How Important is Culture?
New Zealanders' views in 1997

Minister’s Foreword

Our culture is something that shapes our view of ourselves and how we fit in the world. Until recently, not a lot was known about how New Zealanders see culture – or even whether we identify with a recognisable New Zealand culture.

The Ministry for Culture and Heritage’ first survey in 1994 on New Zealanders’ attitudes to culture gave us a clearer picture. Most saw culture as being a mix of performing and visual arts, heritage, literature, and a particular New Zealand way of life. Maori culture plays an important part in our national identity, and other nationalities and groups contribute. Most New Zealanders agreed that culture enriches our lives and gives us a sense of identity, and almost all said that the achievements of our artists in all fields gave us a sense of pride.

I am pleased to see that this year’s follow-up confirms and builds on the views in that benchmark survey. New Zealanders still feel just as strongly about the importance of culture. We enjoy and value cultural activities of all kinds and we are proud of our country’s achievements and heritage. We also want to experience the best of international art and culture here.

I believe this survey also shows that though most people personally value culture, they perceive that many other New Zealanders do not. That is unfortunate. Maybe we need to open up a lot more about the place of culture in our lives.

The media, too, can do more. Though it appears that media coverage has improved significantly, many still want to see more about culture in the media - to see ourselves reflected.

There are challenges in this report. I hope you find the results as interesting and encouraging as I do.

Hon Simon Upton
Minister of Cultural Affairs

Introduction

What does ‘culture’ mean to New Zealanders? How important is it in our lives? The Ministry for Culture and Heritage asked those questions in a benchmark survey in 1994 and received some surprising answers. Culture is definitely important to most New Zealanders, from all backgrounds.

That survey was taken at the height of international acclaim for "The Piano" and during the publicity for the release of "Once were Warriors". In July 1997 ACNielsen McNair was commissioned to carry out a follow-up survey on the relevance of culture, to assist the Ministry in providing up-to-date advice to Government on the provision and management of cultural resources for the benefit of all New Zealanders.

This survey again looked at people’s attitudes towards culture and cultural activities, measured their personal levels of interest, and asked about perceived and preferred levels of media coverage.

It confirmed the 1994 findings. New Zealanders say culture and cultural activities are valuable and relevant. The findings show strong support for protection of heritage and arts education, appreciation of Maori culture, and a need for media attention and Government involvement.

Research Methodology

The survey was part of a regular ACNielsen McNair computer-assisted telephone interview ‘omnibus’. Researchers talked to a representative group of 937 randomly-selected people, 18 years or older, throughout New Zealand. There were quotas on age and sex within geographical areas to accurately reflect New Zealand’s population. Location, ethnicity, occupation and income were also measured.

The definition of culture used during the survey was designed to be easily understood in phone interviews:

"Culture and cultural activities are about our way of life and are a combination of:

• our past and present as reflected in museums and libraries, on marae and in films
• activities such as dance, classical and pop music, theatre, books, magazines, films, paintings, pottery and other forms of crafts and hobbies."

Maximum margin of error is 3.2%. Some limitations apply to all public opinion surveys and any interpretation of results should also recognise this. All totals may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

Overall Results

New Zealanders value culture and cultural activities. Interest is spread over all occupational groups and incomes, though not all think cultural activities have a high profile. While 84% say they personally enjoy culture and cultural activities, around half believe that ‘only a minority’ of New Zealanders do so.

• Most New Zealanders (90%+) still agree that cultural activities help enrich people’s lives, bring people together in local communities and enable us to express ourselves
• Despite some perceived improvements in media coverage since 1994, over half (54%) still want more coverage of cultural activities
• Almost all (96%) believe the success of New Zealand artists in various fields gives us a sense of pride
• More than 80% say Maori culture and cultural activities are an important part of New Zealand’s identity
• 96% think that historic buildings and places should be protected
• 96% agree that children should have lots of involvement with art, music and literature at school
• 88% say that different nationalities and ethnic groups enrich our culture
• Most (82%) believe Government should support and encourage culture and cultural activities
• 73% believe there should be more sponsorship from private companies.

