te pu-rongo oranga tangata 2006

2006the socialreport

te pu- rongo oranga tangata2006

indicators of social wellbeing in New Zealand

TH E SOCIA L R E PO RT 2006 �

1 Ministerial Foreword

2 ChieF exeCutive’s PreFaCe

3 introduCtion

11 PeoPle

20 health

22 Healthexpectancy24 Lifeexpectancy26 Suicide28 Cigarettesmoking30 Obesity

32 Knowledge and sKills

34 Participationinearlychildhoodeducation

36 Schoolleaverswithhigherqualifications38 Participationintertiaryeducation40 Educationalattainmentoftheadult

population42 AdultliteracyskillsinEnglish

Contents44 PAID WORK 46 Unemployment48 Employment50 Medianhourlyearnings52 Workplaceinjuryclaims54 Satisfactionwithwork-lifebalance

56 eConoMiC standard oF living

58 Marketincomeperperson60 Incomeinequality62 Populationwithlowincomes64 Populationwithlowlivingstandards66 Housingaffordability68 Householdcrowding

70 Civil and PolitiCal rights 72 Voterturnout74 Representationofwomeningovernment76 Perceiveddiscrimination78 Perceivedcorruption

80 Cultural identitY

82 LocalcontentprogrammingonNewZealandtelevision

84 Mäorilanguagespeakers86 Languageretention

88 leisure and reCreation

90 Satisfactionwithleisuretime92 Participationinsportandactiveleisure94 Participationinculturalandarts

activities

96 PhYsiCal environMent

98 Airquality100 Drinkingwaterquality

102 saFetY 104 Intentionalinjurychildmortality106 Criminalvictimisation108 Perceptionsofsafety110 Roadcasualties

112 soCial ConneCtedness

114 Telephoneandinternetaccessinthehome116 Regularcontactwithfamily/friends118 Trustinothers120 Loneliness122 Contactbetweenyoungpeopleand

theirparents

124 ConClusion

139 BiBliograPhY

144 aPPendix 1 ChangestoThe Social Report 2006

146 aPPendix 2 Technicaldetails

164 endnotes

TH E SOCIA L R E PO RT 2006 �

The Government welcomes the publication of the fifth report charting

changes in New Zealanders’ social wellbeing and quality of life.

The Social Report 2006 is rich with information about what matters

for New Zealanders – the things that make a difference to our lives.

TheGovernmenthasthreeprioritiesforthenextdecade:economictransformation,families–youngandold,andnationalidentity.Economictransformationisaboutcreatingaknowledge-basedhigh-incomeeconomythathasopportunitiesforeveryone.Families–youngandoldisaboutsupportingfamiliestobestrongandsafefortheirmembers.NationalidentityisaboutallNewZealanderstakingprideinwhoweare.

Thisyear’ssocialreportshowstheprogresswe’remakingtowardsthesethemes:agrowingeconomy,withitspositiveimpactonunemployment,incomesandlivingstandards;gainsinhealthandeducation;prideinourrichcultureanduniqueidentity;protectionofourenvironment;improvedsafetyatworkandelsewhere;enjoymentofsportandactiveleisure;andbuildinganationfromanincreasinglydiversepopulation.

The Social Report 2006looksathowNewZealandershavefaredoverthepast20years,andshowsthatwe’reenjoyingimprovedwellbeing.AlthoughtherearestilldisparitiesbetweenEuropeansandotherethnicities,thereportshowsrealgainsfortheseothergroups.WorkingforFamilieswillfurtherimprovethecircumstancesoflowandmiddleincomefamiliesoverthenextfewyears.

Theinclusionofregionalandterritorialauthoritylevelindicatorsinlastyear’ssocialreportexpandeditsusefulnessfororganisationsthatfocusonlocalissues,particularlycouncils.I’mpleasedtoseethatthisinformationhasbeenupdatedandexpandedthisyear.Thisisvaluableinformationforlocalcouncils’communityoutcomesprocessesaswellasforlocalorganisationswantingmorerelevantinformationfortheirplanningandmonitoring.

