Indian Weekender survey: Law and Order on top, housing follows closely
While all political parties have their own assessment of what they believe are the main issue for the electorate of Mt Roskill, Indian Weekender reached out to the community to know their major concerns that will determine votes in this by-elections.
40% of all respondents clearly identified law and order as their top priority in this election.
Housing was closely behind at 35% as the second most important issue for the Mt Roskill voters.
Surprisingly, public transport was at a distant third with nearly 12% of all respondents choosing as their main issue in this election.
The random survey was conducted by Indian Weekender team which met a sample size of 200 residents in the Mt Roskill area at different locations to know their opinion on the main issues dominating the by-elections.
The team visited different parts of Mt Roskill including Royal Oak Mall, a popular Asian vegetable shop, an Indian food mart and grocery stores, and met people from different ethnicities. Mt Roskill is one of the most ethnically diverse constituencies where more than 45% of current residents were born overseas. It is also known as New Zealand's Bible Belt despite having a large chunk of people of Chinese and Indian descent, where Christianity is not a major religion.
The respondents were allowed to choose the main issue from four options—law and order, public transport, housing, and general economic environment.
Despite a small size of the survey and an acceptable level of margin of error in the projections made from it, there were some interesting revelations.
Law and order was an equal concern if not more for the section of electorate traditionally identified as European—whites, in comparison to the people of Asian or Indian descent, as is commonly perceived.
"Mt Roskill is shadowed by crime, every now and then a local convenience store is robbed at gunpoint for some cash and cigarettes. This is a matter of huge concern and should be addressed with absolute urgency by the political leaders and the police," said Bruce Scott, a Hillsborough resident.
Interestingly, a significant number of ethnic migrant residents who identified law and order as their primary issue in this by-election did not intend to vote.
There was a separate question added to the survey asking how likely the residents were to vote in this by-election.
In response to this, a large number of residents who initially responded that they are not likely to vote, later identified law and order as their primary concern. Clearly signalling that the contestants relying purely on migrant voters on the law and order issue may fall short of their expectations.
Equally, candidates ignoring the law and order issue as an appendage of 'new' immigrants within the community may have to do their homework better.
Housing has a clear lead over the public transport—another pain area for an average Aucklander—as the next priority issue in the Mt Roskill elections.
This may suggest that the politics of Auckland light rail, as it dominated the political space in the last few days, may be purely off the mark.
For Mt Roskill electorate it may be substantial but not urgent.
"I think housing is a big concern in the Mt Roskill area. More apartments should come up to accommodate increasing population in the area," says Elakkiya Prabhakan, a Dominion Road resident.
Another interesting revelation of this survey was that the Chinese-New Zealander community, despite having a public perception of being rich overseas investors, has a concern about the rising housing prices.
The image of Mt Roskill as a culturally diverse place in New Zealand, which offered every hardworking resident a chance, regardless of their origin, culture, nationality, or ethnicity to start a new life in New Zealand and fulfill a kiwi-dream, is seriously at risk because of rising housing prices.
Importantly, only 15% of all respondents acknowledged having already made up their mind for whom to vote, thus leaving an ample room for the contestants and political parties to work upon.
The trajectory of our survey and the visible positioning of all the key and newly formed political parties suggest that there is a gap in their electoral campaigning.
A smart recalibrating of electoral campaigns for all players in the fray is in the order.
While all political parties have their own assessment of what they believe are the main issue for the electorate of Mt Roskill, Indian Weekender reached out to the community to know their major concerns that will determine votes in this by-elections.
40% of all respondents clearly identified law...
While all political parties have their own assessment of what they believe are the main issue for the electorate of Mt Roskill, Indian Weekender reached out to the community to know their major concerns that will determine votes in this by-elections.
40% of all respondents clearly identified law and order as their top priority in this election.
Housing was closely behind at 35% as the second most important issue for the Mt Roskill voters.
Surprisingly, public transport was at a distant third with nearly 12% of all respondents choosing as their main issue in this election.
The random survey was conducted by Indian Weekender team which met a sample size of 200 residents in the Mt Roskill area at different locations to know their opinion on the main issues dominating the by-elections.
The team visited different parts of Mt Roskill including Royal Oak Mall, a popular Asian vegetable shop, an Indian food mart and grocery stores, and met people from different ethnicities. Mt Roskill is one of the most ethnically diverse constituencies where more than 45% of current residents were born overseas. It is also known as New Zealand's Bible Belt despite having a large chunk of people of Chinese and Indian descent, where Christianity is not a major religion.
The respondents were allowed to choose the main issue from four options—law and order, public transport, housing, and general economic environment.
Despite a small size of the survey and an acceptable level of margin of error in the projections made from it, there were some interesting revelations.
Law and order was an equal concern if not more for the section of electorate traditionally identified as European—whites, in comparison to the people of Asian or Indian descent, as is commonly perceived.
"Mt Roskill is shadowed by crime, every now and then a local convenience store is robbed at gunpoint for some cash and cigarettes. This is a matter of huge concern and should be addressed with absolute urgency by the political leaders and the police," said Bruce Scott, a Hillsborough resident.
Interestingly, a significant number of ethnic migrant residents who identified law and order as their primary issue in this by-election did not intend to vote.
There was a separate question added to the survey asking how likely the residents were to vote in this by-election.
In response to this, a large number of residents who initially responded that they are not likely to vote, later identified law and order as their primary concern. Clearly signalling that the contestants relying purely on migrant voters on the law and order issue may fall short of their expectations.
Equally, candidates ignoring the law and order issue as an appendage of 'new' immigrants within the community may have to do their homework better.
Housing has a clear lead over the public transport—another pain area for an average Aucklander—as the next priority issue in the Mt Roskill elections.
This may suggest that the politics of Auckland light rail, as it dominated the political space in the last few days, may be purely off the mark.
For Mt Roskill electorate it may be substantial but not urgent.
"I think housing is a big concern in the Mt Roskill area. More apartments should come up to accommodate increasing population in the area," says Elakkiya Prabhakan, a Dominion Road resident.
Another interesting revelation of this survey was that the Chinese-New Zealander community, despite having a public perception of being rich overseas investors, has a concern about the rising housing prices.
The image of Mt Roskill as a culturally diverse place in New Zealand, which offered every hardworking resident a chance, regardless of their origin, culture, nationality, or ethnicity to start a new life in New Zealand and fulfill a kiwi-dream, is seriously at risk because of rising housing prices.
Importantly, only 15% of all respondents acknowledged having already made up their mind for whom to vote, thus leaving an ample room for the contestants and political parties to work upon.
The trajectory of our survey and the visible positioning of all the key and newly formed political parties suggest that there is a gap in their electoral campaigning.
A smart recalibrating of electoral campaigns for all players in the fray is in the order.
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