PRESS RELEASE
Orewa, 19 February 2007

Rodney residents have highest quality of life in New Zealand

Overall perceptions of quality of life in Rodney District are higher than anywhere else in the country according to a national Quality of Life survey of New Zealanders

Rodney residents also rated their overall health as the highest in New Zealand and had some of the highest levels of emotional wellbeing and satisfaction with life. Stress levels were lower than anywhere else in NZ. љ

The Quality of Life survey measures and evaluates the perceptions of overall quality of life for 12 local authorities in New Zealand.љ The purpose of the survey is to give councils and national agencies information that will enable to them to actively improve the quality of life that people experience.љљ

The survey covered health and well-being, community, crime and safety, education and work, the built environment, culture and identity and democracy.

Other results for Rodney included the perception that there is the lowest presence of unsafe people in the community and the highest involvement in community or voluntary groups. They also had the highest rating for a sense of community with others.

Not surprisingly Rodney residents appear to be the most satisfied in the country with their work/life balance and the amount of free time they enjoy.

Despite the rich quality of life, perceptions were low around our cultural diversity and arts, there was less pride in the look and feel of our towns and villages and Rodney residents had the lowest score in the country for accessibility to public transport.

The scores around understanding the Council processes were also low, yet Rodney had one of the highest scores around people wanting to have more of a say in what their Council did. Residents also had the least confidence in their Council’s decision making processes.

This is the third time the survey has been undertaken since 1999 and this year included councils from:
* Auckland
* Waitakere
* Manukau
* North Shore
* Rodney
* Hamilton
* Tauranga
* Porirua
* Lower Hutt
* Wellington
* Christchurch
* Dunedin

The survey is jointly funded by participating councils and the Ministry of Social Development.љ
The respondents were selected from electoral rolls and interviewed between July and November 2006 by an independent research company TNS.

ENDS

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