MEDIA RELEASE

Councils rate well in public sector survey
For immediate release on 8 April 2008

Public satisfaction with local government is high according to The Kiwis Count Survey - New Zealand’s first ever satisfaction survey of public services.

“We’re pleased to see that the public is satisfied with the services provided by local government”, said Local Government New Zealand President Basil Morrison.

Local government was rated highly for staff competency and staff keeping their promises, with 76% and 73% respectively.

“It’s great to see that council staff, the face of our libraries, rubbish, and roading services were rated highly by the public. It shows that council staff are committed to helping members of their community and are making a positive difference.”

Local government scored a total satisfaction rating of 73%, compared to 68% satisfaction across all public services.

“The higher rating reinforces the role of councils in benefiting communities through highly maintained roads, efficient rubbish and recycling services and world-class libraries,” said Mr Morrison.

“It’s encouraging that local government scored the second highest rating for spending tax money carefully by having good value for money services. Rates are a core responsibility for councils and these results show that the public views local government as being good financial managers, competent and people focused,” said Mr Morrison.

Public Satisfaction with Service Quality 2007: The Kiwis Count Survey asked 6,500 New Zealanders what they thought of government services. Kiwis Count is based on the Canadian government's Citizen's First survey, a programme that has been running since 1998. It is part of a larger research programme that was launched by State Services Commission in 2006.

ENDS

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