ThisGovernmentknowsthateconomicandsocialwellbeingareequallyimportant.Astrongeconomywilldeliverthelivingstandards,servicesandqualityoflifethatpeopledeserve.Inturn,astrongeconomyrequireshealthy,welleducatedandhighlymotivatedpeople.Ilookforwardtoseeingourcontinuedprogressreflectedinfuturesocialreports.

David Benson-PopeMinisterforSocialDevelopmentandEmployment

Ministerial Foreword

2 TH E SOCIA L R E PO RT 2006 TH E SOCIA L R E PO RT 2006 �

Chief Executive’s Preface

The Social Report 2006 is a vital resource of information for social

development. It presents a comprehensive picture of New Zealanders’

social and economic wellbeing, and shows how social conditions are

changing over time.

Eachyear,thesocialreportdrawstogetherinformationfromacrossthesocialsectortochartNewZealanders’progressinareaslikeemployment,health,education,andincome.Producingasocialreporteachyearenablesustomonitorsocialchangesandtrends,andrespondtoproblemsandopportunitiesastheyemerge.

Wearecontinuallyseekingtoimprovethevalueofthesocialreporttothethousandsoforganisationsandindividualswhouseit.Lastyearweincluded,forthefirsttime,significantinformationonregionalsocialwellbeing.Thisyearwe’veupdatedtheregionaldata,madeitavailableonthewebsitewww.socialreport.msd.govt.nzandwearepublishingitincompanionbookstoThe Social Report 2006.

Weregularlyreviewwhatwe’remeasuringandhowwemeasureit,toensurethatthesocialreportcontinuestoberelevantandusesthemostup-to-datedata.Thisyear,thesocialreportdrawstogetherdatafromtheearly1980stoprovideapictureofhowthesocialconditionsofNewZealanderstodaycomparewithconditionsbeforetheeconomicreformsofthe1980sand1990s.

ThehighqualityofThe Social Report 2006isduetothehardworkofmanyMinistryofSocialDevelopmentstaff,andthesupportandadvicewegetfromacrossthegovernmentandcommunitysectors.Sincethefirstsocialreportwaspublishedin2001,ithasmadeavaluablecontributiontoinformeddiscussionaboutnationalandregionalsocialpolicyandsocialdevelopment.IhopethatThe Social Report 2006willbeofgreatinterestandusetomanyreaders.

Peter HughesChiefExecutiveMinistryofSocialDevelopment


The Social Report 2006

Thesocialreportusesasetofstatisticalindicatorstomonitortrendsacross10“domains”,orareasofpeople’slives.TogetherthesedomainsprovideapictureofwellbeingandqualityoflifeinNewZealand.

The Social Report 2006isthefifthintheannualseries.ItbuildsonthesocialmonitoringframeworkfirstestablishedbyThe Social Report 2001andusesthesameoutcomedomainsandindicatorsaslastyear’sreport.Thisyear’sreportcontainsadditionalinformationontrendsinsocialwellbeingsincethemid-1980s.

Theregionalandterritorialauthorityinformationprovidedforthefirsttimelastyearhasbeenupdatedonthesocialreportwebsite(www.socialreport.msd.govt.nz).ThisregionalinformationhasalsobeenpublishedincompanionbookstoThe Social Report 2006(The Social Report 2006 Regional Indicators).Thisyear,inadditiontoprovidingthemostrecentdataforregionsandterritorialauthorities,wehaveincludedtimeseriesinformationwhereitisavailable.Thiswillallowcouncilsandothersworkinglocallytoassessprogressovertimeandtocomparethemselveswithotherregions.Theregionalinformationhasbecomeacorepartofthesocialreportandwillcontinuetobeupdatedregularly.

Purpose of the social report

Thesocialreporthasfourkeyaims:

toprovideandmonitorovertimemeasuresofwellbeingandqualityoflifethatcomplementexistingeconomicandenvironmentalindicators

tocompareNewZealandwithothercountriesonmeasuresofwellbeing

toprovidegreatertransparencyingovernmentandtocontributetobetterinformedpublicdebate

tohelpidentifykeyissuesandareaswhereweneedtotakeaction,whichcaninturnhelpwithplanninganddecisionmaking.

