NEW DATA: Trust in New Zealand collapses … among high earners

The media are especially mistrusted

Summary:

• Trust in major New Zealand institutions is lower than average in a sample of 28 countries, according to data released this week

• Just one-third of New Zealanders say they trust the media to do the right thing

• Trust in government and business has collapsed sharply for those in the top quarter of income earners

• While other surveys are more reassuring about trust in New Zealand, nonetheless these data are a cause for concern

A question of trust

Trust – defined as the belief that others will do what is right – is fundamental to society’s good functioning. In its absence, people become far less likely to obey laws, trade freely with one another, and consume high-quality reporting. Things – in the words of the novelist Chinua Achebe – fall apart.

What, then, is the state of trust in New Zealand, especially when it comes to major institutions like government, business, NGOs and the media? One answer comes from the latest edition of the long-running Edelman survey of 28 countries, carried out here in conjunction with PR firm Acumen.

In this sample, New Zealanders’ trust in the major institutions is lower than average, and falling. New Zealanders also have a higher than average sense of “grievance” against these institutions.

Two things are worth noting, though. First, this is a specific sample, weighted towards a specific set of developing countries in Asia and the Middle East; in more expansive datasets – covering, for instance, struggling states in Africa and Latin America – New Zealand may rank above average.