Canterbury people more concerned about climate change than rest of New Zealand
Canterbury residents are more concerned about climate change than the rest of New Zealand, a new Stuff survey has revealed. The NowNext survey asked more than 5500 New Zealanders about their major concerns over two weeks in August. The results were weighted to reflect national age, gender and location demographics. The online survey found 42% of Cantabrians were concerned about climate change, compared to 34% of people nationally. Canterbury residents were also more concerned about access to good healthcare, with 39% in the region rating the issue compared to 34% nationally. But Canterbury was less concerned than the rest of New Zealand about housing affordability (45% of Cantabrians were concerned about this compared to 52% nationally) traffic (24% locally and 34% nationally), and crime (17% locally and 27% nationally). READ MORE: * Recycling may be a gateway to more meaningful climate action * The Timaru Report: The health of the district with an ageing population * Climate change: Kiwis happy with government action but keen for more Canterbury people are also more likely to stay in their region than the rest of New Zealand. About 16% of respondents in Canterbury said they planned to leave the region in the next five years, compared to 24% nationally. Nationally, the survey found 49% of people described themselves as happy. But the number of people who said they were unhappy had grown from 12% in June to 20% in August. People in Hawkes Bay and Nelson were the happiest, with 64% of people in Nelson and 60% in Hawkes Bay describing themselves as happy. In Canterbury, 55% of people said they were happy, which is higher than the national level. Auckland was the least happiest region, with just 40% of people saying they were happy. Nationally, the biggest concerns were the cost of living, which 62% of people named as a worry, housing affordability at 52% and climate change at 34%.