Quality of Life Report 2007

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www.qualityoflifeproject.govt.nz

IN TWELVE OF NEW ZEALAND�S CITIES

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The twelve cities

I Quality of Life in Twelve of New Zealand�s Cities 2007

Almost 56% of the total population of New Zealand resides in the cities of Rodney, North Shore, Waitakere, Auckland,

Manukau, Hamilton, Tauranga, Porirua, Hutt, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin. This report uses 68 indicators

to identify points for action aimed at ensuring sustainable development and quality of life in those cities.

Christchurch

Population: 348,435

Rodney

Population: 89,562

Data source: Statistics New Zealand, Census 2006

h Shore

Population: 205,614

Waitakere

Population: 186,444

Hamilton

Population: 129,255

Tauranga

Population: 103,629

Porirua

Population: 48,537

Wellington

Population: 179,466

Auckland

Population: 404,655

Dunedin

Population: 118,686

Manukau

Population: 328,980

Hutt

Population: 97,710

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A word from the mayors

Quality of life has a major influence on where people choose

to live and what gives them a sense of pride in their city.

City life is appealing because of its diversity. Great cities offer

access to a wide range of cultural experiences, job opportunities

and things to see and do. An increasing challenge for us all is

to sustain and develop the cities we have created, in order to

provide people the quality of life they desire. Ensuring that the

qualities that make our cities unique are protected and enhanced

� now and in the future � is a very important part of this.

It is essential that infrastructure and services support the

continued population growth that our cities are experiencing.

As more people arrive from around the world and from other

New Zealand cities, there will be increasing social and cultural

diversity. It is important that we not only help communities

respond to this change, but also help migrants to overcome

barriers so they have more opportunities to fully participate

in community life.

Results across the domains in this report show that urban

New Zealand is essentially a great place to live, work and play.

However, we also need to acknowledge that not everyone

experiences all of the positive aspects of our cities and the gap

between those with a better or poorer quality of life is widening

in some instances.

The 2007 Quality of Life report presents a picture of life in

metropolitan New Zealand and allows us to identify what is

going well and where improvements are required. This enables

us to evaluate our own planning, policies and decision making

and to advocate, where appropriate, to central government,

non-governmental agencies and the private sector to address

the identified needs. A better quality of life for all city residents

will come about only if we work toward common outcomes

in partnership with each other, central government and our

communities.

This is the third Quality of Life report which follows the five

yearly census. It is clear from the increased number of cities

participating in this report that quality of life is a priority

commitment for metropolitan councils. To assist local authorities

with monitoring their community outcomes the indicators in the

report have been structured around the social/cultural, economic

and environmental wellbeing areas identified in the Local

Government Act (2002).

The Metropolitan Mayors would like to thank the Project

Sponsor (Jim Harland), Project Manager (Kath Jamieson) and

the Quality of Life research team for their hard work in bringing

this third report together. The Quality of Project continues to fill

a pivotal gap in our knowledge and understanding of how life is

experienced in our 12 cities. The information gathered as part

of this project better enables decision makers to identify and

address issues in their communities and this in turn helps us

to continually improve our residents� quality of life.

Andrew Williams

Mayor of North Shore

Bob Harvey

Mayor of Waitakere

Len Brown

Mayor of Manukau

John Banks

Mayor of Auckland

Bob Simcock

Mayor of Hamilton

Kerry Prendergast

Mayor of Wellington

Peter Chin

Mayor of Dunedin

Bob Parker

Mayor of Christchurch

Stuart Crosby

Mayor of Tauranga

Jenny Brash

Mayor of

Porirua

Penny Webster

Mayor of

Rodney

David Ogden

Mayor of

Hutt

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The Quality of Life Project has achieved success over the last

decade because of the commitment of many people in the 12

participating councils to a belief in the benefits of collaboration

to achieve better wellbeing outcomes for their cities. The project

is only ever as strong as these working relationships.

The Quality of Life Project research team deserves special

mention. Team members have over the last year put a huge

effort into the preparation of the 2007 report. I especially want

to thank the dedicated team of writers who prepared the

chapters. The people mentioned below have spent many hours

making sense of large volumes of data and have worked to very

tight deadlines:

Trudi Fava and Claire Gomas,

contractors working on behalf of Auckland City Council

Pippa Berry-Cope, Hamilton City Council

Gavin Armstrong, Wellington City Council

David Hay and Tu Van Nguyen, Manukau City Council

I also want to thank the peer reviewers and the writers of the

supporting sections of the report:

Andrea Howard, Dunedin City Council

Regan Solomon, Waitakere City Council

Alex Woodley, Point Research

I also want to thank Vivian Ip (Auckland City Council), Paul

Gower and Mark Brougham (Hamilton City Council), Tracilee

Linders (North Shore City Council) and Adele Hadfield (Tauranga

City Council) for their input into the development of the report.

I especially want to acknowledge Andrea Howard and Gavin

Armstrong for their considerable assistance in dealing with the

day to day administrative matters of keeping a project of this size

delivering excellent results. They have been a particular help

in the preparation of the Quality of Life Survey 2006, website

redevelopment, budget management and report editing and

development. Without their continued support my job would

be much harder.

I also want to thank staff in the three councils of Rodney, Porirua

and Hutt for their continued support in the development of the

2007 report and their ongoing commitment to the objectives of

the Quality of Life Project.

Alex Woodley, our data coordinator, has once again done a

superb job to collect and organise data from a wide variety of

sources. Alex and her team at Point Research Ltd have helped to

edit the report and pull it together. They have also checked our

data for accuracy and have worked tirelessly behind the scenes

to ensure we have access to the best available information.

Thanks also to the wide range of data providers who have

contributed information for the report, including government

departments, councils and other agencies. We recognise

our information demands have at times been huge and your

willingness to help where you can is genuinely appreciated.

We are also grateful to the input of many people who gave

feedback on and peer reviewed chapter drafts. Your expert

advice has improved significantly the quality of the final report.

A list of people and organisations consulted is included at the

end of this report.

Finally, I want to thank the Metropolitan Sector Group Chief

Executives Forum for their continued support. I especially want

to thank Jim Harland, our Project Sponsor, for his unswerving

commitment to the work and outcomes of the Quality of

Life Project and his belief in the research team. Jim and his

colleagues have always appreciated the value of collaboration

and are committed to making resources available to the project.

This support is critical to ensuring the success of a project of

this nature.

Kath Jamieson, Principal Research Adviser,

Christchurch City Council

Project Manager

Acknowledgements

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Contents

Executive summary

Introduction

Key results

� One: People

� Two: Knowledge and skills

� Three: Health

� Four: Safety

� Five: Housing

� Six: Social connectedness

122

� Seven: Civil and political rights

143

� Eight: Economic standard of living

157

� Nine: Economic development

173

� Ten: Natural environment

190

� Eleven: Built environment

215

Conclusions

230

Data collection

234

Consultation and contributions

236

Definitions

237

Index of tables and graphs

238

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Executive summary

Overview

The Quality of Life report provides a comprehensive assessment

of quality of life in 12 New Zealand cities.

The purpose of the report is to provide information that

contributes to the understanding of social, economic and

environmental conditions which can be used to describe and

quantify the quality of life of those living in New Zealand�s major

urban areas.

The 12 territorial local authorities covered in this report are:

� Rodney

� Tauranga

� North Shore

� Hamilton

� Waitakere

� Porirua

� Auckland

� Hutt

� Manukau

� Wellington

� Christchurch

� Dunedin

These local authorities are either urban in nature or are facing

high growth on the fringe of urban areas.

Background

This is the third report on the quality of life in our cities. These

reports are part of the Quality of Life Project, a multi-council

initiative that emerged in response to the growing pressure on

urban communities, concern about the impact of urbanisation

and the effects on the wellbeing of urban residents. It started

with six councils in 1999 and has since expanded to include

12 territorial local authorities.

The key purpose of the Project is to:

� Provide information to decision-makers to improve the quality

of life in major New Zealand urban areas.

Objectives of the Project include:

� Consistency of indicator use and monitoring methods among

participating cities

� Provision of data to support advocacy on urban issues

� Raising the profile of urban issues within central government

� Collaborative working of bigger cities to monitor and address

quality of life issues.

Monitoring across the cities enables participating councils to

develop a consistent set of indicators, identify urban issues

and trends, and provide a platform to develop comprehensive

responses to these.

The indicators and measures selected for monitoring are related

to outcomes that are identified as being essential to maintaining

and improving quality of life in our cities. These indicators and

measures have been structured around the social/cultural,

economic, environmental wellbeing areas identified in the Local

Government Act and organised under 11 �domains� or areas of

people�s lives. These are: people; knowledge and skills; health;

safety; housing; social connectedness; civil and political rights;

economic standard of living; economic development; the natural

environment; and the built environment.

Under the Local Government Act (2002), local authorities are

required to work with their communities to identify their desired

outcomes. Councils then develop plans or initiatives to achieve

the outcomes and monitor progress towards meeting them. Many

of the councils� community outcomes match the domains used

in this report.

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Indicators and measures

The report includes 68 key quality of life indicators

(encompassing 186 individual measures) across 11 domain areas.

The data for these indicators and measures has been drawn from

two main sources:

� Quality of Life surveys: these biennial surveys are conducted

in partnership with the Ministry of Social Development and

measure resident perceptions of health and wellbeing, their

community, crime and safety, education and work, the

environment, culture and identity

� Secondary data sources (e.g. from government agencies and

non-governmental organisations).

While considerable data exists, there are still gaps, particularly

in the areas of cultural wellbeing and the natural environment.

In addition, data is not always available at city or regional level

or in key wellbeing areas.

Summary of key results

Most residents in the 12 cities enjoy a high standard of living and

rate their quality of life positively. The quality of life is improving

with increases in life expectancy, median and household income

and improvements in safety.

Notable findings include:

� The vast majority of residents in New Zealand and in the

12 cities say they have a positive overall quality of life

� Life expectancy has increased across all 12 cities

� Our cities are growing in population. Over the next 20 years,

the majority of New Zealand�s total population growth is

projected to take place in the 12 cities. At present, our cities

account for more than half of New Zealand�s population and

have grown at a faster rate than the national average

� The pace of growth in our cities is placing considerable

pressure on the environment, infrastructure and social fabric

of our cities

� Some cities are facing environmental issues such as traffic

congestion, poor air quality, poor beach and stream quality,

the management of waste and protecting the cities� biodiversity

� Residents in our cities are more likely to rate issues associated

with urban life, such as graffiti, vandalism, litter and noise, as

concerns than those residing in the rest of New Zealand

� Our cities are not just growing in population, they are becoming

increasingly culturally diverse

� Most of our residents have a sense of connection with others,

although some city residents experience social isolation

� There are continuing and, in some cases, increasing disparities

between groups of people in our cities

� The burden of socioeconomic disadvantage is borne largely by

Maori and Pacific Islands people, teenage mothers and sole

parent families

� Home ownership in our cities has been declining, but is still the

dominant form of tenure. Maori and Pacific Islands people are

least likely to own their own homes

� During the past five years, all 12 cities have experienced

growing levels of estimated Gross Domestic Product, low

unemployment levels and an overall increase in inflation

adjusted earnings. During the same period the total mortgage

debt across the country has grown by $59.8 billion

� Over half of the nation�s wealth is owned by just 10.0% of the

population. Conversely, more than half the population owns

only 5.0% of the nation�s total net worth

� There has been a decline in the rate of total recorded crime

and recorded burglary, car and drugs and anti-social offences

over the period 2002/2003 to 2005/2006

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� Attendance in early childhood education is increasing, and

those in our cities are comparatively well qualified. However,

there has been an increase in the truancy rate and numbers of

students receiving early leaving exemptions

� All residents in the 12 cities have access to kerbside recycling,

and energy efficiency projects are underway in most of the

cities. Air and water pollution was perceived as a concern in

some cities

� More than half of the residents in most of the 12 cities consider

their public transport as affordable, safe and convenient.

However, the majority of residents use a motor vehicle to get to

work

� Only one third of residents in our cities believe that they have

an understanding of how their council makes decisions,

although more than half believe the public has some influence

on those decisions

� The pace at which changes in our cities have occurred since

the last Quality of Life report in 2003 highlights the importance

of regular and ongoing monitoring.

Points for action

To maintain and improve quality of life in our cities, coordinated

and focused action is required to:

� Plan for long-term growth in our cities

� Work with central government to facilitate affordable

housing options

� Promote economic sustainability and plan for an inclusive,

innovative economy that reduces poverty, deprivation,

disparities and the effects of these on city residents

� Work to minimise the social and physical issues associated

with living in urban environments such as noise, graffiti, air

quality and beach and stream water quality

� Improve access to key services, in particular General

Practitioners, in the 12 cities and the rest of New Zealand

� Focus on making sure people feel safe in their city centres,

particularly at night

� Promote actions that enhance and sustain the environment,

such as increasing the use of alternatives to private motor

vehicles

� Improve the wellbeing and safety of our cities� children

� Address the significant over-representation of Maori and Pacific

Islands students in school suspensions, stand-downs and

exclusions

� Work to raise public awareness of how councils make decisions

and how people can be involved in decision-making

� Continue to monitor progress towards achieving the quality of

life outcomes for our 12 cities.

