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Who's trusting market research?

14 Jun 24 – Over the past two years, there has been a significant increase in the number of people across the globe who perceive the value of market research, both as consumers and citizens. This is according to new findings from the Global Research Business Network’s (GRBN)...
How many firearms in Kiwi households?

8 Aug 23 – The number of firearms New Zealanders have in their households isn't known. However, new research by Horizon is giving us some insights: It indicates nearly 390,00 adults have more than 1.177 million firearms. Since June 2023 the Government has also introduced a firearms...
A word on our political polling methods...

2 Aug 23 – An Aucklander with a keen intrest in political polls has been asking some questions about how Horizon conducts its voter surveys. Here's our response on June 2, 2023. It may answer some of his queries: Thanks for your queries...
What do the media do when 92% say they're twisting facts?

22 Apr 22 – By Graeme Colman. - If you were providing an information service which relies mostly on being impartial, accurate, first - and trusted - and 92% of New Zealander adults suspect you're spinning and twisting the facts, what would you do? Stop doing it, or at least move to...
Worries over our media

23 Jul 21 – New Zealand-specific data shows that its citizens are highly concerned about the state of journalism: 90% of respondents expressed worries about poor journalism and 95% were concerned about stories that may have a particular agenda. ...
News media junk polls live on

4 May 21 – Radio New Zealand's Mediawatch programme reports that news organisations often report the results of informal polls they carry out by embedding surveys in...
Addressing Kiwis' vaccine issues

17 Feb 21 – The Ministry of Health (MOH) held a panel discussion with media at 11 am 17 February, to discuss research results on New Zealanders’ attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccines. The panel considered ...
A week is a long time in politics...

6 Aug 20 – By Grant McInman, Manager, Horizon Research Horizon Research includes questions on voting from time to time in its surveys – for both forthcoming referenda and general elections. For general elections, we have a high interest in switching...
Maori stay strongly for cannabis reform

1 Jul 20 – Maori support for legalising the personal use of cannabis and controlling its use is consistently high. In March 2019 a special survey of Maori only for the THREE television programme The Hui, found 75% for...
The enduring euthanasia majority

8 Jan 20 – Across 7 years of Horizon Research polling on end of life choice, public support has never been below 63%. In fact, 63% was where it started in June 2012. It rose to 65% in May 2018. Since then it has been 70% or higher. ...
Turnout a key to referenda results

2 Dec 19 – The 2020 referendum on whether personal use of cannabis should be made legal will pit younger against older New Zealanders. Increasingly it also pits National and New Zealand First voters against Labour and Green ones. Horizon's ...
Who'll pay for news

25 Oct 19 – The country’s news organisations are struggling to make money from large online audiences. But if they have the right news products online - and dare to charge for them - maximum potential sales revenue, if every adult who says they'll buy does so - is more than $480...
Kiwis want a quick end to child poverty

19 Dec 18 – By Graeme Colman, Principal, Horizon Research A middle-aged man rode up to me in the supermarket carpark on a bicycle and asked for money to help feed his six- year-old boy. He said he hadn’t completed his benefit paperwork on...
KiwiSaver: what's needed

10 Sep 18 – The Financial Services Council has released a new report, ‘Shaping Futures: Closing the KiwiSaver Gap...
"Affordable house charade"

13 Jul 18 – Poltical and economic journalist Bernard Hickey has written in the NewsroomPro news service he edits that Horizon's survey on what New Zealandes think are affordable house prices shows up how much current KiwiBuild policy is a...
How polls help shape debate

4 Jul 18 – Changes to KiwiSaver reflect how HorizonPoll research - and listening to New Zealanders - has helped inform the debate. This time, it's been results exposing the gaps between current income and what's needed to live comfortably in retirement; support for changes to the...
How many doctors would help people to die?

24 May 18 – A submission to a Parliamentary Select Committee has cited Horizon Researh on how many doctors might help people end their lives, if this is made legal. Results of the research, conducted by Horizon among general pratitoners subscribing to New Zealand Doctor...
How our elderly are feeling

6 Dec 17 – Across the range of elderly interviewed in a Horizon study for the Financial Services Council, many told of what life is like. Here are some comments made,...
A Teal party partner for National?

8 Nov 17 – By Graeme Colman, Principal, Horizon Research Jacinda Ardern had been Labour leader just nine days when private polling gave the first glimpse of a scenario for 2020 few would have been thinking of. As...
How to get to 'yes' on fuel tax

26 Oct 17 – It seems not much is new about the way Aucklanders view a proposed fuel tax… The Herald is busy asking Aucklanders what they think of a 10c fuel levy in their region to help pay for transport projects. An unscientific Herald ...
Why book reading's important

29 Jul 17 – So nearly 400,000 New Zealand adults are not reading books. In an age when streaming movies, social and other media can consume a lot of our time, it's interesting that overall, 88% of adults, equivalent to around 2,804,900 New...
When conscience counts

19 Jun 17 – The assisted dying debate is heating up and Horizon’s polling indicates Members of Parliament will be on solid ground with large majorities of their voters if they support a law change. In the current survey...
Kiwis' advice to media owners

20 Feb 17 – Media executives and journalists will probably dislike reading this. And it may be interesting to see how many report it. But here are the unedited comments...
Why run a Mayoral poll?

