad - including instances for deliberation and participation, especially at the local level - so that people perceive a sincere invitation to inclusive policy making.
Having a say in what the government does is among the most important drivers of trust in the parliament. Despite high levels of voter turnout in national elections, New Zealanders present low levels of political engagement in other political activities, including voting in local elections, and there is widespread scepticism about people’s ability to influence political issues. This trend is more acute for Māori and other minority groups.	Proactively reach out to those who feel left behind, preventing participation gaps from becoming structural political inequalities. Invest in improving political socialisation and outreach to specific segments of the population, such as the young, the less educated, the Māori or Pacifica communities.
Trust in the media was 35% in New Zealand in 2021, below the OECD average (38%) and on the lower end of the benchmarking group. The changing media ecosystem has played a curcial role in undermining institutional trust in other countries that have a similar cultural and institutional background to New Zealand.	Develop a holistic approach to counter the spread of mis- and disinformation. Promote diverse, independent and quality media; support media and digital literacy; consider transparency requirements and issues related to the business models of social media platforms and explore other efforts to strengthen the information ecosystem.
Reinforcing the integrity system
New Zealand ranks one of the least corrupt countries in the world on international metrics such as the Corruption Perception Index by Transparency International. However, results from the OECD Trust survey show that less than half of New Zealanders believe courts would always act free from political influence (43.9%) or that public employees would refuse money offered to speed up access to public services (48%).	Reinforce the transition towards a more preventive integrity approach, invest more in training beyond awareness, and include integrity elements in risk management and internal control. Include these efforts in a comprehensive national integrity strategy, co-ordinated by the central government, but accompanied by integrity initiatives at the local level, aiming to bridge gaps and prevent legal loopholes.
	To improve perceptions of political integrity and protect public policies from undue influence, New Zealand could reopen discussions on developing lobbying regulations, as well as tighten political finance laws, define targets, and broaden the scope of transparency requirements and bans.
Preserve and strengthen fairness
42% of New Zealanders consider that public employees would treat rich and poor people differently (38% on average in OECD countries). Perceptions of discrimination are higher for Māori, the unemployed, women and some of the younger cohorts.	Proactively seeking engagement with groups that may feel left behind, particularly at the local level and ensuring that there are specific spaces and channels to communicate with them can help enhance fairness perceptions and thereby strengthen trust. Deliberative processes, particularly at the local level and in regions farther away from main cities, could be an effective tool to strengthen trust and a sense of inclusion.
Important efforts have been made to ensure a diverse workforce. The representation of Māori in public employment, including management positions, matches their representation in the general population. There is a balanced representation of women in the administration including at the managerial level. New Zealand is the OECD top performer on gender equality at the political level.	There is room to improve the representation, at senior levels, of population groups such as people identifying as Pacifica or of Asian background and people from the Middle East, Latin America and Africa. Efforts to build a diverse public force should be maintained as a necessary condition to strengthen public trust.