Executive summary

continued

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Introduction

Overview

The Quality of Life report monitors the wellbeing of urban

residents. It aims to provide a comprehensive picture of the

quality of life in New Zealand cities.

Although New Zealand has a small population, it is one of the

most highly urbanised countries in the world.

The number of

people living in our cities is increasing and is projected to grow

even more. There are both benefits and challenges associated

with this growth.

The purpose of the report is to provide information that

contributes to our understanding of the social, economic and

environmental conditions in New Zealand�s major urban areas.

This information can then be used to advocate for the protection

and promotion of quality of life and to help manage the pressures

of growth.

The 12 territorial local authorities covered in this report are:

� Rodney

� North Shore

� Waitakere

� Auckland

� Manukau

� Hamilton

� Tauranga

� Porirua

� Hutt

� Wellington

� Christchurch

� Dunedin

These local authorities are either urban in nature or are facing

high growth on the fringe of urban areas.

Background

The Quality of Life reports are sponsored by the Chief Executives

of councils in the Metropolitan Sector Group, which advocates

for local government interests on urban issues of national

significance.

The first report on quality of life in large cities of New Zealand

was published in March 2001 (see www.qualityoflifeproject.govt.nz).

A second report was released in 2003, following the release of

the results from the 2001 Census. This is the third report in the

series following the 2006 Census.

The Quality of Life Project

The Quality of Life Project, a multi-council initiative, emerged

in response to the growing pressures on urban communities,

concern about the impact of urbanisation and the effects of this

on the wellbeing of urban residents.

The project started with six city councils in 1999 and expanded

to eight councils in 2003. There are now 12 local authorities

involved and this project is ongoing as quality of life remains a key

urban issue. This report has been prepared to assess the current

situation and to identify future issues.

The Quality of Life Project comprises three key phases:

1. Monitoring conditions

The indicators and measures that are selected for monitoring are

related to outcomes that can maintain and improve quality of life

in our cities and that our cities are trying to achieve.

These indicators are designed to:

� Quantify and monitor changing social, economic

and environmental conditions

� Measure progress in domain areas.

These indicators and measures are organised under 11 �domains�

or areas of people�s lives: people; knowledge and skills; health;

safety; housing; social connectedness; civil and political rights;

economic standard of living; economic development; the natural

environment; and the built environment.

2. Reporting on findings

The data is analysed to identify issues, highlight any emerging

trends and show how different groups within our cities are faring.

The aim of the report is to identify issues common to the 12 cities

and between the 12 cities and the rest of New Zealand.

3. Advocating for improvement

This stage includes identifying policy responses (for central and

local government) to address issues identified in the report and

advocating for change where necessary.

The Quality of Life Project components

The Quality of Life Project�s main output is a 12 cities, joint Quality

of Life report which is released once every five years following

the release of new census data. Two main information sources

contribute to the Quality of Life Project and to the production

of the joint report: the biennial Quality of Life Survey (resident

perceptions of wellbeing) and the ongoing collection of data

from secondary sources (e.g. government agencies).

The information contained in the Quality of Life report, along

with the ongoing data collection between reporting periods,

feeds into the Metropolitan Sector Group�s advocacy on urban

issues to central government. The Quality of Life Project is

aligned to outcome monitoring work carried out by central

government and to community outcomes progress monitoring

by local councils.

1 Ministry for the Environment. (2007). Urban issues: Our urban environment. www.mfe.govt.nz/issues/urban/ Retrieved 6 August 2007.

2 The only city in the Metropolitan Sector Group that is not part of the Quality of Life Project is Upper Hutt.

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Monitoring reports

In recent years the range of monitoring reports has increased,

providing a reasonably comprehensive view of social/cultural,

economic and environmental conditions in New Zealand.

Councils now report local level data relating to community

outcomes. The ministries of Social Development, Economic

Development, Environment, Te Puni Kokiri (Maori Development)

and Pacific Island Affairs publish an in-depth view of specific

conditions, often at a sub-national level.

New Zealand does not have a national urban strategy

or a government department responsible for urban issues.

The Quality of Life Project and the report, in part, contribute to

filling that gap.

Since the 2003 report

Some significant events have taken place since the Quality of

Life report in 2003. These include work on issues raised in prior

reports, availability of data and another census.

Progress on issues

Following issues raised in the 2003 Quality of Life report,

the Metropolitan Sector Group identified five priority areas to

focus on. These were transport, economic development, safer

communities and community wellbeing, waste management

and settlement support. Specific projects to emerge from

these priority areas included the establishment of a web-based

resource for economic development practitioners, the Auckland

Mayoral Transport Funding Project and advocacy around safety

indicators and increased frontline police.

As time has progressed and each council tackles community

issues though their Long Term Council Community Plans

(LTCCPs), the Metropolitan Sector Group has turned its attention

to topical issues that are common across their organisations.

This has included affordable housing, urban development, the

2011 Rugby World Cup, local government funding, recruitment

and retention of staff, leaky buildings and a continuing focus on

safer communities.

2006 Census

The census is the official count of population and dwellings in

New Zealand. It provides a snapshot of our society at a point in

time. The New Zealand census is taken every five years. New

Zealand�s 2006 Census of Population and Dwellings was held

on 7 March 2006. The data from the 2006 Census is one of the

core datasets used in this report.

Introduction

continued

Quality of Life Project Structure

Data from secondary sources

(e.g. Government agencies, councils, etc)

Data is collected on an ongoing basis

Quality of Life Survey

(e.g. Resident perceptions of wellbeing)

Survey is conducted biennially

Improved quality of life and wellbeing outcomes for 12 cities residents

Contributing data:

Reporting

Framework:

Advocacy:

Metropolitan Sector Group advocacy to central government on urban issues

Advocacy occurs on an ongoing basis through the Metropolitan Sector Group work programme and through

contributions to central and local government

decision making processes

12 cities, joint Quality of Life report

12 cities joint report is released once every five years following release of new census data.

A report on Quality of Life Survey results is released every two years

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Centralisation and standardisation of indicators

Since the last report the availability of some datasets has

improved.

Under the Local Government Act (2002) local authorities are

required to work with their communities to identify the outcomes

that communities have deemed important. The Act requires local

authorities to monitor, measure and report progress against these

community outcomes every three years. Councils need to obtain

a wide range of data from many different sources for monitoring

purposes.

Statistics New Zealand has undertaken an audit of subnational

information held by government agencies and worked with local

authorities, government departments and groups, including the

Quality of Life research team, to develop a nucleus of measures

and indicators that local authorities can access. Many of these

align with those selected by the Quality of Life Project.

Quality of life report 2007

Structure of the report

The report is divided into three sections.

1. People

The first section, People, provides information about the size and

composition of the cities� populations. It provides the context for

the rest of the report.

2. The second section comprises the core of the report and is

organised into the ten remaining domains and structured around

the social/cultural, economic and environmental wellbeing areas

identified in the Local Government Act (2002).

� Social/Cultural Wellbeing

The chapter on Knowledge and Skills focuses on participation

and attainment in education, access to training and educational

disparities. The far-reaching impact of urban issues on residents�

physical and mental health and sense of wellbeing is then

addressed in the Health chapter.

Social/Cultural Wellbeing

People

Knowledge and skills

Health

Safety

Housing

Social connectedness

Civil and political rights

Population

growth

Participation in early

childhood education

Life

expectancy

Perceptions

of safety

Housing

tenure

Overall quality of life

Te Tiriti o Waitangi/

Treaty of Waitangi

Ethnicity

School participation

Low birth

weight babies

Child safety

Housing

costs and

affordability

Diversity and

identity

Community

involvement in

council decision

making

Age

Qualification levels

Infant

mortality

Injuries

Household

crowding

Community strength

and spirit

Voter turnout

Families

and

households

Skill and job match

Teenage

parents

Road safety

Urban

housing

intensification

Access to

telecommunications

Representation on

local decision making

bodies

Disability

Career training

Communicable

Diseases

Workplace

safety

Government

housing

provision

Arts and culture

Maori

wellbeing

Access to GPs

Crime levels

Housing

accessibility

Mental health

and emotional

wellbeing

Self-reported

health status

Modifiable

risk factors

Recreation

and leisure

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Introduction

continued

Feeling safe and secure in our homes, communities and urban

areas is a basic human right. Safety and perceptions of safety

feature highly in people�s view of their living environment, their

sense of wellbeing and quality of life as illustrated in the Safety

chapter.

Housing issues can have flow-on effects for health, education and

community wellbeing. The changing nature of housing patterns,

affected by population growth, can put pressure on an urban

area�s natural and social environment and on the provision of

infrastructure and services. These issues are discussed in the

Housing chapter.

Connecting with other people and networks is important in the

development and maintenance of strong communities and feelings

of security and this is explored in the Social Connectedness

chapter.

The Civil and Political Rights chapter looks at the understanding,

participation and engagement of residents in the governance and

decision making of their cities.

� Economic Wellbeing

The Economic Standard of Living chapter looks at how levels of

income and socio-economic position affect people�s ability to

purchase goods and services, obtain adequate food and housing

and participate in the wider community. Economic Development,

described in the next chapter, helps to underpin quality of life and

enhances prosperity in urban communities.

� Environmental Wellbeing

Population growth and economic development put pressure on the

sustainability of the environment. While the built environment is

an important contributor to the way people feel about where they

live, it also has a major impact on the sustainability of the natural

environment. The Natural and Built Environments are reported in

the last two chapters.

3. The final section, Conclusions, summarises the findings.

Quality of life indicators

The report includes 68 key quality of life indicators (encompassing

186 individual measures).

Data breakdowns are provided in the following order where

possible and/or appropriate: Total New Zealand trends; differences

between the total 12 cities (combined total for the 12 cities) and

the rest of New Zealand (total New Zealand minus the 12 cities);

and individual 12 cities trends. Indicators are broken down by

ethnicity, age and sex where applicable.

Consultation

The report has been prepared in consultation with people who

work across a wide range of areas and/or who work with indicators

and data. These people have a solid understanding of the issues

and available data. Feedback from consultation and peer review

was critical to ensuring a report that fulfils its role as a tool for

advocacy and change toward a sustainable quality of life for

residents of New Zealand�s cities.

Audience for the report

In addition to the Metropolitan Sector Group and participating

councils, this report will be useful to government agencies, non-

governmental organisations and community groups with a policy,

planning or advocacy focus and an interest in addressing urban

issues and promoting quality of life.

Economic wellbeing

Economic standard of living

Economic development

Income

Economic growth

Work/life balance

Employment

Cost of living

Research and development

Social deprivation

Local businesses

Net worth

Retail sales

Non-residential building

consents

Tourism

Skilled migrants

Environmental wellbeing

Natural environment

Built environment

Local natural environmental issues

Look and feel of the city

Waste management and recycling

Land use

Biodiversity

Traffic and transport

Energy use

Public transport

Air quality

Beach and stream/lake water quality

Drinking water quality

Water consumption

Ecological footprint

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This section contains key results arising from analysis of the

68 indicators and 186 measures in this report. It provides a

summary of quality of life in the 12 cities.

People

� The 12 cities account for 55.6% of New Zealand�s population.

� The cities have grown at an average of 10.3% from 2001 to

2006, faster than the national average.

� 86.1% of New Zealand�s total population growth in the next

20 years is projected to take place in the 12 cities.

� City populations are very mobile with 43.6% of residents

shifting address in the five years to 2006.

� The ethnic mix in our cities is continuing to change, with Asian,

Pacific Islands and the newly created New Zealander ethnic

groups growing the fastest.

� Our cities have higher proportions of Asian (13.9%) and Pacific

Islands (9.9%) people compared to the rest of New Zealand

(2.4% for both ethnic groups).

� Despite the national trend of an ageing population, eight of the

12 cities have a median age younger than the national median

of 35.9 years.

� Rodney, Tauranga, North Shore and Christchurch respectively

have a median age higher than the national median and this

trend is expected to continue in these four cities.

� Manukau and Porirua have the youngest populations, with just

over a quarter of their population under 15 years of age.

� One-family households are the dominant form of households in

our cities, with around two-thirds this type.

Knowledge and skills

� Participation levels in early childhood education (ECE) have

increased in the 12 cities over the last five years.

� The majority of ECE participation takes place in a kindergarten,

playcentre, education and care service or home-based

locations.

� 15.8% of Pacific Islands children do not attend an ECE centre.

� Maori and Pacific Islands students continue to be over-

represented in school stand-down, suspension and exclusion

figures.

� There has been an increase in the truancy rate and students

receiving early leaving exemptions in most of the 12 cities.

� There has been a notable increase throughout New Zealand of

people holding a vocational or degree qualification.

� Nationally there has been a decline in the percentage of school

leavers with low qualification attainment, from 15.3% in 2003

to 11.1% in 2006.

� Nationally, 22.6% of school leavers in New Zealand do not

have National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA)

level 1 credits in literacy and numeracy.

� The majority of New Zealand residents say they are using their

work skills, training and experience in their current jobs.

� There has been an increase, both nationally and in the 12

cities, in the number of active trainees in industrial training and

modern apprenticeships from 2004 to 2006.

Health

� The majority of residents in our cities are satisfied with their life

in general.