14 Sep 16 – Derek Handley says why his charitable foundation commissioned Auckland Mayoral election polling... At the last general election I was really keen to get young voters engaged and backed the concept of the ...
Stiffling your views?

15 Jul 16 – This commentary is from The National Business Review, reporting on...
Bye cruel eggs?

14 Sep 15 – New Zealanders don't like the cruelty they believe is involved in producing caged eggs. Now McDonalds is responding here and in the United States to use only cage free eggs, according to ...
7 wasted years?

8 Sep 15 – While 1 in 10 of our school pupils is obese and 1 in 5 is over weight, 4 out of 10 schools are not running a healthy food programme. The New Zealand Herald has run these reaction...
Flexing housing muscle trouble for Govt?

6 May 15 – Do Aucklanders still want to decide the shape of their city, not central government? Housing Minister Nick Smith, in a story first broken by Radio NZ, has reminded...
How many are missing breakfast?

2 Apr 15 – Plenty of us are skipping breakfast. And it's making the news in the National Business Review which reports: The egg industry wants to increase breakfast-time...
Would New Zealanders give you a licence to operate?

16 Dec 14 – By Graeme Colman.- Sometimes a story about how we treat employees crashes through the media clutter – and reminds us how important it is to behave sustainably. That how we treat people...
PM's credibility problem

1 Sep 14 – Polling is confirming Prime Minister John Key has credibility issues regarding claims made in the Nicky Hager book "Dirty Politics". A Colmar-Brunton poll for TVNZ, results of which were ...
Now you can respond on mobile

23 Jun 14 – Horizon has introduced new technology - so you can now easily do surveys on your mobile phone. Survey questions appear clearly on smartphone screens - and you can swipe from screen to screen. The development anticipates even more people communicating...
Focus on younger votes

20 Jun 14 – Horizon polling on likely voter turnout is illustrating the urgency of some groups' efforts to have younger New Zealanders vote at the September 20 general election. ...
People with mortgages back compulsory KiwiSaver

21 May 14 – New Zealanders with a mortgage have even more enthusiasm for compulsory KiwiSaver than Kiwis generally, says Financial Services Council (FSC), CEO, Peter Neilson. In a ...
Policy makers finally hear message on party pill animal testing

6 May 14 – The Prime Minister on May 4 said his Government wouldn't allow psychoactive substances (party pills) to be tested on animals. The "firm no" to using animals for these tests was given in a HorizonPoll nationwide survey in April 2013. The lawmakers...
TV One viewers least interested in internet TV

17 Apr 14 – When it comes to who might be interested in using Telecom's proposed new internet television service, current viewers of TV One are least interested. The following table shows what channels (including YouTube and TVNZ On Demand) are being watched by the people who say they...
Who's a good egg?

13 Mar 14 – Horizon Research is a finalist in Business Good Egg award. The short list of NZ business organisations nominated as good business eggs has been carefully determined and final judging is now in the hands of community leaders. “The results so far...
Farming and environment survey reaction

10 Mar 14 – Federated Farmers and politicians have reacted to results of a Horizon Research survey on Farming and the envrionment. Commissioned by Fish and Game New Zealand the survey is attracting debate over what the dairy industry in particular should do in relation to enjoying...
8 million answers

19 Sep 13 – Some figures from the HorizonPoll database: At September 18, 2013, we had 8 million questions answered and had sent out of 1.5 million emails! To be heard through HorizonPoll you can sign up free in 19 seconds - and go into our quaterly...
What happened to Govt supporters in Auckland poll?

27 Jun 13 – HorizonPoll panel member, John, of Auckland writes after seeing poll results on how Aucklanders rate the Government’s performance on a range of issues: “Fascinating results for the poll into...
Polls line up against casino deal

27 Jun 13 – The latest Herald Digi Poll on the proposed deal to allow SkyCity Casino more pokie machines and other major concessions, in return for building a convention centre at Auckland, finds 61.5 per cent of those polled disapprove of the deal while 33.8 per cent approve. The ...
Why Kiwis won't swallow party pill tests on animals

22 Apr 13 – Why do 72.3% of adult New Zealanders want guidelines for or a ban on party pill testing? These comments represent the range of views expressed for and against in a HorizonPoll surve...
USA v NZ smartphone use

5 Apr 13 – New research in the United States demonstrates a significant shift in how consumers are accessing the Internet. Its findings mirror Horizon's which show smartphone use is now higher than use of standard...
Comfortable old age: what's needed

2 Apr 13 – Horizon polling on what New Zealanders regard as a comfortable retirement income is under pinning some of the discusssion on future policy. The Herald has published this opinion...
58% back higher KiwiSaver payments