ThereportenablesustoexaminethecurrentlevelofwellbeinginNewZealand,howthishaschangedovertime,andhowdifferentgroupsinthepopulationarefaring.Ithelpsustoidentifyadversetrendsinsocialoutcomesatanearlystage.Whilethereportcannotalwaysilluminatewhatisdrivingthesetrends,itcanpointtotheneedforfurtherresearchtounderstandwhatishappeningandwhatactionsneedtobetakentoaddressthem.

Governmentpolicy,aswellasindividuals,families,communities,businessesandinternationalfactors,influencetheoutcomeswereporton.Thecross-cuttingnatureofmanysocialissuesmeansthesocialreportisnotatoolforevaluatingtheeffectivenessofspecificgovernmentpolicies.

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Introduction

The social report is an annual publication that monitors the wellbeing of New Zealanders


Social wellbeing

TogetasenseofthelevelofwellbeinginNewZealandandhowithaschangedovertime,wefirstneedtoidentifywhatismeantbythenotionofwellbeing.

“Wellbeing”,inthecontextofthisreport,meansthoseaspectsoflifethatsocietycollectivelyagreesareimportantforaperson’shappiness,qualityoflifeandwelfare.

ManyoftheconstituentcomponentsofwellbeingwillbecommontoallNewZealanders.Forexample,ProfessorMasonDurie,AssistantVice-Chancellor(Mäori)andProfessorofMäoriResearchandDevelopment,MasseyUniversity,hasnotedthatimportantoutcomesforMäoriarelikelytoincludeoutcomesrelevanttotherestofsocietysuchasgoodhealthandahighstandardofliving.1However,theneedsandaspirationsofdifferentpeopleandcommunitieswillalsovaryinimportantways.Forexample,forpeoplewhogetcomfortandstrengthfromtheirreligion,animportantoutcomecouldbespiritualwellbeing,andthismightmeanhavingaccesstoaplaceofworship.Thesocialreportfocusesonthoseaspectsofwellbeingmostpeopleholdincommon.

TheNewZealandRoyalCommissiononSocialPolicy(1988)isausefulsourceofresearchonwhatNewZealandersagreeconstituteswellbeingandadecentqualityoflife.TheCommissionconcludedthat:

[New Zealanders] have said that they need a sound base of material support including housing, health, education and worthwhile work. A good society is one which allows people to be heard, to have a say in their future, and choices in life ... [they] value an atmosphere of community responsibility and an environment of security. For them, social wellbeing includes that sense of belonging that affirms their dignity and identity and allows them to function in their everyday roles.2

The Social Report 2006identifies10discretecomponentsofwellbeing.Werefertothesecomponentsas“desiredsocialoutcomes”,andthesearelistedinTableIN1onpages8and9.NineofthesedomainswereusedintheprototypeThe Social Report 2001.Anumberofchangesweremadetothesedomainsinsubsequentreportsasaresultofstakeholderconsultationonthecontentofthereportin2002.Themostsignificantamendmentwastheadditionofanewleisureandrecreationdomaininthe2004report.Wehavenotmadeanychangesthisyeartotheoutcomesframework.

Theoutcomedomainsareinterconnected.Doingwellorpoorlyinonedomainisoftenlikelytoimpactuponperformanceinanotheroutcomedomain.Forexample,participationinleisureandrecreationisagoodthinginitself,butitmayalsoleadtoimprovedphysicalandmentalhealth,andbettersocialnetworks.

Social wellbeing comprises those aspects of life we care about as a society


Social indicators

Socialindicatorsaresignpoststhathelpmeasureprogresstowardsadesiredoutcome.Indicatorsarechosenbecausetheymeasuretheoutcomeofinterestdirectly(forexample,theunemploymentrateinthePaidWorkdomain)orbecausetheyareknowntobeagoodpredictorof,orareassociatedwith,thatoutcome(forexample,smokingintheHealthdomain).