� Life expectancy has increased nationally and in the 12 cities.

Males still have a lower life expectancy than females.

� Life expectancy for Maori is lower than that for non-Maori.

� The rate of mortality for Maori and Pacific Islands infants is

higher than the rate for the �Other� ethnic category (which

includes New Zealand European infants).

� There has been an increase in the rate of teen pregnancy in

the 12 cities since 2001, with a rate of 8.3 per 1,000 live births

to mothers between the ages of 13 and 17 years in 2006.

However, the rate is lower in our cities than across the rest of

New Zealand (11.4 per 1,000 live births in 2006).

� The overall number of cases of meningococcal disease in

children in New Zealand has declined between 2004 and

2006.

� Nationally there has been a small increase in the rate of

notified cases of tuberculosis per 100,000 people from 2004

to 2006. The cities� rate is higher than that found in the rest of

New Zealand.

� Nationally, there has been a decline in the rate of GPs per

100,000 population from 2001 to 2005. Nearly all of the

decline in total numbers of GPs has been outside of the 12

cities.

� The rate of death by suicide is lower in the 12 cities than the

rest of New Zealand, while rates of hospitalisation for attempted

suicide are higher in the cities.

� More residents living outside the 12 cities undertake physical

activity on five or more days a week (61.0%) than those in the

cities (56.0%).

� Residents in the 12 cities are less likely to belong to a sports

club than those in the rest of New Zealand and nationally.

� The most prevalent type of diabetes is type 2 which affects

approximately 220,000 people in New Zealand and accounts

for 80.0 to 90.0% of all diabetes cases.

� In New Zealand in 2003, 21.0% of adults over the age of 15 were

obese. This was an increase from the 17.0% recorded in 1997.

Key results

Page 14

12 I

� A larger percentage of people in the rest of New Zealand smoke

(21.3%) compared to those in the 12 cities (17.0%).

� There has been a decline in the overall number of calls to the

New Zealand gambling hotline between 2002 and 2005.

� Sport or other physical activity is the most frequently mentioned

free time activity by residents both nationally (39.0%) and in

the 12 cities (32.0%).

� A larger percentage of residents living outside the 12 cities

(74.0%) rate their leisure time positively than those living in the

12 cities (72.0%).

Safety

� Perceptions of safety vary considerably by location, age, sex

and ethnicity. City centres are perceived as the most unsafe

location for most residents, particularly at night.

� Fewer residents in the 12 cities thought their neighbourhood

was safe for children compared to those living in the rest of

New Zealand. Presence of strangers was the main reason

identified for a perceived lack of safety.

� There has been an increase in the rate of substantiated cases

of child abuse and neglect nationally since 2004.

� Between 2003 and 2005 the rate of intentional injuries to

people aged 14 years and over increased from 50.1 per

100,000 to 58.5 per 100,000 in the 12 cities.

� The number of falls requiring hospitalisation for those aged over

65 years is increasing nationally.

� Nationally, the rate of serious and fatal road crash injuries has

dropped from 7.5 per 10,000 in 2000 to 7.0 per 10,000 in

2006. Most rates of serious and fatal injuries in the 12 cities

are less than the national rate.

� The usage of safety belts in motor vehicles remains high across

the 12 cities.

� The 12 cities had a lower rate of workplace injuries than the

rest of New Zealand.

� The rate of total recorded crime declined in New Zealand over

the period 2002/2003 to 2005/2006.

� Recorded burglary, car and drugs and anti-social offence

rates declined in the 12 cities over the period 2002/2003 to

2005/2006.

� Recorded rates of sexual offending have remained stable (8.4

per 10,000 in 2002/2003 to 8.3 per 10,000 in 2005/2006)

in the 12 cities. However, they were lower than the national

rate (8.4 per 10,000) in 2005/2006.

� The overall rate of recorded violence offences in the 12 cities

increased from 116.2 per 10,000 in 2002/2003 to 122.2 per

10,000 in 2005/2006.

Housing

� Levels of home ownership continue to decline, after reaching

a post-war peak in 1991.

� Home ownership tends to be lower among Maori and Pacific

Islands people, who tend to have larger and younger families

as well as lower incomes.

� The cost of purchasing a home is increasing as house prices

and mortgage costs have increased relative to incomes.

� Rental accommodation is becoming more affordable due to

household incomes increasing at a higher rate, on average,

than increases in rental costs.

� Despite higher house prices, those who own a home pay a

lower proportion of income than those who rent, on average.

� The housing market has shown considerable growth over the

period 2001 to 2006, with only a relatively small increase in

household crowding.

� Rapid urban intensification has occurred in some cities over the

four years from 2002 to 2006, peaking in 2004 then slowing in

2005 and 2006.

� The greatest increases in apartments as a proportion of

residential building consents were in Auckland and Wellington,

followed by North Shore and Manukau.

� The construction of new apartments appears to be closely

related to changes in household tenure. There was a substantial

increase in the proportion of tenancy bonds lodged for

apartments as a proportion of all tenancy bonds over the same

period.

� Central government continues to be the dominant provider of

subsidised rental housing.

� The cities with the highest proportion of social housing

provided by local government were Wellington, Dunedin and

Christchurch.

� Of the 12 local authorities only Rodney and Auckland provide

no social housing.

Social connectedness

� The vast majority (90.0%) of residents in New Zealand and

in the 12 cities say they have a positive overall quality of life.

� Nationally, the most common social networks that people

belong to are a family network (64.0%) or a network from

school or work (52.0%).

� Compared to the rest of New Zealand, residents of the 12 cities

are less likely to have their main social networks in the same

area they live in and more likely for the network to be based

on shared interests or beliefs.

Key results

continued

Page 15

I 13

� There is a higher sense of local community (65.0%) in the rest

of New Zealand than in the 12 cities (55.0%).

� People with lower household incomes are more likely to feel

isolated or lonely.

� Seventy six percent of households in our cities have access to

a mobile phone and 64.7% of households had internet access

in 2006, up from 42.7% in 2001.

� India is the most common source country for new citizens,

followed by China, South Africa, England, Fiji and Korea.

� Of the new citizens who attended citizenship ceremonies in

2006, 23,497 (82.9%) did so in the 12 cities.

� More than half (58.0%) of residents in the 12 cities combined

feel positive about the impact of increasing diversity on their city.

� After English, Maori is the most commonly spoken language in

four of the 12 cities and Samoan in five cities.

� One in five Maori people living in the 12 cities speaks Maori.

� Three quarters of city residents say their area has a culturally

rich and diverse arts scene.

Civil and political rights

� All the councils of the 12 cities report active work in

strengthening their relationship and engagement with tangata

whenua to incorporate Maori perspectives into policy, planning

and operations.

� Slightly more than one third of residents (35.0%) in the 12

cities believe that they have an understanding of how their

council makes decisions.

� About half of people nationally and in the 12 cities would like

to have more of a say in what their council does.

� Just over half (55.0%) of residents in the 12 cities say the

public has some, or a large, influence on the decisions their

council makes.

� Voter turnout is higher for elections at the national than local

level, with around 80.0% turnout in the 2005 general election,

compared to an average of 42.5% for city councils (i.e. district

councils excluded) in the 2004 local council elections.

Preliminary results show that average voter turnout across

city and district councils in the 2007 local council elections

was 43.2%.

� There are gender and ethnicity disparities in representation on

the local governance bodies of local councils and school boards.

Economic standard of living

� Median personal and household incomes have increased in all

cities over the past five years, although real (inflation adjusted)

ordinary time earnings have decreased in some cities.

� There has been a sharp decline in the unemployment rate.

� The wage gap between men and women appears to be

narrowing although, typically, men still earn more than women.

� The majority of New Zealanders feel positively about their

work-life balance particularly those living outside the 12 cities.

Residents of North Shore, Waitakere and Manukau were less

satisfied with their work-life balance compared to others.

� The number of means tested benefits paid to families without

children has decreased sharply while benefit payments to

families with children have increased in some cities.

� Home ownership and household energy costs have had a

major inflationary impact between 2002 to 2007.

� The top 10.0% of wealthy individuals own over half of the

nation�s total net worth, while the bottom 50.0% of the

population own just 5.2% of total net worth.

� Wealth accumulation is closely related to age, increasing,

typically, from 25 to 49 years of age and peaking between

ages 55 and 69 years.

� The most valuable asset people have is residential property,

including homes, rental property and holiday homes.

� Between 2002 and 2007 New Zealanders increased their total

mortgage debt by $59.8 billion.

Economic development

� The 12 cities account for nearly two thirds of all economic

activity in New Zealand and the share gradually increased

between 2001 and 2006.

� Estimated Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the 12 cities grew

by 4.3% per year on average over the five years to March 2006.

� Estimated GDP per capita in the 12 cities has grown by 3.5%

per year.

� Labour productivity increased in eight of the 12 cities but

declined at the total New Zealand level.

� Over the three years to December 2006, the number of filled

jobs increased in the 12 cities by 11.7%.

� The Personal and Social Services industries account for the

most jobs among the 12 cities, followed by the Distribution and

Hospitality industries.

� Half of the 12 cities have a lower labour force participation rate

on average than the rest of New Zealand.

� Unemployment has decreased to the point that most

unemployment in the economy is likely to be short term, due to

seasonal fluctuation and turnover.

� Employment in research and development has just kept pace

with growth in the overall job market.

Page 16

14 I

� The overall growth rate of businesses among the 12 cities, from

2002 to 2006, was lower than the rest of New Zealand with the

exception of Tauranga and Rodney.

� Auckland, Manukau and Christchurch have consistently

recorded the highest numbers of residential building consents.

The rest of the 12 cities have recorded a sharp decline in the

number of new residential buildings from 2003 to 2006.

� The value of non-residential building consents also grew

between 2003 and 2004 in the 12 cities then tailed off, except

in Christchurch where the value of consents increased by

76.9% from 2005 to 2006.

� The 12 cities account for over 39.0% of total guest nights

purchased at commercial accommodation in New Zealand.

� For the period March 2004 to March 2007 the number of guest

nights purchased in the 12 cities grew by 7.6%, which was

similar to the growth for New Zealand as a whole.

� Of the 33,773 skilled migrants to New Zealand from 2004 to

2007, 25.0% elected to settle in the Auckland region while a

further 26.5% of skilled migrants settled in the other regions

where the 12 cities are situated. Nearly half elected to settle in

regions elsewhere in New Zealand.

Natural environment

� Key environmental issues facing the 12 cities are the effects of

growth and development, protecting biodiversity, transportation,

air quality and water supply/quality.

� Almost all (97.0%) of New Zealanders living in the 12 cities

have access to kerbside recycling.

� The volume of solid waste sent to landfill has slightly increased

in the years 2002 to 2006.

� All of the 12 cities are addressing biodiversity through their

Long Term Council Community Plans (LTCCP) and District Plans.

� Energy efficiency projects are underway at most of the 12 cities.

� Air pollution is more likely to be perceived as a problem by

residents in Christchurch (63.0%) and Auckland (44.0%) than

in other cities.

� In general, the rate of public health risk at coastal beaches is

relatively low. Risk is higher at freshwater bathing sites.

� North Shore, Auckland and Hutt residents rate water pollution

as more of a problem than residents of other cities.

� North Shore, Auckland, Waitakere, Manukau, Hamilton and

Tauranga have excellent grades for drinking water quality.

� Nearly all of the populations in the 12 cities are served by water

supplies that comply with E. coli standards.

� Water consumption in the 12 cities (both domestic and

commercial/industrial) has increased slightly in recent years.

� Wellington, Bay of Plenty and Auckland regions recorded lower

ecological footprints per capita than the national average.

Built environment

� The majority of residents in most of the 12 cities feel a sense of

pride in their city.

� Graffiti is significantly more likely to be rated as a problem

in the 12 cities than in the rest of New Zealand (70.0% and

45.0% respectively).

� Nearly all of the 12 cities have more than five hectares

of council-managed green space for every 1,000 people

(Auckland is just under, with 4.9 hectares per 1,000 people).

� Across all 12 cities, at least 85.0% of residents consider it is

easy to access a local park or green space.

� The majority of residents from the 12 cities use a motor vehicle

to get to work, ranging from 72.7% in Manukau to 45.1% in

Wellington.

� Nationally, road-based travel distance has increased by 14.0%

between 1997/1998 and 2003 to 2006, with an average

increase of 1.8% per year.

� Residents of Wellington (43.0%) and Hutt (32.0%) are the

highest users of public transport.

� In most of the 12 cities, more than half of the residents

consider their public transport to be affordable, safe and

convenient.

� The majority of residents in the 12 cities say it is easy to access

public transport facilities.

Key results

continued

Page 17

Chapter One

People

What�s in this chapter?

Population growth

Ethnicity

Age

Families and households

Disabilities

Maori wellbeing

Page 18

16 I Quality of Life in Twelve of New Zealand�s Cities 2007

This chapter describes the differences

and similarities between population

groups within and between the 12 cities

and the rest of New Zealand. The pace

of change within the cities and the

diversity of their people impacts on

outcomes in all chapters of this report.

Why this is important

Information about the people in New Zealand�s 12

cities helps us to understand the nature of urban

communities and how they are changing. It can help

decision makers anticipate potential pressures on the

wider social, economic and physical environments.

