RODNEY HIDE: The watchdog comes last

I am grateful for Family First's Bob McCoskrie drawing my attention on X to a shocking result on the just released Quality of Life survey. The survey asked city residents how much they trust New Zealand’s institutions. Police came first. Then the schools, the hospitals, the courts. Then local government. Then Wellington.

Last was the media.

In 2026, across seven cities, 31% said they trusted central government. 27% trusted the media. More people actively distrusted the press (45%) than distrusted the Beehive (43%). Local councils beat both.

That is Ipsos, paid for by the councils, surveying 5,725 adults from March to May this year. The same question in 2024, first time they asked it, already had the media at 27% and the government at 28%. Two surveys. The bottom of the table was the same.

The questions were not a trick. “How much do you trust the following institutions in Aotearoa New Zealand?” Scale of one to seven, even if you have had little contact. For Wellington they spelled it out: Members of Parliament, government departments. For the council: your local council and councillors. For the media they just said “the media.” No newspaper, no TVNZ, no RNZ, no Facebook. The lump.

So the public was invited to rate the watchdog against the thing it is supposed to watch. The watchdog lost.

A press that is trusted less than the government cannot hold the government to account. It can only lecture. People who have already decided you are not straight with them do not take your word on the Prime Minister.

Tauranga is already there: one in five trusts the media. More than half do not. That is not a vibe from a talkback caller. That is the official city survey.

They will say the public has become cynical. The numbers say the public has been paying attention. If the press wants the job back, it could start by noticing it has already lost it.

Rodney Hide is a former Minister and ACT Party leader