18th Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor - Sept 2022

In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave of the Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor, we asked 1,000 New Zealanders to select from a list of 20, the three most important issues facing the country and to rate the ability of the country’s political parties to best manage these issues.

Key findings include:

• The top-5 issues currently concerning New Zealanders in September 2022 are inflation / cost of living, followed by housing / price of housing, healthcare, crime and the economy.
• Inflation / cost of living first climbed into the top spot in February 2022, and since then has continued to trend upwards. It is now at the highest level of concern since measurement began in early 2018. The National Party is seen by more New Zealanders (40%) than any other political party as being the most capable of handling this issue, well above Labour at 26%. 
• Concerns about crime have also been increasing since February and the issue is now at the greatest level of concern recorded since surveying began in February 2018. 
• The government’s performance rating has stopped the steady decline it was experiencing since November 2020.  However, when respondents were asked which political party is the most capable of managing the issues, the National Party was seen as most capable of managing 4 of the top 5 issues.

More details in the full report.