Factors such as population growth, age, ethnicity,

migration and household makeup are often key

determinants of conditions across a whole range

of issues affecting quality of life.

Key points

The 12 cities collectively make up more than half of

New Zealand�s population (55.6%). It is projected that

86.1% of New Zealand�s total population growth over

the period 2006 to 2026 will take place in the 12 cities,

with two thirds (65.9%) of total growth occurring in the

five cities in the Auckland region. In absolute numbers,

Auckland and Manukau will make the greatest contribution

to New Zealand�s total population growth.

Internal migration is a significant contributor to population

change. Half of our cities experienced population growth

through net internal migration.

There are considerable differences in the socio-

demographic makeup of the 12 cities. The cities are

changing in their ethnic diversity, with Asian and Pacific

Islands populations growing the fastest. The cities have

higher proportions of both these ethnic groups compared

with the rest of New Zealand.

The median age in most of our 12 cities remains slightly

younger than the national median, in part due to the

younger Maori and Pacific Islands populations, but also

because cities have a higher proportion of people in the

tertiary trained and working age groups of 15 to 44 years.

One-family households dominate in our cities, accounting

for around two thirds of all households. City populations

are very mobile with 43.6% of residents shifting address

between 2001 and 2006.

Links to other indicators

Population growth impacts on the adequacy and

availability of community services, social infrastructure

and public open space. It also impacts on the physical

infrastructure (sewerage, water and roading systems)

as older systems reach capacity and room for expansion

and redevelopment becomes difficult to find. Population

growth affects economic development through the

increasing demand for goods and services, housing and

infrastructure development. Our expanding communities

can also place increased pressure on the natural

environment through diminishing natural biodiversity,

increased pollution and climate change.

Ethnic diversity can have implications for the way in

which facilities and services are provided. For example,

European health practices may not be acceptable to or

appropriate for some members of the population and

traditional house designs may not meet the needs of

some communities. It can also have implications for social

connectedness and community development. Ethnic

diversity helps shape how communities in New Zealand

perceive themselves and relate to the wider world.

The age structure within cities is a key determinant of

the future supply of the workforce which, when linked

to qualification rates and industry structures, gives an

insight into future training needs and the match between

employment needs and the likely local labour force. It is

also linked to the economic wealth of cities, with younger

populations being in more debt and older populations

having greater wealth. Changing patterns of families and

household composition (e.g. more than two families living

in a household) have implications for health outcomes

and housing needs.

Introduction

Page 19

Social/Cultural Wellbeing I 17

Population growth

� The 12 cities account for just over half of New Zealand�s population.

� Since 2001, the 12 cities have grown, on average, faster than the national average.

� Half of our cities have experienced population growth from net internal migration in the last five years.

What this is about

Population growth or decline can have major implications

for a city�s infrastructure, economy, natural resources and

ecosystems and social cohesion. Tracking population growth in

our cities ensures that funding, services and facilities are provided

to meet the needs of fast growing communities. Population

growth patterns also provide background information for other

demographic trends.

This indicator covers the population growth in cities using census

data. Measures for this indicator include:

� Population growth

� Net internal migration

� Net external migration.

What did we find?

Population growth

Between 2001 and 2006, New Zealand�s population grew

by 7.8%. Growth in the 12 cities was higher, averaging 10.3%

over this period.

One of the likely contributions to the higher

growth rate in our cities was the inward migration of people

seeking employment and other economic and social opportunities

that cities provide.

Of the 12 cities, the fastest growing between 2001 and 2006

was Rodney (17.6%). Manukau and Tauranga were the next

fastest growing cities (16.2% and 14.0% respectively). The

cities that had the slowest population growth, below the national

average, were Hutt (2.3%), Porirua (2.5%), Dunedin (3.8%)

and Christchurch (7.5%).

1 Based on usually resident Census night population.

2 Medium scenario. These projections have as a base the estimated resident population of each area at 30 June 2001. Note that figures are rounded and therefore totals might not agree.

1. People

Porirua

auranga

Hamilton

Manukau

Auckland

aitakere

North Shore

Rodney

Hutt

ellington

Christchurch

Dunedin

Rest of NZ

otal NZ

58.6

38.8

43.1

44.0

53.9

34.2

49.8

33.6

Percent growth

3.8

2.3

19.5

16.0

5.6

7.7

21.9

12 cities median

Projected population growth, medium series

(2006 to 2026)

Data source: Statistics New Zealand, Census 2001 base

Page 20

18 I Quality of Life in Twelve of New Zealand�s Cities 2007

It is projected that 86.1% of New Zealand�s total population

growth over the period 2006 to 2026 will take place in the

12 cities, with the five cities in the Auckland region accounting

for two thirds (65.9%) of that growth. In absolute numbers,

Auckland and Manukau will make the greatest contribution

to New Zealand�s total population growth.

Manukau is projected to become New Zealand�s second largest

city by around 2010 (currently Christchurch). This is in part due

to higher rates of natural increase, particularly among the Pacific

Islands and Maori populations, which form a larger proportion of

Manukau�s population than in the other cities.

Population growth

continued

Net internal migration

Internal migration is the movement of population within the

national boundaries of a country, resulting from changes of usual

residence. It is a significant contributor to population growth

and decline in the cities. Net internal migration is categorised as

people usually resident in New Zealand aged 15 years or more in

the 2006 Census, who were not living in that city in 2001.

Auckland, Christchurch and Manukau experienced the greatest

increases in internal migration between 2001 and 2006. Most

cities experienced inflows of people that represented 40.0% to

50.0% of the total population of their city. Net internal migration

reflects the numbers of people arriving and leaving a city.

Tauranga and Rodney gained the most population between

2001 and 2006 through net internal migration. Half of our cities

experienced population growth through net internal migration.

Auckland experienced the largest population loss between 2001

and 2006 with fewer people moving to Auckland than leaving

Auckland to live in other parts of New Zealand.

3 The resident population estimates were obtained by updating Census usually resident population counts at 6 March 2001, for births, deaths and net migration of residents during the period

7 March 2001 to 30 June 2001. The base population has also been adjusted for the number of residents undercounted by the Census, as measured by the 2001 post-enumeration survey and for

the estimated number of residents temporarily overseas.

4 Medium scenario.

Census population, estimated population

and projected population

(2001 to 2026)

2001

(March

Census)

2001

(June est.)

2006

(March

Census)

2006

(projection)

2011

(projection)

2016

(projection)

2021

(projection)

2026

(projection)

Rodney

76,182

78,500

89,562

89,800 b

99,900

108,800

116,700

124,500

North Shore

184,821

194,200

205,614

213,700

226,900

241,300

255,500

269,500

Waitakere

168,753

176,200

186,444

195,400

210,300

224,400

238,300

252,100

Auckland

367,734

388,800

404,655

430,900

460,200

493,800

526,900

559,700

Manukau

283,200

298,200

328,980

337,200

367,000

397,500

427,900

459,000

Hamilton

114,921

120,900

129,255

131,900

139,200

146,900

154,500

162,200

Tauranga

90,906

93,300

103,629

104,700

113,900

122,700

131,300

139,800

Porirua

47,370

49,500

48,537

51,000

51,700

51,800

51,700

51,400

Hutt

95,475

99,100

97,710

101,400

102,100

102,300

102,000

101,400

Wellington

163,824

171,100

179,466

184,900

192,500

197,200

201,100

204,500

Christchurch

324,057

335,200

348,435

355,900

365,100

374,000

381,800

388,800

Dunedin

114,342

119,300

118,686

122,700

124,000

124,900

125,600

126,000

Rest of NZ

1,705,692

1,756,200

1,787,016

1,807,100

1,839,100

1,862,900

1,880,700

1,891,100

Total NZ

3,737,277

3,880,500

4,027,989

4,126,600

4,291,900

4,448,500

4,594,000

4,730,000

Data source: Statistics New Zealand Census 2001 base � figures rounded.

Page 21

Social/Cultural Wellbeing I 19

1. People

Net external migration

Net external migration is the number of overseas arrivals into

each city, minus the number of people who have lived in New

Zealand and subsequently departed to reside overseas. This

measure highlights the number of New Zealand nationals and

migrants arriving and leaving our cities. Net external migration

is a key component of population growth and is one of the main

drivers of variations in the rate of growth of New Zealand cities.

While external migration data is useful in determining the number

of arrivals from overseas, it should be considered alongside

ethnicity data, which is, perhaps, a better reflection of where

external migrants choose to settle.

Following a peak in 2002, there was a decline in external

migration between 2003 and 2005, both nationally and in our

cities, with the exception of Wellington, which saw an increase

in external migration in 2005. Since 2005 there has been an

increase in external migration for all cities, except Rodney and

Dunedin.

The cities accounted for 82.5% of the growth in external

migration over the 2003 to 2006 period, with Auckland,

Christchurch and Wellington recording the highest numbers

of external migrants.

5 External migration data should be treated with some caution. While Auckland appears to have higher net migration than the other cities, this may be partly due to the fact that when filling out the

Immigration arrival card, people often do not differentiate between Auckland city and other cities in the Auckland region. Auckland, as New Zealand�s main international gateway, may also be the

first stop for many migrants who are unsure where they intend to live on a more permanent basis.

Net external migration (2003 to 2006)

Number of people

2003

2004

2005

2006

Rodney

225

146

-3

North Shore

2,050

1,073

1,267

Waitakere

910

337

-335

241

Auckland

12,148

7,147

6,183

7,552

Manukau

2,367

1,002

650

855

Hamilton

1,001

368

174

373

Tauranga

258

-269

-134

Porirua

-39

-495

-207

Hutt

-64

-171

-393

-137

Wellington

1,531

945

1,118

1,450

Christchurch

3,397

1,724

1,248

1,785

Dunedin

654

495

229

216

Total 12 cities

24,564

13,037

8,178

13,258

Rest of NZ

10,342

2,071

-1,207

1,351

Total NZ

34,906

15,108

6,971

14,609

Data source: Statistics New Zealand, External Migration 2003 to 2006

8,000

6,000

4,000

2,000

-2,000

-4,000

-6,000

-8,000

-10,000

Wellington

3,459

Rodney

4,611

North Shore

-4,104

-2,016

Waitakere

Auckland

-8,730

Manukau

-2,475

Hamilton

1,740

Tauranga

5,634

Porirua

-1,158

Hutt

-1,839

Christchurch

1,428

Dunedin

2,553

Total 12 cities

-897

Net internal migration (2001 to 2006)

Num

ople

Data source: Statistics New Zealand, Census 2001, 2006

Page 22

20 I Quality of Life in Twelve of New Zealand�s Cities 2007

Ethnicity

What this is about

Changes in the proportion of residents who identify with a

particular ethnic group provide an indication of ethnic diversity

in cities. Ethnic diversity has an impact on the social and cultural

infrastructure of our cities, including the range of services that

need to be provided and the way they are provided.

Ethnicity is the ethnic group or groups that people identify with

or feel they belong to. Ethnicity is a measure of cultural affiliation,

as opposed to race, ancestry, nationality or citizenship.

This indicator describes the proportions of the main ethnic

groupings within each city and the rest of New Zealand. Within

each of these broad ethnic groups there are many smaller ethnic

populations, each with its own age structure, customs and

settlement history in New Zealand. At the 2006 Census there

were 238 ethnic identities recorded nationally.

Measures for this indicator include:

� Ethnic composition

� Ethnic growth rates

� Ethnic projections.

In the 2006 Census, Statistics New Zealand made a number

of ethnicity classification changes that affect the comparability

of the 2006 Census with earlier censuses, particularly for the

New Zealand European and `Other� ethnic groups. The `Other�

category has been split into two groups: Middle Eastern/Latin

American/African (MELAA); and Other Ethnicity. The Other

Ethnicity category includes groups previously classified as

�Other�, as well as a separate category for New Zealander.

Previously, �New Zealander� responses were included in the

New Zealand European category.

� The ethnic mix in our cities is continuing to change, with Asian, Pacific Islands and the newly created �New Zealander� ethnic

groups growing the fastest.

� Our cities have higher proportions of Asian and Pacific Islands people compared with the rest of New Zealand.

6 Social infrastructure refers to a system of social services, networks and facilities that support people and communities. It includes concerns such as shelter, health, cultural expression, religion,

education, income, recreation and leisure. It also includes formal and informal networks of people, social services and facilities and community facilities. Cultural infrastructure refers to the

facilities that support cultural leaning such as art galleries, theatres, libraries, etc.

7 Ethnicity is self-perceived and people can belong to more than one ethnic group. An ethnic group is made up of people who have some or all of the following characteristics: a common proper

name, one or more elements of common culture which need not be specified, but may include religion, customs, or language, unique community of interests, feelings and actions, a shared sense

of common origins or ancestry and a common geographic origin. The definition of ethnicity used in this report is from Statistics New Zealand Statistical Standard for Ethnicity 2005.

8 Note that commentary, not detail, is provided in this report as the data was not available from Statistics New Zealand at the time of writing.

Page 23

Social/Cultural Wellbeing I 21

1. People

What did we find?

