95bFM Why has government performance perception hit an all-time low - Ipsos Survey
March 26, 2025
Interview by Joel Armstrong, adapted by Natasha Gordon
Image: Wikimedia Commons (2023)
The most recent data from the Ipsos Issues Monitor Survey, which recorded data from just over 1000 individuals, shows respondents gave the government a score of 4.2 out of 10; the lowest score the survey has ever recorded since collecting data in mid-2017.
The recent survey results look at various factors, including government favorability, as well as what areas in Aotearoa are of the most concern for respondents.
The ratings in the survey have relatively decreased since their all-time high of 7.6 in May 2020.
Political marketing expert from the University of Auckland, Edward Elder, told 95bFM's The Wire that these findings are indicative of the shift between the current government being viewed as new, to now being responsible for our country's problems.
“It goes away from the hypotheticals of opposition, so to speak, where the promises made at the election time are sort of seen as aspirational to the rubber hitting the road.”
Despite the low number of respondents, Elder says the results align with trends observed in multiple polls across different companies, all showing a downward shift in the government’s public perception.
The top concerns people in the survey have are inflation and the cost-of-living crisis. Respondents still believe the National Party is the best party to combat this, although the percentage of those who believe this has dropped to 32% from 35% in the October survey.
“The gap between Labour and National on these issues has reduced from, I think, at the peak about a year ago, 10% to four,” Elder says.
Elder says another factor that could be responsible for this drop is the public perception of how effectively the coalition partners work together.
He says these new results could be due to our younger voting public and their lack of previous experience with a recession.
“For a good chunk of the voting public now, things like the rising cost of, you know, inflation and high interest rates have never been something that they've had to deal with.”
“You know, someone like me who grew up in a post-recession or became an adult post-recession period has never had to deal with these sort of high interest rates.”
Elder says the likelihood of another government taking the lead at the next election would depend on whether a viable alternative to lowering the cost of living is backed by the public.
Elder says we have recently seen the economy slightly move out of a recession, with recent Stats NZ data showing our GDP has increased by 0.7%.
“It may take a while for the positive advances in our economy to rub off on the public view of it in these surveys,” Elder says.
“The economy is sort of a broader issue area, shall we say, it can take quite a while for those positive trends in their very, to sort of the sort of public consciousness.”