Theuseofsocialindicatorsmeanswecanmeasuretrendsovertimebycompressingthesizeablebodyofstatisticalinformationinanoutcomedomaintoafewhigh-levelmeasures.Forexample,weusefiveindicatorstorepresentthedesiredoutcomesintheKnowledgeandSkillsdomain.ThoughtheindicatorsdonotdescribethestateofknowledgeandskillacquisitioninNewZealandindetail,theyprovideimportantsummaryinformationonoutcomesinthatdomain(forexample,educationalattainmentoftheadultpopulation)ortheyactaskeypredictorsoffutureoutcomes(forexample,participationinearlychildhoodeducation).

Oneofthekeyfeaturesofasocialindicatoristhatanychangecanbeinterpretedasprogresstowards,oramovementawayfrom,thedesiredoutcome.Thisdistinguishessocialindicatorsfromsomesocialstatisticsthatcannotbeinterpretedinthisway.Forexample,whileachangeintheaverageageatwhichNewZealandwomengivebirthtotheirfirstchildisanimportantsocialstatistic,itcannotbesaidtobenecessarily“good”or“bad”forsocialwellbeing.

Indicatorshavebeenselectedagainstthefollowingcriteria,firstestablishedinThe Social Report 2001:

relevant to the social outcome of interest–theindicatorshouldbethemostaccuratestatisticformeasuringboththelevelandextentofchangeinthesocialoutcomeofinterest,anditshouldadequatelyreflectwhatitisintendedtomeasure

based on broad support–ideallythereshouldbewidesupportfortheindicatorschosensotheywillnotbechangedregularly

grounded in research–thereshouldbesoundevidenceonkeyinfluencesandfactorsaffectingoutcomes

able to be disaggregated–itshouldbepossibletobreakthedatadownbyage,sex,socio-economicstatus,ethnicity,regionand,wherepossible,totheindividual(orsmallestgrouppossible),sowecancompareoutcomesfordifferentgroups

consistent over time–theusefulnessofindicatorsisrelateddirectlytotheabilitytotracktrendsovertime,soindicatorsshouldbeconsistentovertime

statistically sound–themeasurementofindicatorsneedstobemethodologicallyrigorous

timely–dataneedstobecollectedandreportedregularlyandfrequentlytoensurethatindicatorsareprovidingup-to-dateinformation

allow international comparisons–aswellasreflectingthesocialgoalsofNewZealanders,indicatorsneedtobeconsistentwiththoseusedininternationalprogrammessowecanmakecomparisons.

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Progress towards the desired outcomes within each domain is measured using a set of social indicators


Assomeindicatorsperformwellagainstsomecriteriaandpoorlyagainstothers,trade-offsarenecessary.Forexample,webasemostoftheEconomicStandardofLivingindicatorsonHouseholdEconomicSurveydata,ratherthandatafromtheIncomeSupplementSurveyoftheHouseholdLabourForceSurvey.Wedothisbecauseitprovidesamoreaccuratemeasureofannualincomeandishenceamorerelevantindicatortotheoutcomeofinterest.Asaresult,however,weareonlyabletoupdatetheseindicatorseverythreeyearsratherthaneveryyear,andthesamplesizeissmaller.

Insomeoutcomedomains,suchasHealth,thereisanabundanceofgooddatafromwhichtodrawappropriateindicators.Inotheroutcomedomains,inparticularPhysicalEnvironmentandCulturalIdentity,thereislessgood-quality,relevantdataavailable,resultinginfewerindicatorsinthesedomains.

Disaggregation of social report indicators

Ideally,itwouldbepossibletobreakdowneachindicatorbysub-populationsofinterest,suchasage,sex,ethnicity,socio-economicstatus,disabilitystatusandregionalandlocalauthority.Mostindicatorscanbebrokendownbysexandethnicity.3However,themajorityoftheindicatorsrelyondatasourcesthatdonotallowustodisaggregatebysocio-economicstatusordisabilitystatusbecausethistypeofinformationisnotcollected,orsamplesizesaretoosmalltoallowthisformofdisaggregation.