Ethnic composition

New Zealand�s ethnic mix is continuing to change. Over the

period from 2001 to 2006, the Asian ethnic group grew the

fastest (an increase of almost 50.0%). It should be noted that

the Asian ethnic group comprises a number of diverse nationalities

(e.g. Japanese, Korean and Chinese). These nationalities have

differing languages, cultures and religions. The Pacific Islands

ethnic group had the second largest increase (14.7%) and the

newly classified New Zealander ethnic group experienced the

third largest increase with 10.7%.

The ethnic composition of our cities varied considerably. For

example the New Zealand European proportion of total population

ranged from 38.2% in Manukau to 78.4% in Rodney, while the

Asian share ranged from 2.9% in Rodney to 23.1% in Auckland.

Manukau, Auckland, Waitakere and Porirua were the most

ethnically diverse of the 12 cities.

New Zealand European remained the largest of the major ethnic

groups for all our cities. The cities with the largest proportions

of New Zealand European residents were Rodney, Dunedin,

Christchurch and Tauranga respectively. These cities all had a

higher New Zealand European proportion than the rest of

New Zealand. It is important to note that the New Zealand

European ethnic group is in itself diverse, including people

who may have migrated from countries such as England, Australia

and South Africa.

Unlike the other ethnic groups, where more than half of the

total population resided in the 12 cities, less than half (41.3%)

of the Maori population lived in our cities. Porirua (19.9%) and

Hamilton (19.0%) had the highest proportion of Maori residents.

While Hutt (16.7%) and Tauranga (16.0%) also had relatively high

proportions of Maori residents, they are below that of the rest of

New Zealand (18.6%). Manukau had the largest Maori population

(47,346), followed by Auckland (29,847). North Shore had the

lowest proportion of Maori residents, whilst Dunedin had the

lowest number of Maori residents of the 12 cities.

The cities with the greatest proportion of Pacific Islands people

were Manukau (26.3%) and Porirua (25.3%), although Porirua

had a much smaller Pacific Islands population than Manukau.

The largest populations were in Manukau, Auckland and

Waitakere and together these three cities accounted for almost

three quarters (73.6%) of the Pacific Islands population in the

12 cities. Rodney and Tauranga had the lowest proportion and

number of Pacific Islands residents.

The Asian population was concentrated in the Auckland region

with Auckland (23.1%) and Manukau (20.3%) having the highest

proportion of Asian people. Together with North Shore and

Waitakere, these four cities had the highest Asian populations.

Although it had a low proportion of Asian people, Christchurch

had the fifth highest number of Asian residents. Rodney and

Tauranga had the lowest share and number of Asian residents.

9 Note these figures differ from Statistics New Zealand website�s QuickStats on Ethnicity. Statistics New Zealand do not include the �Not Elsewhere Included� category when calculating ethnic

group percentages.

Ethnic composition (2006)

NZ European

Maori

Pacific

Islands

people

Asian

MELAA

New Zealander

Other

Not elsewhere

included

Rodney

78.4

8.3

2.0

2.9

0.2

12.3

0.1

4.1

North Shore

65.7

6.1

3.2

18.1

1.7

9.5

0.1

2.7

Waitakere

55.5

12.3

14.4

15.2

1.5

7.8

0.0

6.0

Auckland

51.4

7.4

12.4

23.1

1.7

7.1

0.0

5.5

Manukau

38.2

14.4

26.3

20.3

1.4

5.1

0.1

5.7

Hamilton

62.4

19.0

4.0

10.1

1.4

10.1

0.1

4.5

Tauranga

72.3

16.0

1.8

3.3

0.4

13.3

0.0

3.0

Porirua

54.0

19.9

25.3

4.3

0.5

8.4

0.0

5.0

Hutt

63.4

16.7

10.3

8.6

1.1

9.8

0.0

2.3

Wellington

67.6

7.4

5.0

12.7

2.0

10.2

0.0

3.6

Christchurch

73.3

7.4

2.7

7.6

0.8

12.5

0.0

2.8

Dunedin

76.2

6.2

2.1

5.2

0.2

13.1

0.0

3.2

Total 12 cities

60.4

10.4

9.9

13.9

1.3

9.3

0.0

4.2

Rest of NZ

70.3

18.6

2.4

0.3

12.3

0.0

4.1

Total NZ

64.8

14.0

6.6

8.8

0.9

10.7

0.0

4.2

Data source: Statistics New Zealand, Census 2006

Page 24

22 I Quality of Life in Twelve of New Zealand�s Cities 2007

Ethnicity

continued

Ethnic growth rates

The inclusion of �New Zealander� as a new ethnic category in

2006 has impacted on the comparability of ethnic categories

over time. In particular the change resulted in an apparent

decline in New Zealand European ethnicity in all cities, except for

Rodney and Tauranga and a substantial increase in growth of the

�Other� ethnic category (which now includes New Zealander).

These two categories aside, the largest growth was in the Asian

population, which more than doubled between 1996 and 2006

in all but four of the cities. This growth in absolute numbers was

strongest in the Auckland region and Christchurch. Together the

12 cities accounted for 87.7% of growth of the Asian population

over this period.

The largest increase in the population of Pacific Islands people

was in Manukau (28,749). The strongest growth in Pacific

Islands population was in the northern half of the North Island,

particularly in Rodney (61.4%), Hamilton (59.7%) and Tauranga

(56.4%).

Hamilton, Manukau and Tauranga experienced the greatest

increase in Maori population, while Auckland was the only city

to experience a decline in the Maori population.

Ethnic projections

Ethnic projections for the cities indicate that there will be

lower proportions of the population identifying with European

ethnicities.

In contrast, the Maori, Asian and Pacific Islands

share of the population is generally projected to increase in

the cities.

Porirua is projected to have the highest Pacific Islands share in

2016, with Auckland having the highest Asian share. Rodney is

projected to have the largest numerical increase in New Zealand

European population during 2001 to 2016 and Manukau is

projected to have the largest numerical increase in Maori and

Pacific populations.

Growth in ethnic groups (1996 to 2006)

NZ European

Maori

Pacific Islands

Asian

Other

Number

Rodney

9,735

16.1

1,773

31.1

696

61.4

1,419

117.4

11,163

6,528

North Shore

-9,030

-6.3

372

3.1

1,398

27.2

22,338

150.3

21,816

1,460

Waitakere

-12,537

-10.8

2,706

13.4

8,409

45.7

17,208

154.8

16,467

1,830

Auckland

-20,934

-9.1

-1,785

-5.6

4,620

10.1

48,165

106.2

32,550

984

Manukau

-17,922

-12.5

4,584

10.7

28,749

49.7

40,125

150.9

19,965

1,197

Hamilton

-7,338

-8.3

4,788

24.2

1,920

59.7

7,326

128.1

14,247

2,065

Tauranga

7,320

10.8

4,326

35.3

663

56.4

2,106

157.0

13,974

8,318

Porirua

-2,829

-9.7

732

8.2

1,740

16.5

537

34.6

4,251

4,723

Hutt

-12,228

-16.5

2,307

16.5

2,436

31.8

2,907

53.3

10,269

2,517

Wellington

-4,899

-3.9

1,254

10.4

696

8.5

8,709

61.6

19,995

995

Christchurch

-32,583

-11.3

3,090

13.7

2,553

36.9

13,314

100.0

45,168

3,054

Dunedin

-16,314

-15.3

666

9.9

315

14.2

1,713

38.8

15,966

3,168

Total 12 Cities

-119,559

-8.1

24,813

11.9

54,195

32.3

165,867

114.3

225,831

1,752

Rest of NZ

-156,909

-11.1

16,560

5.3

9,480

27.7

15,081

52.9

223,401

6,305

Total NZ

-269,493

-9.4

41,958

8.0

63,741

31.5

181,050

104.4

449,244

2,736

Data source: Statistics New Zealand, Census 1996, 2006

10 Statistics New Zealand ethnic population projections 2001 base.

Page 25

Social/Cultural Wellbeing I 23

1. People

Age

What this is about

The age structure of a community is one of its fundamental

characteristics. It impacts on the range of services, facilities

and opportunities that need to be planned for and provided

at a local level.

This indicator uses Census data to show the proportion of the

population in certain age bands in each city. Measures for this

indicator include:

� Age structure

� Current and projected age.

What did we find?

Age structure

Manukau and Porirua had the youngest populations, with more

than one in four (26.2%) being 15 years and under, compared to

the rest of New Zealand where 22.3% of the population is under

15 years of age.

Cities offer wide-ranging work and tertiary educational

opportunities, which tend to attract a higher proportion of people

aged between 15 to 44 years. The proportion of population in the

12 cities in this age band was 45.8% compared to 37.9% in the

rest of New Zealand. Wellington and Auckland, in particular, had

an especially high proportion of their populations in the 15 to 44

age group (52.6% and 50.3% of their population respectively).

Tauranga and Rodney had the highest proportion of older people

(65 years and over) with 17.4% and 14.9% respectively. They

also had the greatest proportion of people in the 55 to 64 years

age group.

� Manukau and Porirua have the youngest populations with just over a quarter of their population under 15 years of age.

� Despite the national trend of an ageing population, eight of the 12 cities have a median age younger than the national median

of 35.9 years.

Rodney

North Shore

aitakere

Auckland

Manukau

Hamilton

auranga

Porirua

Hutt

ellington

Christchurch

Dunedin

otal 12 cities

Rest of NZ

otal NZ

Percent

6.8

6.9

5.2

6.2

7.6

8.7

6.7

7.4

8.5

6.4

7.9

6.1

6.3

15.6

10.6

9.7

16.6

14.4

11.9

14.9

13.7

15.4

13.3

16.5

14.0

10.1

10.8

15.8

14.3

14.4

16.8

12.8

8.7

9.3

12.4

16.6

17.5

16.2

12.8

8.6

9.6

17.7

15.7

13.4

15.4

12.3

8.6

8.3

14.5

18.7

14.8

13.9

12.0

8.6

10.1

14.2

12.0

11.6

14.3

13.1

10.8

17.4

17.5

14.5

13.0

15.7

13.1

9.6

7.9

15.3

13.7

13.3

15.8

13.6

9.9

10.9

11.5

17.7

18.1

16.8

12.7

8.6

8.4

12.7

15.3

13.6

15.0

13.5

10.2

11.6

13.5

13.3

9.8

13.4

21.6

14.1

15.8

14.4

15.7

13.0

9.3

10.8

15.5

12.1

11.0

14.8

14.2

11.4

14.1

14.7

14.2

12.9

15.9

13.6

10.3

12.3

65 years and o er

55 64 years

45 54 years

35 44 years

25 34 years

15 24 years

5 14 years

0 4 years

Age structure (2006)

Data source: Statistics New Zealand, Census 2006

Page 26

24 I Quality of Life in Twelve of New Zealand�s Cities 2007

Age

continued

The New Zealand European population of the 12 cities continued

to have significantly larger proportions in the older age cohorts

(14.0% aged 65 years and over) than Maori (3.1%), Pacific

Islands (4.0%) and Asian populations (4.9%).

The Pacific Islands and Maori populations had the youngest age

structures within the main ethnic groups.

The Asian population structure in cities was similar to that in the

rest of New Zealand. The exception to this is the 15 to 24 years

age group, which had a much higher representation in the cities

(22.5%) compared with the rest of New Zealand (18.0%). This

is likely to be due to attendance at tertiary education facilities

located in the larger cities.

Comparing the age structures of the 12 cities with the rest of

New Zealand, the proportion of those aged 45 years and over

was lower in the 12 cities across all ethnic groups, with the

exception of the Pacific Islands population.

Percent

Total 12 cities

Rest of NZ

65 years and over

16.4

14.0

11.8

10.8

13.9

13.2

14.2

15.1

10.4

13.2

11.8

14.4

14.9

13.1

6.6

55 - 64 years

45 - 54 years

35 - 44 years

25 - 34 years

15 - 24 years

5 - 14 years

0 - 4 years

ears

New Zealand European age structure (2006)

Data source: Statistics New Zealand, Census 2006

ears

Percent

4.8

3.1

6.0

5.0

10.4

9.3

13.3

13.5

12.7

15.2

16.9

19.3

24.4

22.5

11.5

12.1

65 years and over

55 - 64 years

45 - 54 years

35 - 44 years

25 - 34 years

15 - 24 years

5 - 14 years

0 - 4 years

Rest of NZ

Total 12 cities

Maori age structure (2006)

Data source: Statistics New Zealand, Census 2006

Page 27

Social/Cultural Wellbeing I 25

1. People

Percent

65 years and over

55 - 64 years

45 - 54 years

35 - 44 years

25 - 34 years

15 - 24 years

5 - 14 years

0 - 4 years

12.7

15.3

24.1

27.5

18.2

18.0

14.2

12.5

13.0

11.9

8.7

7.8

5.1

4.0

2.9

Total 12 cities

Rest of NZ

ears

Pacific Islands age structure (2006)

Data source: Statistics New Zealand, Census 2006

Percent

65 years and over

4.5

6.5

5.8

12.3

12.1

16.8

16.9

16.4

17.0

18.0

22.5

17.0

14.7

8.4

6.5

55 - 64 years

45 - 54 years

35 - 44 years

25 - 34 years

15 - 24 years

5 - 14 years

0 - 4 years

ears

Total 12 cities

Rest of NZ

Asian age structure (2006)

Data source: Statistics New Zealand, Census 2006

Page 28

26 I Quality of Life in Twelve of New Zealand�s Cities 2007

Current and projected age

New Zealand, like most westernised countries, is experiencing

an ageing of the population, particularly in working age cohorts.

