Local body elections: Fewer than half of Aucklanders know who is running

Friday, 13 September 2019

We asked people around the country about their thoughts on local government ahead of the 2019 elections.

Sonya McIlroy is feeling ambivalent about the country's local government elections in October.

McIlroy, from West Auckland, doesn't 'place a huge amount of importance on it. I don't really understand the platform these people are on (but) when it's a general election I feel I have strong views on the issues.'

She is not alone. Aucklanders are less likely than others to vote, and fewer than half say they know who their local councillor is according to Stuff's Your Place survey.

More than one-in-six Aucklanders said they were unlikely to vote, compared with one-in-10 nationally.

**READ MORE:

Sonya McIlroy had initially not planned to vote in October's local body election

* Your Place survey: Tell us what matters most to you in your town

* Aucklanders have a low satisfaction level with Auckland Council

* Auckland Council devising PR blitz to avoid 'reputational risk'

* Vote Friday: local elections impact us all, so why do so few people vote?**

Two-thirds, 66.7 per cent of the Aucklanders who responded said they were 'very likely' to vote. Bay of Plenty respondents were the most likely - 82 per cent, while nationwide 75 per cent were.

The online survey was conducted between August 19 and September 3 when Auckland's mayoral campaign was already well underway. 1131 Aucklanders responded out of a nationwide total of 8101 with the responses weighted to reflect each region's share of the total population.

In reality, the turnout is far lower, with just 38.5 per cent of Aucklanders having had a say in the 2016 local body election, compared with 42 per cent nationwide.

Julienne Molineaux, director of policy observatory at AUT, said the discrepancy between intention and reality is no surprise.

'Intentions to vote are often overstated by 20 per centage points. Also, those who read a newspaper who then spend five to six minutes filling in a survey are already the more likely to vote.'

On questions about their council, Aucklanders are less impressed than others about value for their rates dollar, slightly less trustful of councillors, but slightly happier to pay more rates for the things that matter to them.

Julienne Molineaux is the director of AUT's The Policy Observatory

In 2016 a Victoria University study ranked local government ninth out of 14 industries, with only 12 per cent having complete, or lots of trust, though ranking ahead of government ministers, the media and online commentators.

Auckland Council's latest quarterly survey of residents' attitudes shows a slight dip in trust.

Results on trust from Auckland Council's September 2019 quarterly Citizen Insights Monitor

Only 19 per cent agree they have trust in decision making, down from a peak of 23 per cent a year earlier, and those neutral on the question of trust had shrunk to 31 per cent from a best of 35 per cent.

Aucklanders views in Your Place, are the only ones that can be linked to a specific local body because of the 'supercity' council. Elsewhere people have regional and territorial authorities.

Respondents are more trusting of councillors in Otago, with 25.3 per cent support, and Canterbury on 19.9 per cent.

In Wellington there is a less trusting view at 11.5 per cent.

Auckland Council's push to improve voter turn-out may yet have won over at least one person. After speaking to Stuff Sonya McIlroy had second thoughts about not voting.

'There has been more talk about it in the family … I still don't feel it is an educated vote, but it is based on public transport - there are some plans in the pipeline they need to keep pushing on through.'