Forsomeindicators(egunemploymentandemployment)detaileddisaggregationsarepossible.However,thetwo-pageformatforeachindicatorinthereportprecludestheinclusionofmoreinformationthaniscurrentlyprovided.

Thereisanincreasingdemandforinformationonsocialwellbeingataregionalandlocalauthoritylevel.ThislargelyresultsfromtheintroductionoftheLocalGovernmentAct2002,whichrequiresregionalandlocalauthoritiestomonitorcommunityoutcomes.Inresponsetothisdemand,lastyearwedisaggregatedthosesocialreportindicatorsforwhichtherewassubnationaldatatoregionalandterritorialauthorityboundaries.Thisinformationwasintendedtohelplocalauthoritiesidentifyareasofcomparativestrengthandweaknesswithintheircommunities,aswellastoassistcentralgovernmentagenciesintheirworkatalocallevel.

Wehaveupdatedtheseindicatorsthisyearwheremorerecentdataisavailableandwehaveaddedsomenewindicators.Wehavealsoprovidedtimeseriesinformationwherehistoricaldataisavailable.Theregionalandlocalauthorityindicatorsareintheregionalsectionofthesocialreportwebsite(www.socialreport.msd.govt.nz).Informationforthe16regionsonlyisalsoavailableinhardcopybooksthatcomplementthesocialreport.

Data limitations restrict the extent of disaggregation


Indicators for The Social Report 2006

Therehavebeennomajorchangestotheindicatorsoroutcomedomainsinthisyear’sreport.However,weareusingarevisedmeasureofparticipationinsportandactiveleisuretoreflectSportandRecreationNewZealand’s2005continuousmonitoring.WehaveaddedMäoriandPrimetelevisiondatatotheindicatoroflocalcontentprogrammingonNewZealandtelevision.Becausewearenolongerabletoobtaininformationonparticipationinfamily/whänauactivities,thesecondindicatorintheSocialConnectednessdomainmeasuresonlyregularcontactwithfamily/friends.WehavereorderedtheindicatorsintheKnowledgeandSkillsdomain,toreflecttypicallearningpatternsthroughaperson’slife.Wehavealsoredefinedthedrinkingwaterqualityindicatortomeasurethetotalpopulationreceivingcompliantwater.AfullsummaryofthechangesisprovidedinAppendix1.

Twenty-fiveofthe42indicatorsinthereporthavebeenupdatedthisyear.Thosethathavenotbeenupdatedareeitherbasedonsurveysthatarenotrepeatedannuallyornewdatawasnotavailableintimeforittobeincludedinthisreport.

TheindicatorsforThe Social Report 2006aresetoutonthefollowingpages.Theindicatorsthathavebeenupdatedarehighlightedinbold.TechnicaldetailsaboutindicatorconstructionareinAppendix2.

There are 42 indicators in this year’s report

� TH E SOCIA L R E PO RT 2006 TH E SOCIA L R E PO RT 2006 �

Table IN1 The Social Report 2006 outcome domains and indicators (updated indicators in bold)

Health

desired outCoMe stateMent indiCators

everybody has the opportunity to enjoy a long and healthy life. avoidable deaths, disease, and injuries are prevented. everybody has the ability to function, participate and live independently or appropriately supported in society.

1. health expectancy 2. Life expectancy 3. Suicide 4. Cigarette smoking 5. obesity

Knowledge and Skills


everybody has the knowledge and skills needed to participate fully in society. lifelong learning and education are valued and supported.

6. Participation in early childhood education

7. School leavers with higher qualifications

8. Participation in tertiary education 9. Educational attainment of the adult

population10. adult literacy skills in english

Paid Work


everybody has access to meaningful, rewarding and safe employment. an appropriate balance is maintained between paid work and other aspects of life.0

11. Unemployment12. Employment13. Median hourly earnings14. Workplace injury claims15. satisfaction with work-life balance

Economic Standard of Living


new Zealand is a prosperous society, reflecting the value of both paid and unpaid work. everybody has access to an adequate income and decent, affordable housing that meets their needs. with an adequate standard of living, people are well-placed to participate fully in society and to exercise choice about how to live their lives.