Nationally, the median age has increased from 34.0 years

in 2001 to 35.9 in 2006. This trend of population ageing is

expected to continue, with the median age for New Zealand

reaching 41.4 by 2026.

The median ages in our cities, in part, reflects their ethnic

make up. The median age in 2006 was higher in Rodney,

Christchurch, Tauranga and North Shore than the national

median. This is projected to continue to be the case until 2026.

Of the 12 cities, Rodney is forecast to have the highest median

age by 2026 at 44.0 years. Hamilton is forecast to have the

lowest median age at 35.3.

Age

continued

11 Banks Peninsula is reported separately to Christchurch figures due to data availability.

Current and projected median age in years (2001 to 2026)

2001

2006

2011

2016

2021

2026

Rodney

38.5

39.7

41.0

42.2

43.2

44.0

North Shore

35.4

36.1

37.4

38.5

39.5

40.3

Waitakere

32.3

33.1

34.3

35.5

36.5

37.5

Auckland

33.3

34.0

35.3

36.6

38.0

39.2

Manukau

30.7

31.2

32.6

33.7

34.7

35.7

Hamilton

30.6

31.2

32.3

33.2

34.2

35.3

Tauranga

37.8

38.8

40.3

41.6

42.6

43.5

Porirua

30.6

32.0

33.8

35.5

37.1

38.7

Hutt

33.7

35.3

36.9

38.5

39.8

40.9

Wellington

32.9

33.3

34.5

35.8

37.1

38.3

Christchurch

35.3

36.3

38.2

39.9

41.1

42.3

Banks Peninsula

40.9

43.3

45.8

48.0

50.0

51.3

Dunedin

33.9

34.4

35.3

36.2

37.6

39.2

Total NZ

34.0

35.9

37.7

39.1

40.3

41.4

Data source: Statistics New Zealand � totals rounded

Page 29

Social/Cultural Wellbeing I 27

1. People

Families and households

What this is about

Household composition can reflect the impact of changing social

trends (e.g. later marriages, lower fertility rates and independent

living), economic pressures (such as housing costs, tertiary

education fees and incomes) and cultural preferences (e.g.

extended family and intergenerational living). Changes in the

number of households and people�s living arrangements can have

major implications for urban communities and their environments.

These issues can directly impact on the appropriateness of

existing housing stock, the types of dwellings people choose

to live in, the amount of residential land used and the location

of housing and growth in associated social and physical

infrastructure. Changing household composition can also have an

impact on the demand for housing.

This indicator includes a number of census derived measures that

reflect the living arrangements within the 12 cities. Measures for

this indicator include:

� Number of households

� Household composition

� Average household size (occupancy rate)

� Family type.

What did we find?

Number of households

Since 2001, the number of households has increased in all of the

12 cities. In total, the 12 cities accounted for 53.3% of household

growth in New Zealand.

With the exception of Porirua, Hutt and Dunedin, all of the cities

grew at a greater rate than total New Zealand (8.2%). Rodney

(16.8%), Tauranga (14.4%) and Manukau (13.6%) experienced

the greatest percentage growth, while Auckland and Manukau

experienced the greatest growth in absolute numbers (12,477

and 11,262 respectively).

� The number of households in Rodney is increasing at more than double the national growth rate for households.

� One-family households are the dominant form of households in the 12 cities, reflecting the national composition of households.

� Manukau has the highest proportion of households with two or more families.

Total households in private occupied dwellings (2001, 2006)

2001

2006

Change 2001 � 2006

Number

Rodney

28,185

32,910

4,725

16.8

North Shore

66,012

72,114

6,102

9.2

Waitakere

55,656

61,836

6,180

11.1

Auckland

130,530

143,007

12,477

9.6

Manukau

83,019

94,281

11,262

13.6

Hamilton

40,962

45,723

4,761

11.6

Tauranga

34,911

39,951

5,040

14.4

Porirua

14,748

15,396

648

4.4

Hutt

34,332

35,361

1,029

3.0

Wellington

61,812

67,713

5,901

9.5

Christchurch

125,034

133,746

8,712

7.0

Dunedin

43,287

44,391

1,104

2.6

Total 12 Cities

718,488

786,429

67,941

9.5

Rest of NZ

625,779

667,746

41,967

6.7

Total NZ

1,344,267

1,454,175

109,908

8.2

Data source: Statistics New Zealand Census, 2001, 2006 � totals rounded

Page 30

28 I Quality of Life in Twelve of New Zealand�s Cities 2007

Household composition

This measure examines the different combinations of family and

non-family households living in our cities.

While household

living arrangements in the 12 cities were similar to the rest of

New Zealand, there were marked differences between the cities.

The most common household structure in New Zealand and in

the 12 cities, was one-family households. Rodney, North Shore,

Porirua, Manukau and Waitakere all had higher shares of

one-family households than the rest of New Zealand.

Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin had lower proportions of

one-family households. These three cities all have tertiary

institutions and had correspondingly higher proportions of other

multi-person households. In Auckland and Wellington this could

be attributed, at least in part, to people moving to these cities for

employment and living in non-family households.

Manukau had the highest proportion of two-family households

(7.5%) and three or more family households (0.9%). This was in

part due to the high concentration of Pacific Islands families with

extended family structures.

Dunedin, Christchurch and Wellington respectively had the

highest proportion of one-person households, while Manukau

had the smallest proportion of one-person households (13.7%).

Families and households

continued

12 The concept of �family� explored in the Census is fairly Eurocentric and is still based around predominantly European definitions of nuclear family structures. As our cities are becoming more

ethnically and socially diverse it may be beneficial to broaden definitions of family in order to explore the more complex notions of households.

The percentage of households with two or more families resident

increased nationally from 2.1% in 2001 to 2.7% in 2006. This

trend was also evident in all of the 12 cities. Manukau (8.4%)

had more than three times the national rate (2.7%) of households

with two or more families resident.

Household composition (2006)

One - family

Two - family

Three - or

more family

Other multi - person

One - person

Unidentifiable

Rodney

73.2

1.3

0.0

2.6

20.2

2.1

North Shore

72.3

2.9

0.2

4.7

18.8

1.2

Waitakere

70.1

4.4

0.3

3.9

17.8

3.5

Auckland

62.1

3.3

0.3

8.2

23.2

2.9

Manukau

71.3

7.5

0.9

3.5

13.7

3.1

Hamilton

65.6

2.6

0.2

7.4

21.8

2.4

Tauranga

68.7

1.7

0.1

4.5

23.6

1.3

Porirua

72.1

4.5

0.4

3.6

16.8

2.7

Hutt

68.4

2.8

0.2

4.1

23.7

0.9

Wellington

62.0

1.7

0.1

9.8

24.6

1.7

Christchurch

65.5

1.7

0.0

6.7

25.1

1.0

Dunedin

62.9

1.1

0.0

8.7

26.1

1.1

Total 12 cities

66.9

3.1

0.2

6.1

21.5

2.1

Rest of NZ

68.8

1.8

0.1

3.7

23.8

1.8

Total NZ

67.8

2.6

0.2

5.0

22.6

1.9

Data source: Statistics New Zealand, Census 2006

Page 31

Social/Cultural Wellbeing I 29

1. People

Average household size (occupancy rate)

Average household size declined in New Zealand from 2.8

persons in 1996 to 2.7 in 2006. Average household size was

notably higher in Manukau, Porirua and Waitakere than the rest of

New Zealand and the other cities.

Household size also decreased in most of the 12 cities. It is

expected that this trend will continue due to population ageing,

delayed relationship formation and delayed parenting by young

people.

13 Data for the Rest of New Zealand for 2006 was not available.

Rodney

North Shore

aitakere

Auckland

Manukau

Hamilton

auranga

Porirua

Hutt

ellington

Christchurch

Dunedin

otal 12 cities

Rest of NZ

otal NZ

Percent

2001

2006

1.9

1.4

3.6

3.0

8.4

6.8

4.8

2.1

3.0

3.9

2.8

2.1

2.0

1.5

4.9

4.5

2.9

2.1

1.8

1.5

1.2

0.9

1.7

1.9

1.5

3.4

2.7

2.1

Percentage of households with two or more families resident (2001, 2006)

Rodney

2.6

2.7

2.8

3.0 3.0

2.7 2.7

3.3

3.4

2.7 2.7

2.6

2.5

3.2

3.1

2.8

2.7

2.6 2.6

2.5 2.5

2.8 2.8

2.7

2.7 2.7

North Shore

aitakere

Auckland

Manukau

Hamilton

auranga

Porirua

Hutt

ellington

Christchurch

Dunedin

otal 12 cities

Rest of NZ

otal NZ

4.0

3.5

3.0

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0

Number of persons

2001

2006

Average household size

(2001, 2006)

Data source: Statistics New Zealand, Census 2001, 2006

Page 32

30 I Quality of Life in Twelve of New Zealand�s Cities 2007

Families and households

continued

Family type

Family type classifies family units according to the presence or

absence of couples, parents and children usually residing in

the same dwelling. It is an important measure as family living

arrangements become more complex in our cities.

The one-parent family is an important category to monitor as

it is often reflected in other indicators of disadvantage. One-

parent families are more likely to be dependent on government

assistance or have lower household incomes than other family

types. Lower household incomes impact on families� ability to

meet basic needs and to participate in the community.

The proportion of one-parent families continued to increase

across the 12 cities, with the exception of Dunedin. Manukau

and Porirua had the highest proportion of one-parent with

child(ren) families, with two out of ten families comprising

of this type. Wellington, Rodney and Dunedin had the lowest

proportions of one-parent families.

Couples with child(ren) were a more common family type in the

Auckland region and Porirua. The lowest proportion of families

comprising couples with child(ren) were in Dunedin and Tauranga.

The high number of students residing in Dunedin and the older

population of Tauranga is likely to have influenced this pattern.

Couple-only families comprise two distinct family groups.

First, couples whose children have become independent adults

and left home and second, those who have no children by choice,

infertility or who have not yet started a family. Rodney, Tauranga

and the rest of New Zealand all had higher proportions of

couple-only families than nationally. These two cities had higher

proportions of people aged over 65 years, which contributed to

this pattern.

Nationally, one-parent with child(ren) (5.9%) and couple with

child(ren) (9.8%) categories grew at a slower rate than other

family types (10.3%) between 2001 and 2006. Conversely, the

couple without child(ren) category grew at a faster rate than

other family types.

Rodney experienced the strongest growth in the number of

households containing families (20.0%), followed by Manukau

at 18.4%. In Rodney, growth was strongest in the families

comprising couples with child(ren) (23.5%).

The cities that experienced the slowest growth in households

comprising families were Porirua, Dunedin and Hutt. These cities

had more in common with growth patterns found in the rest of

New Zealand than those found in the other nine cities.

Percent

Rodney

33.7

29.1

25.9

26.6

24.7

27.3

28.7

15.4

33.4

24.0

25.9

27.9

28.9

28.5

27.7

31.1

28.9

12.8

29.3

30.8

13.3

32.4

13.8

25.9

10.9

27.6

12.5

28.4

9.5

33.2

15.3

38.1

20.2

26.1

13.3

44.2

20.2

30.6

12.4

37.2

16.9

37.3

12.1

32.9

10.4

North Shore

One parent with children

Couple with child(ren)

Couple only

aitakere

Auckland

Manukau

Hamilton

auranga

Porirua

Hutt

ellington

Christchurch

Dunedin

otal 12 cities

Rest of NZ

otal NZ

Family type as a percentage of total households in private occupied dwellings (2006)

Data source: Statistics New Zealand, Census 2006

Page 33

Social/Cultural Wellbeing I 31

1. People

Disabilities

The most recent statistics on disabilities were gathered in the

2001 Disability Survey, which included separate surveys of those

in households and those in residential facilities.

Information on

disabilities is currently being collected by Statistics New Zealand

and final counts were not available in time for this report.

The key results from the 2001 survey show that one in five New

Zealanders had a disability and that disability increased with age.

The majority of disabled people had more than one disability, with

physical disabilities being the most common type of disability. The

number of people with mild disabilities decreased with age and

the number with moderate disabilities increased.

With an increasing and proportionately older population, different

health and disability issues are likely to increase over the next

ten to 20 years. Many developed countries have recognised that

the post World War II baby boomers will retire from work during

this period and that this could have a significant impact on the

delivery of health and disability services.

If available, the rates of disability by age and sex and per 100,000

of population living in urban and rural households are indicators

that will be included in future reports.

Maori wellbeing

While no single measure of wellbeing exists, measures such as

personal income, education levels and health are often used

to build up an overall picture. There is widespread concern,

however, that these statistics do not reflect Maori wellbeing.

Both Maori and non-Maori recognise that good quality statistical

information is required to inform debate, decision making and

research and to assist in monitoring the effects of government

policies and programmes relating to Maori.

More recently, a Maori statistics framework has been developed

by Statistics New Zealand that focuses on Maori development

and wellbeing. The specific focus of the framework is Maori

development, which is seen as the process for improving Maori

wellbeing. The framework views Maori wellbeing as a function of

the capability of Maori individuals and collectives to live the kind

of life that they want to live.

