Eroding Trust: how democratic deficits have undermined the public’s confidence

Authors

  • Stephanie Worboys

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26686/pq.v20i3.9557

Keywords:

political trust, democracy, parliamentary urgency, unicameral, Bill of Rights Act 1990

Abstract

While political trust has declined in democracies the world over for several decades, New Zealand historically defied this trend. However, since 2021, New Zealand’s political trust has also been on the decline. According to the Acumen Edelman Trust Barometer 2024, it now sits below the global average. This article explores the decline in political trust in New Zealand and argues that placing limits on the use of parliamentary urgency is one action we can take to rebuild it. Constraining the use of urgency will not fix our trust problem outright, but it constitutes a good place to start.

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Author Biography

Stephanie Worboys

Stephanie Worboys is the internship manager at the Maxim Institute in Auckland and has a PhD in public policy from Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington.

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Published

2024-08-19

Issue

Vol. 20 No. 3 (2024): Policy Quarterly

Section

Articles

License

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