16. Market income per person17. income inequality18. Population with low incomes19. Population with low living standards20. housing affordability21. household crowding

Civil and Political Rights


everybody enjoys civil and political rights. Mechanisms to regulate and arbitrate people’s rights in respect of each other are trustworthy.

22. Voter turnout23. Representation of women

in government24. Perceived discrimination25. Perceived corruption

� TH E SOCIA L R E PO RT 2006 TH E SOCIA L R E PO RT 2006 �

Cultural Identity


new Zealanders share a strong national identity, have a sense of belonging and value cultural diversity. everybody is able to pass their cultural traditions on to future generations. Ma-ori culture is valued and protected.

26. Local content programming on New Zealand television

27. Ma-ori language speakers28. language retention

Leisure and Recreation


everybody is satisfied with their participation in leisure and recreation activities. they have sufficient time to do what they want to do and can access an adequate range of opportunities for leisure and recreation.

29. satisfaction with leisure time30. Participation in sport and active

leisure31. Participation in cultural and arts activities

Physical Environment


the natural and built environment in which people live is clean, healthy and beautiful. everybody is able to access natural areas and public spaces.

32. Air quality33. Drinking water quality

Safety


everybody enjoys physical safety and feels secure. People are free from victimisation, abuse, violence and avoidable injury.

34. Intentional injury child mortality35. Criminal victimisation36. Perceptions of safety37. Road casualties

Social Connectedness


People enjoy constructive relationships with others in their families, wha-nau, communities, iwi and workplaces. Families support and nurture those in need of care. new Zealand is an inclusive society where people are able to access information and support.

38. Telephone and internet access in the home

39. Regular contact with family/friends40. trust in others41. loneliness42. Contact between young people and

their parents

�0 TH E SOCIA L R E PO RT 2006 TH E SOCIA L R E PO RT 2006 ��

Structure of the report

Theremainderofthisreportisdividedintothreesections.Thefirst,thePeoplesection,providesbackgroundandcontextualinformationonthesizeandcompositionoftheNewZealandpopulation.

Thesecondsectionisthecoreofthereportandisorganisedaroundthe10outcomedomainslistedearlier.Theoutcomedomainscontainatwo-pagesummaryofeachindicator.

Thefinalsection,theConclusion,looksacrossthereportandsummariseshowsocialwellbeinghaschangedovertimeandhowdifferentpopulationsubgroupsarefaring.

The future

StatisticsNewZealandhasledamajorreviewofitssocialsurveyprogrammethatshould,inthelongterm,leadtothemoreregularcollectionofawidersetofsocialstatistics.StatisticsNewZealandisalsoleadingthe“LinkedIndicators”project,oneoftheaimsofwhichistoidentifyacommonsetofindicatorsacrossthesocial,economic,environmentalandculturaldomains.ProgressonthisworkcanbefoundontheStatisticsNewZealandwebsitewww.stats.govt.nz.StatisticsNewZealandisalsodevelopingacomplementarysetofmoredetailedindicatorstargetedatcommunityoutcomes.Thesewillalsobeavailableonthewebsite.

TheMinistryofSocialDevelopmentislookingatwaystocontinuetomakethesocialreportmoreusefulatasubnationallevel.Aswellasprovidingsubnationaldisaggregationsofsocialreportindicatorsonthesocialreportwebsite,weareworkingwiththe“BigCities”grouptoimprovethealignmentofoutcomesandindicatorsofsocialwellbeingatanationalandsubnationallevel.4

Aspreviouslynoted,wecurrentlyproducethesocialreportonanannualbasis.Wewillcontinuetorefinethedesiredsocialoutcomesandindicators,andwewelcomeyourfeedbackandsuggestionsastohowyouthinkthismightbedone.Commentscanbemadeto:

TheSocialReportProjectManagerMinistryofSocialDevelopmentPOBox1556Wellington6140NewZealand

email:[email protected]

A comprehensive social statistics programme will enable us to develop new indicators and to update more of the current set of indicators annually

te pu-rongo oranga tangata 2006

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