The framework is structured around areas of interest and

dimensions of Maori wellbeing. The information required to

measure the dimensions of wellbeing includes:

� Sustainability of Te Ao Maori (e.g. use of the language, spoken

proficiency)

� Social capability (�capital� is a word that Maori do not use

in relation to people and social relations)

� Human resource potential

� Economic self-determination

� Environmental sustainability

� Empowerment and enablement.

There is still a great deal of work to be done in this key area.

14 Christchurch figures exclude Banks Peninsula due to data availability.

15 See www.stats.govt.nz

16 The severity of the disability is a measure of the respondent�s intensity and extent of the disability. Respondents were assigned a rating of either �mild�, �moderate� or �severe� based on their need

for assistance and/or special equipment relating to their disability. Those with �moderate� disabilities use, or have an unmet need for, some type of assistive device, aid or equipment. Those with

�severe� disabilities receive daily assistance with tasks such as bathing, preparing meals etc.

17 Statistics New Zealand. (2002). Towards a Maori statistics framework: A discussion document.

Percentage change in family type (2001 to 2006)

Couple without

child(ren)

Couple with

child(ren)

One parent with

child(ren)

Total

Rodney

18.6

23.5

14.1

20.0

North Shore

13.2

15.4

8.7

13.5

Waitakere

15.4

12.7

11.6

13.3

Auckland

15.7

7.3

14.1

Manukau

15.0

20.4

18.4

Hamilton

16.6

14.6

8.1

13.9

Tauranga

18.0

17.5

9.3

16.1

Porirua

6.1

2.5

1.7

3.4

Hutt

5.8

3.1

6.8

4.8

Wellington

15.0

10.0

7.2

11.7

Christchurch

16.9

13.5

5.8

13.4

Dunedin

8.5

2.9

-5.6

3.7

Rest of NZ

11.9

5.2

2.6

7.5

Total NZ

13.0

9.8

5.9

10.3

Data source: Statistics New Zealand, Census 2001, 2006

Page 34

Chapter Two

Knowledge

and skills

What�s in this chapter?

Participation in

early childhood education

School participation

Qualification levels

Skill and job match

Career training

Page 35

Social/Cultural Wellbeing I 33

2. Knowledge and skills

Introduction

This chapter provides an overview of

the state of educational participation

and achievement in our cities.

Understanding the state of education

provides an insight into the knowledge

and skills of residents and how they can

apply these to improve their quality of life.

Why this is important

Educational achievement is essential for effective

participation in society. Increasingly, urban societies

are becoming knowledge-based and urban economies

require innovative solutions to meet market demands.

People�s ability to up-skill and re-skill during their working

lives is important if they are to keep pace with rapidly

changing work environments. Access to life-long learning

opportunities is also related to people�s need for self-

fulfilment and self-determination.

Key points

Participation in early childhood education has increased

overall in the 12 cities. However, levels of attendance still

remain low in Manukau and for Maori and Pacific Islands

children.

Maori and Pacific Islands students are over-represented

in school stand-down, suspension, exclusion and truancy

figures.

Nationally, 22.6% of school leavers do not have National

Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) level one

credits in literacy and numeracy.

Across the 12 cities there has been growth in the

percentage of people who have an educational qualification.

In the cities, people are less likely to have no qualifications

compared with those in the rest of New Zealand.

There has also been an increase in the number of active

trainees in industrial training and modern apprenticeships

from 2004 to 2006.

Links to other indicators

There are strong links between socio-economic status

and levels of educational participation and achievement.

Over the long term, poor educational performance at

school makes it harder for individuals to achieve good

levels of income, with consequent implications for

health, housing quality, participation in community life

and eventually the educational achievement of their

own children.

Page 36

34 I Quality of Life in Twelve of New Zealand�s Cities 2007

Rodney

100

2003

2004

2005

2006

North Shore

Percent

aitakere

Auckland

Manukau

Hamilton

auranga

Porirua

Hutt

ellington

Christchurch

Dunedin

Rest of NZ

otal NZ

95.1

96.7

97.8

97.3

97.8

91.1

98.1

93.5

92.3

97.2

98.1

92.4

91.5

91.8

92.9

93.2

86.2

87.6

87.8

86.4

93.7

95.8

95.4

96.4

96.3

96.2

96.0

97.1

95.5

94.4

94.7

96.0

97.4

97.6

98.1

97.9

98.3

98.4

98.5

99.4

98.8

99.0

93.8

94.0

94.2

94.7

93.5

94.0

94.3

94.5

91.1

93.8

94.2

96.2

� Participation levels in early childhood education have increased in the 12 cities over the last five years.

� Manukau has the lowest attendance level of the 12 cities.

� The majority of early childhood education participation takes place in a kindergarten, playcentre, education and care service

or home-based locations.

� Almost one in five Pacific Islands children do not attend an early childhood education centre.

What this is about

Early childhood education (ECE) is a critical first step in building

the foundation for a child�s ongoing learning and development.

The stimulation of learning at an early age has an important

bearing on future educational achievement. Social interaction with

other children at pre-schools is beneficial and is likely to make the

transition to formal schooling easier.

This indicator shows early childhood education participation rates

from 2003 to 2006. It reflects the number of children aged five

years and under enrolled in early childhood education centres

or home-based education programmes as a proportion of all

children aged five years and under.

1 Ministry of Education. (2002). Pathways to the Future: Nga Huarahi Arataki: A 10-year strategic plan for early childhood education 2002-2012.

2 Type of Service is shown as a percentage of the total of students who identified whether they attended ECE or not. Students who did not identify whether or not they attended ECE have been

removed from student count.

Participation in early childhood education

What did we find?

Participation levels in early childhood education have increased in

the 12 cities over the last five years.

Participation levels increased nationally from 2003 to 2006,

with the largest increase in attendance of the 12 cities occurring

in Porirua (5.1%).

Differences were apparent between cities in 2006. Dunedin had

the highest attendance level with 99.0% of children attending an

ECE centre, while Manukau had the lowest attendance level with

86.4% of children attending an ECE centre. This was still higher

than the rest of New Zealand figure of 83.5%.

Data source: Ministry of Education

Percentage of year one students who had attended an early childhood education centre (2003 to 2006)

Page 37

Social/Cultural Wellbeing I 35

2. Knowledge and skills

The majority of ECE participation takes place in a kindergarten,

playcentre, education and care service or home-based location.

Nationally, differences can be seen in attendance across ethnic

groups, with a larger percentage of Pacific Islands preschoolers

(15.8%) not attending ECE providers. This pattern was also seen

in the 12 cities, with the Pacific Islands group consistently

having the highest percentage of children not attending ECE

centres. This is seen especially in the Auckland region with

non-attendance rates as high as 20.4% in Manukau.

Percentage of early childhood education attendance by provider (2006)

Kindergarten,

Playcentre,

Education & Care

services or

Home-based

Kohanga

Reo

Playgroup

or Pacific ECE

Attended ECE

but type unknown

Did not attend

Rodney

92.7

0.8

0.2

3.5

2.8

North Shore

93.9

1.5

0.6

2.1

1.9

Waitakere

84.0

3.1

4.7

0.6

7.6

Auckland

83.5

2.5

4.3

2.9

6.8

Manukau

74.1

4.8

6.2

1.3

13.6

Hamilton

88.1

6.1

1.1

1.2

3.6

Tauranga

90.2

4.0

1.6

1.4

2.9

Porirua

79.1

9.0

6.8

1.4

3.8

Hutt

85.2

6.7

2.5

1.5

4.0

Wellington

92.3

1.4

2.1

2.2

1.9

Christchurch

94.9

1.2

1.4

0.9

1.6

Dunedin

96.6

0.9

1.3

0.2

1.0

Rest of NZ

83.5

8.4

1.8

1.0

5.3

Total NZ

85.1

5.5

2.5

1.4

5.5

Data source: Ministry of Education

Percentage of non-attendance at early childhood education by ethnicity (2006)

NZ European

Maori

Pacific Islands

Asian

Other

Total

Rodney

1.7

10.6

4.2

0.0

2.8

North Shore

1.0

4.7

14.3

0.5

0.9

1.9

Waitakere

2.7

8.9

15.8

7.8

14.7

7.6

Auckland

0.6

12.6

16.8

4.7

13.3

6.8

Manukau

2.9

20.7

20.4

4.6

6.5

13.6

Hamilton

1.1

6.6

8.7

2.7

6.7

3.6

Tauranga

1.0

8.2

3.4

0.0

2.9

Porirua

0.3

4.2

8.2

0.0

9.1

3.8

Hutt

1.6

6.5

10.4

2.6

6.7

4.0

Wellington

0.6

4.8

4.4

2.2

10.0

1.9

Christchurch

1.2

2.1

5.3

2.2

8.4

1.6

Dunedin

0.7

1.6

2.0

0.0

12.0

1.0

Rest of NZ

2.6

10.0

12.7

5.2

7.7

5.3

Total NZ

2.0

10.1

15.8

4.0

8.6

5.5

Data source: Ministry of Education

Page 38

36 I Quality of Life in Twelve of New Zealand�s Cities 2007

What this is about

Participation in school and education is an important foundation

block for an individual�s development. Lack of participation may

be symptomatic of behavioural problems and other social factors

that exist, such as the perceived value placed on education

by parents.

School suspension, stand-downs and exclusions tend to highlight

serious behavioural problems experienced by students at school.

The cause of such behavioural problems is complex and, in many

cases, is likely to be related to other problems within a student�s

personal life. These problems will have an impact on the student�s

capacity to learn.

Over time, patterns of non-attendance can place students at

risk of poor achievement and early drop-out, thus compromising

their later outcomes in life across a range of social and economic

measures.

Students who truant not only miss out on class work, but also

run an increased risk of alienation from the education system.

Truanting students are at a greater risk of dropping out of

school entirely.

Measures used to explore school participation are:

� Percentage of students stood-down, suspended and excluded

� Percentage of students truant

� Percentage of students under 16 years who have an early

leaving exemption.

What did we find?

Percentage of students stood-down, suspended and excluded

This measure illustrates the stand-down, suspension and

exclusion rates (age-standardised per 1,000 students) for 2004,

2005 and 2006.

Nationally there was an increase in the rate of students being

stood-down and excluded from 2004 to 2006. Within the 12

cities, notable increases in the rate of stand-downs were in

Rodney, Hutt and Manukau.

Differences can be seen between the 12 cities, with North Shore

and Wellington consistently having low rates of stand-downs,

suspensions and exclusions compared to the other cities. Within

the 12 cities, a decline was seen in the rate of suspensions for

Waitakere, Tauranga, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.

Nationally, Maori students had the highest rates of stand-downs

and suspensions. In 2006, the age-standardised suspension

rate for Maori students was 15.6 students per 1,000 students.

This was higher than the rates for Pacific Islands students (10.6

students per 1,000), students in the �Other� ethnicity category

(6.5 per 1,000) and New Zealand European students (4.1 per

1,000). This trend was also apparent for the 12 cities.

Nationally, the main reasons for student stand-downs in 2006

were physical assaults on other students or staff (27.0%),

continual disobedience (26.3%) and verbal assaults (17.2%).

School participation

3 It should be noted that there may be substantial differences between the application of stand-down, suspension and exclusion practices between schools. Both are subject to guidelines issued by

the Ministry of Education but are strongly influenced by the policies set by a board of trustees e.g. �zero tolerance� to issues such as bullying or drugs.

4 Ministry of Education. (2006). Attendance, Absence, and Truancy in New Zealand Schools in 2006.

5 Ministry of Education. (2007). Truancy from School.

6 Stand-down is the formal removal of a student from school for a specified period. Stand-downs of a student can total no more than five school days in any term, or ten days in a school year.

Following stand-downs, students return automatically to school. Suspension is the formal removal of a student from school until the board of trustees decides the outcome at a suspension meeting.

Following a suspension the board may decide to lift the suspension with or without conditions, to extend the suspension, or in the most serious cases, to either exclude or expel the student.

Exclusion means the formal removal of a student aged under 16 years from the school and the requirement that the student enrol elsewhere. Expulsion means the formal removal of a student

aged 16 years or over from school. He or she may enrol in another school.

7 Ministry of Education. (2007). Stand-downs and Suspensions from School.

� Maori and Pacific Islands students continue to be over-represented in stand-down, suspension and exclusion figures.

� There has been an increase in the truancy rate recorded in many of the 12 cities.

� There has been an increase across the 12 cities in students receiving early leaving exemptions.

Page 39

Social/Cultural Wellbeing I 37

2. Knowledge and skills

Percentage of students truant

This measure shows the percentage of students truant from

school during a particular reference week.

There was an increase nationally in the rate of truancy recorded

from 2004 to 2006.

Manukau had the highest truancy rate of the 12 cities with 5.6%

of students absent from school, while Dunedin had the lowest

truancy with 2.8% of students absent from school.

A number of cities saw a drop in the truancy rate between 2004

and 2006, with Porirua having the largest fall of 0.8%. Hamilton

however, showed the largest increase of the 12 cities with a

2.2% increase.