1 Apr 13 – A majority of New Zealanders (58 per cent) support the Government’s move to increase the minimum KiwiSaver contribution rate by 1 per cent from April 1, says Financial Services Council Chief Executive Peter Neilson. “This strong cross-party support ...
Oh that's close! Online v Phone poll

22 Mar 13 – It's a very close call: a 0.7% difference between an online survey and a telephone one on SOE sales. The results of a Horizon Research survey of 2,102 of members of its nationally representative HorizonPoll adult panel finds 52.9% of New Zealanders aged...
Councils 'frustrating'

21 Nov 12 – There is quite a strong degree of frustration that councils are not doing what residents want, according to comment on a HorizonPoll on local government. The New Zealand Centre for Infrastructure Development (NZCID), which commissioned the nationwide survey of 956 New...
Kiwis and their climate

3 Aug 12 – HorizonPoll results showing a 22% fall in the number who think climate change is a problem for now or urgent do not reflect what New Zealanders want done on the issue. Further results from the survey of...
Kiwis believe new research saying they will live longer

29 Jun 12 – 64% of New Zealanders believe new research which finds that they are living longer after age 65, a key factor driving the need to review the country’s retirement income systems. In remarks prepared for delivery at a conference of leading economists at Palmerston...
What Kiwis say about payments and media

6 May 12 – Here is what New Zealander say, when interviewed by HorizonPoll, on the issue of media employees accepting payments from non-media organisations. These are comments made when respondents were asked: ...
Remember Oz "cash for comment" scandal?

6 May 12 – The issue of media people allegedly accepting undisclosed outside payments created immense controversy in Australia, when an estimated $18 million was paid to top-rating talk show stars. In New Zealand, the public have ...
Election results confirm six-way race held for Maori party vote

27 Nov 11 – A specialist Horizon Research Maori Panel survey between November 15 and 21, 2011, found a six-way split could occur for the party votes of Maori nationwide at the November 26 general election. The survey covered 779 Maori respondents who intended to cast a party vote....
Will it be alright on the night?

8 Nov 11 – Political commentator Richard Long is asking if anyone else getting a queasy feeling about the constant refrain that this election is all over, bar the shouting, and that the Nats are bolting home 20 points ahead of Labour? In an ...
What do Asians prefer?

2 Nov 11 – Which main party do the main ethnic groups pefer to lead the next coalition government? The November 1-2 RadioLIVE-HorizonPoll, still underway, finds that across New Zealand: 37.7% of Asians would prefer a Labour-led coalition...
Chuffed Stuff

5 Sep 11 – Fairfax is chuffed by the HorizonPoll which finds Stuff Number One among New Zealand’s media web sites. In this comment, Stuff editor Mark Stevens said he was...
Why not disclose full political poll results?

31 Jul 11 – Ex-patriate political scientist Rob Salmond has told Radio New Zealand's Media Watch programme Horizon Research is making good moves in polling undecided voters. On the July 31 programme Mr Salmond was...
Sunday Star Times on deals in high places

24 Jul 11 – Deals being done in high-profile seats such as Ohariu and Epsom will be critical to the next government, the Sunday Star Times reports. Ohariu, in Wellington, is held by United...
No women at all support Act?

28 May 11 – The Herald reports its DigiPoll finds no women at all are supporting the Act party. It says: “Act not only has a polling issue with only 1.7 per cent, it has a major gender...
What Kiwis say on growth forecasts

22 May 11 – Here’s what New Zealanders are saying on the economic and job growth forecasts, which underpin the 2011 Budget. The information provided and question results are shown first, followed by responses when HorizonPoll asked “why do you say that?” ...
Comparing polls

14 May 11 – Some bloggers supporting various political parties are asking why Horizon's party vote poll results differ from other polls. They point out that other polls, mainly conducted by phone, have National about 20% ahead of Labour. Horizon's polls show a lesser margin, for...
Star Times: National's Epsom problem

24 Apr 11 – The Sunday Star Times says Horizon polling indicates National still faces a problem in the Epsom electorate, where it has stood down to allow Act leader Rodney Hide to win, taking his party to Wellington. The Star Times says John Key's coalition will again need that...
BNZ: no economic quick fixes

27 Mar 11 – BNZ chief economist Tony Alexander says the results of an HorizonPoll economic outlook survey are not at all surprising. The March 21-25 survey of more than 2000...
So how are Radio NZ listeners voting?

18 Feb 11 – How do Radio New Zealand's National Programme listeners actually vote? New Zealand Herald media columnist John Drinnan reported this morning Prime Minister John...
What Kiwis say about their finances in 2011

16 Jan 11 – Why are more New Zealanders thinking their personal finances will get worse, rather than better, during 2011? Here is the overall result for the question posted in HorizonPoll’s Mood of The Nation survey for the Sunday Star Times, between January 7 and 15, 2011,...
TV3-HorizonPoll surveys align on tax reform

14 Dec 10 – A survey conducted for TV3 lines up with an earlier HorizonPoll one showing few think they have benefitted from major tax reforms. The TV3 survey of 1000 voters by Read Research has shown 70 percent of voters haven't noticed any benefit from the October tax cuts, which...