Civic Engagement

The figure shows that less than one quarter of Christchurch City respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they had enough say in the actions of central and local government agencies. For the Selwyn and Waimakariri districts, around 30 percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they had enough say in central and local government agencies’ actions in 2019 (30.9 percent in Selwyn District; 29.4 percent in Waimakariri District). The difference between Christchurch City and Selwyn and Waimakariri districts is statistically significant in 2019.

The figure shows that just under one quarter of European and Māori respondents to the 2019 Canterbury Wellbeing Survey agreed or strongly agreed that they are able to have enough say in the actions of central and local government agencies. In 2019, almost 35 percent of Pacific/Indian/Asian respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they were able to have enough say. The proportion for European respondents is statistically significantly lower than that for Pacific/Asian/Indian respondents in 2019.

The figure shows an overall picture of increasing satisfaction with influence on central and local government agencies with increasing age. In 2019, the difference between the 25 to 34 years age group and the 75+ years age group (19.9 percent and 30.8 percent, respectively) was statistically significant. There are no statistically significant changes in the proportions for each age group between 2018 and 2019.

The figure shows that a similar proportion of female and male respondents agreed or strongly agreed they are able to have enough say in what central and local government agencies do in 2018 and 2019 (in 2019, females 25.9 percent; males 23.9 percent).

The figure shows in 2019, all income groups with the exception of the $60,0001-$100,000 group, had just over a quarter of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing they are able to have enough say in what central and local government agencies do. The $60,0001-$100,000 income group showed a non-significant decrease of around 4 percentage points between 2018 and 2019, with 22.3 percent of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing they are able to have enough say in what central and local government agencies do in 2019.   The differences between income groups are not statistically significant at either timepoint.

The figure shows that a lower proportion of respondents with a long-term health condition or disability agreed or strongly agreed they are able to have enough say in the actions of central and local government agencies in 2018 and 2019 (in 2019, 21.8 percent compared to 25.7 percent of those without a long-term health condition or disability). However, this difference is not statistically significant.