In 2006, Maori and Pacific Islands students had double the

truancy rate when compared with New Zealand European and

Asian students.

There may be a relationship between increased risk of juvenile

offending, truancy, school exclusions and non-engagement in

education. Many young offenders do not participate in education

and are likely to have low levels of educational attainment.

8 The age-standardised stand-down/suspension/exclusion rate is one where all subgroups, for all years being compared are artificially given the same age distribution. In this indicator, the age distributions of students

in each subgroup and year have been standardised to (or weighted by) the set of 2005 age-specific stand-down/suspension/exclusion rates for all New Zealand. As stand-downs, suspensions and exclusions are

highest for students aged 13 to 15 years, standardising for age will remove any differences due to one group having a younger or older population than other groups, or if the overall age distribution has changed from

year to year. As such, the standardised rate is an artificial measure, but it does provide an estimate of how groups, or overall rates by year, might more fairly compare if they had the same age distribution.

9 Caution must be taken when examining the absence and truancy rates for each of the territorial local authority districts. The differences between local authorities make robust comparisons between them difficult.

Some have small numbers of responding schools and would be sensitive to changes in absence rates in response to what was happening during the survey week for the schools in the territorial local authority.

10 The reference week for 2006 was 21 to 25 August 2006.

11 Ministry of Education. (2006). Attendance, Absence, and Truancy in New Zealand Schools in 2006.

12 Ministry of Justice. (2002). Youth Offending Strategy: Report of the Ministerial Taskforce on Youth Offending. Wellington.

Age-standardised rates per 1,000 students for stand-downs, suspensions and exclusions (2004 to 2006)

Stand-downs

Suspensions

Exclusions

2004

2005

2006

2004

2005

2006

2004

2005

2006

Rodney

28.5

31.4

36.2

10.5

12.4

11.9

2.2

3.1

2.5

North Shore

16.5

17.0

15.0

2.9

4.0

3.8

1.1

1.7

1.3

Waitakere

37.8

36.8

41.8

8.0

6.9

7.3

2.7

2.8

Auckland

19.8

22.7

24.1

5.8

6.4

6.0

2.9

3.1

2.8

Manukau

24.3

27.4

30.9

5.2

6.1

2.1

2.3

2.8

Hamilton

22.8

23.8

25.8

3.6

4.7

4.0

1.4

1.7

1.8

Tauranga

25.1

22.7

19.6

6.4

7.2

6.0

2.4

2.6

2.0

Porirua

37.2

37.1

36.8

9.8

8.5

9.9

3.4

4.4

2.4

Hutt

32.2

34.9

42.4

6.9

7.5

8.5

2.6

3.3

3.2

Wellington

16.4

13.4

14.2

4.2

4.0

3.7

1.1

1.0

0.6

Christchurch

30.7

35.3

32.7

5.4

6.5

5.2

1.8

2.4

1.8

Dunedin

21.0

27.7

24.0

4.6

4.4

2.1

2.0

1.8

Total NZ

28.8

30.6

31.4

6.7

7.2

7.0

2.3

2.6

2.5

Data source: Ministry of Education

Rodney

2004

2006

1.9

3.0

2.4

3.3

3.4

4.1

3.5

3.4

4.0

5.6

5.3

3.1

4.4

4.0

5.5

4.7

5.3

4.8

3.2

3.1

3.8

3.7

3.3

2.8

3.4

4.1

North Shore

aitakere

Auckland

Manukau

Hamilton

auranga

Porirua

Hutt

ellington

Christchurch

Dunedin

otal NZ

Percent

Data source: Ministry of Education, Truancy Survey

Percentage of students truant (2004, 2006)

Page 40

38 I Quality of Life in Twelve of New Zealand�s Cities 2007

Percentage of students under 16 years who have an early

leaving exemption

This measure shows the percentage of students under the age of

16 years who have received an early leaving certificate. School

is compulsory for all students aged between six and 16 years.

However, parents of students aged 15 years may apply for an

exemption from schooling on the basis of educational problems,

conduct or the unlikelihood of the student gaining benefit from

attending available schools.

Nationally, the percentage of students receiving an early leaving

exemption remained stable from 2003 to 2005.

Looking at the 12 cities, there was an increase in the percentage

of students under 16 years of age who received early leaving

certificates in Rodney, Waitakere and Hamilton. Declines were

seen in North Shore and Auckland.

There were low percentages of students receiving early leaving

certificates in North Shore, Auckland and Wellington.

Nationally, a higher percentage (15.8% in 2005) of Maori

students received early leaving certificates than other ethnicities.

There is a clear correlation between socio-economic factors and

early leaving exemption rates. Lower decile schools (that draw

students from communities with the highest levels of socio-

economic disadvantage) have a higher rate of early leaving

exemptions than higher decile schools.

There is also a strong correlation between early school leavers

and unemployment and/or lower incomes, which in turn are

generally related to poverty and dependence on welfare.

Rodney

9.0

8.8

10.4

2.6

2.5

2.7

7.0

7.7

9.4

3.6

2.3

2.7

6.8

7.5

6.6

7.6

8.5

7.7

7.0

7.9

9.2

10.9

10.0

6.3

5.6

5.7

6.0

0.8

2.2

2.1

6.9

6.1

7.6

4.0

5.1

4.1

9.5

9.0

9.2

7.1

6.9

7.1

Percent

North Shore

aitakere

Auckland

Manukau

auranga

Hamilton

Porirua

Hutt

ellington

Christchurch

Dunedin

Rest of NZ

otal NZ

2003

2004

2005

Data source: Ministry of Education

Percentage of students receiving an early leaving exemption (2003 to 2005)

School participation

continued

13,14,15 Ministry of Education. (2007) Early Leaving Exemptions.

Page 41

Social/Cultural Wellbeing I 39

2. Knowledge and skills

Qualification levels

� There has been a notable increase throughout New Zealand of people with a vocational or degree qualification.

� Nationally, there has been a decline in the percentage of school leavers with low attainment.

� In New Zealand, almost a quarter of school leavers do not have National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) level one

credits in literacy and numeracy.

What this is about

Individual and community levels of education have a strong

positive association with a range of economic and social benefits.

Measuring the qualification levels of a city�s population aged 15

years and over helps to identify the job readiness of the future

labour force. An educated population adds to the vibrancy and

creativity of a city and is needed for a city to remain competitive in

the global economy. Measures used to assess this indicator are:

� Highest level of qualification gained

� School leavers with low attainment

� Percentage of students who leave school without core literacy

and numeracy credits, NCEA level one.

What did we find?

Highest level of qualification gained

This measure shows the highest level of qualification gained

within the population aged 15 years and over. Highest

qualification refers to school qualifications, post-school

qualifications (degree and vocational) and no qualification

(including still at school).

Percentage of population aged 15 years and over within highest qualification categories (2001, 2006)

No qualification

School

Vocational

Degree

Not elsewhere

included %

2001

2006

2001

2006

2001

2006

2001

2006

2001

2006

Rodney

22.9

20.9

37.1

33.5

18.9

7.1

11.1

14.0

9.5

North Shore

14.7

12.9

41.6

36.4

19.3

22.7

14.6

21.3

9.9

6.7

Waitakere

22.8

21.1

37.9

33.4

16.5

20.6

8.1

13.0

14.9

11.9

Auckland

14.7

13.4

35.7

31.4

15.8

18.2

19.5

26.1

14.3

10.9

Manukau

24.4

23.2

36.6

33.4

15.1

18.9

7.4

11.2

16.5

13.2

Hamilton

21.8

20.0

35.5

31.7

18.7

21.8

12.5

16.8

11.4

9.8

Tauranga

25.6

23.9

33.9

30.4

19.6

25.6

6.4

10.2

14.6

9.8

Porirua

24.7

22.8

35.0

31.0

32.6

21.3

17.4

12.9

9.2

12.0

Hutt

23.4

22.7

34.8

31.8

18.4

22.3

11.1

14.8

12.3

8.5

Wellington

11.6

10.5

34.8

31.0

17.4

18.8

26.7

32.9

9.6

6.9

Christchurch

22.8

21.4

36.0

33.0

17.8

21.7

11.2

15.3

12.1

8.6

Dunedin

21.5

19.5

36.1

34.2

17.5

20.5

13.2

17.1

11.8

8.8

Total 12 cities

19.9

19.3

36.4

33.0

17.6

20.8

13.6

16.6

12.9

10.3

Rest of NZ

28.5

26.3

29.4

17.6

22.6

5.9

11.0

15.5

10.5

Total NZ

23.7

22.4

34.5

31.4

17.6

21.6

10.1

14.2

14.1

10.4

Data source: Statistics New Zealand, Census 2001, 2006

Page 42

40 I Quality of Life in Twelve of New Zealand�s Cities 2007

Qualification levels

continued

Throughout New Zealand there was a notable increase in people

with a vocational or degree qualification. Part of this increase may

be accounted for by the decrease in the percentage of people in

�not elsewhere included� categorisations.

Nationally, there was a small decline in the percentage of the

population with no qualifications.

The decline in the percentage of the population with school

qualifications was offset by the increase in those with vocational

qualifications.

The percentage of people with qualifications in the 12 cities was

higher than for the rest of New Zealand. Differences occurred

across the 12 cities with Tauranga, Manukau, Porirua and

Hutt respectively having high percentages of people without

qualifications.

Larger differences in the percentage of people with degree

qualifications were apparent between cities, ranging from 32.9%

for Wellington to 10.2% for Tauranga. The cities with the largest

percentage change from 2001 to 2006 were North Shore,

Auckland and Wellington.

Educational qualifications are linked to labour force status and

an individual�s income level. According to a 2005 Organisation

for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report, New

Zealand salary and wage earners with a bachelor�s degree or

higher earn 95.0% more per hour on average than those with no

qualification.

School leavers with low attainment

This measure shows the percentage of school leavers with low

educational attainment from 2003 to 2006.

Nationally, there was a decline in the percentage of school leavers

with low attainment, from 15.3% in 2003 to 11.1% in 2006.

Cities that saw consistent declines in low attaining school leavers

were Manukau, Tauranga, Hutt and Dunedin.

The highest percentage of school leavers with low attainment in

2006 was seen in Porirua (28.2%) and the lowest percentage in

Wellington (4.8%). However, it should be noted that Porirua had

a low number of school leavers compared to the other cities and

this may have had an impact on figures.

Male students were more likely to leave school with little or no

formal attainment than female students.

Maori students had the largest proportion of school leavers with

little or no formal attainment.

There is a link between low educational attainment or lack of

qualifications and unemployment. In New Zealand in 2005,

people with no qualifications had an unemployment rate more

than 50.0% higher than those whose highest qualification was

a school qualification.

16 OECD. (2005). Education at a Glance: OECD indicators 2005. Paris: OECD. Cited in Ministry of Education. (2007). School Leavers with No Qualifications.

17 Low attainment in the period 2002 to 2004 was defined as those school leavers with no qualifications or one to 13 credits at any NCEA level.

18 Ministry of Education. (2007). School Leavers with No Qualifications.

Percent

Rodney

North Shore

aitakere

Auckland

Manukau

Hamilton

auranga

Porirua

Hutt

ellington

Christchurch

Dunedin

otal 12 cities

Rest of NZ

otal NZ

2003

2004

2005

2006

10.4

6.8

22.4

16.9

18.7

15.0

8.1

5.0

6.2

5.1

20.5

15.8

18.1

14.4

7.9

6.2

16.5

14.1

11.6

10.1

14.4

13.5

12.9

9.3

17.8

13.6

10.3

10.8

5.9

5.4

7.2

4.8

9.9

9.8

12.2

10.5

9.5

9.4

9.1

7.7

13.1

10.0

10.9

9.2

17.9

15.9

15.3

13.5

15.3

12.8

12.9

11.1

25.5

15.0

24.0

28.2

21.1

10.4

14.1

12.2

Data source: Ministry of Education, Truancy Survey

Percentage of school leavers with low attainment (2003 to 2006)

Page 43

Social/Cultural Wellbeing I 41

2. Knowledge and skills

Percentage of students who leave school without core literacy

and numeracy credits, NCEA level one

This measure shows the percentage of students who leave

school without core literacy and numeracy credits for 2005.

Nationally, 22.6% of school leavers in New Zealand left school

without having NCEA level one credits in literacy and numeracy.

This was lower than the rest of New Zealand (25.7%).

Of the 12 cities, Porirua had the highest rate of school leavers

without basic literacy and numeracy skills (33.3%). North Shore

had the lowest rate (11.6%).

19 Comparison with previous years is not possible due to methodological issues with the way the data was collected.

Percent

31.7

11.6

30.9

14.9

24.8

24.3

33.3

21.9

13.1

20.8

15.7

25.7

22.6

Rodney

North Shore

aitakere

Auckland

Manukau

Hamilton

auranga

Porirua

Hutt

ellington

Christchurch

Dunedin

Rest of NZ

otal NZ

Data source: Ministry of Education, Truancy Survey

Percentage of school leavers without literacy and numeracy credits for NCEA level one (2005)

Page 44

42 I Quality of Life in Twelve of New Zealand�s Cities 2007

Rodney

Strongly disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly agree

North shore

Waitakere

Auckland

Manukau

Hamilton

Tauranga

Porirua