Demographic Details

• Women are generally more positive about the role of cultural activities in society than men, and tend to have higher personal levels of interest
• Maori surveyed agree more strongly with most attitude statements than ‘New Zealand European’ and have higher personal levels of interest in cultural activities
• Support for cultural activities is fairly consistent over all occupation and income groups
• There is no significant difference in attitude and overall interest in culture between geographic locations, different age groups, and city and rural dwellers.

Detailed Findings

Attitudes towards culture and cultural activities
People questioned had a number of statements about culture and cultural activities read to them, and were asked whether they agreed or disagreed. Overall, levels of agreement are very similar to those in 1994 and attitudes remain very positive, though there is some decrease in the intensity of levels of agreement.

Five new attitude statements were introduced in 1997, and two former statements re-worded so they asked for people’s own thoughts, rather than their views of others. In 1994 respondents were asked to agree or disagree that "sporting activities are more important to most New Zealanders than cultural activities". Back then, 87% thought that "most New Zealanders" found sport more important. However in 1997 when the statement is "sporting activities are more important than cultural activities" less than half agree.

The other change is in the statement "Most New Zealanders don’t have a strong sense of New Zealand’s cultural identity". 72% of respondents in 1994 thought that was the case - only 27% said New Zealanders had a strong sense of cultural identity. But in 1997 when people are asked if they, personally, have a strong sense of cultural identity, 62% say yes.

The new statements on protection of heritage and children’s involvement with arts education gain high levels of strong agreement.

A high level of support for Government involvement in cultural activities continues, and there is agreement still that private companies should put more into sponsorship.

Interest in Culture and Cultural Activities
All those surveyed were asked about their personal level of interest in culture and cultural activities generally. As in 1994, the majority say they are ‘quite interested’, while the percentage who are ‘very interested’ has increased. More women (35%) than men (18%) say they are very interested in culture and cultural activities, and 50% of Maori respondents are very interested, compared to 23% of ‘New Zealand Europeans’.

• Overall, 84% of New Zealanders say they are interested in culture and cultural activities. Numbers ‘very interested’ have risen to 27% - up from 23% in 1994, while only 16% are not interested
• Despite their own interest, around half think that cultural activities are enjoyed by ‘only a minority’ of New Zealanders.

Media Coverage of Cultural Activities
Respondents were asked about the coverage of cultural activities in newspapers, magazines, television and radio, compared with coverage of sport, business and gardening; then asked how much they actually wanted. As in 1994, perceived and preferred levels of media coverage of culture differ greatly.

Perception that there is some media coverage of culture has risen significantly since 1994, but it is still well below perceived coverage for sport, business and gardening. Virtually all still say there is a lot of sports coverage. Just over half (53%) including some ‘not interested’ in culture want more media coverage of culture, though this is down from a high of 63% in 1994. More women than men want more about cultural activities in the media, while more men than women want increased business coverage.

• People still perceive there is less media coverage of cultural activities than of sport, business or gardening
• Only 9% say there is ‘a lot’ of media coverage of culture, while 89% say there is ‘a lot’ of sport, 23% ‘a lot’ of gardening and 33% ‘a lot’ of business. Overall perceptions of sport and gardening coverage in the media remain about the same, and there is a slight increase in perceived business coverage.

• Perhaps due to the perceived increase in levels of media coverage of culture there is a corresponding increase in those saying they are happy with current levels of coverage
• However just over half (54%) of New Zealanders still want more about cultural activities in the media. This compares with almost a third who would like more gardening, 26% who would like more business and 16% who want more sport
• Almost a third (30%) want less coverage of sport - a decrease from 36% in 1994 - and 17% want less media coverage of business.

Spending on Culture in New Zealand

A 1996 report from Statistics New Zealand "Household Spending on Culture" backs up this survey’s findings on New Zealanders’ interest in cultural activities.

It shows that in the year ending March 1996 New Zealand Households spent $1.9 billion, or almost 5% of their total expenditure, on cultural goods and services. That was more than spending on such things as domestic fuel and power, overseas travel or clothing and footwear. Choices were different amongst various age groups, but money spent on cultural goods and services included:

• $438 million on books, newspapers and magazines
• $62 million on tickets to theatre, ballet and concerts
• $65 million on tickets to the movies
• $106 million on recorded music
• $46 million on video cassette hire For copies of the report contact your nearest Statistics New Zealand office.

If you would like further, detailed information
on the 1997 survey please contact:
Ministry for Culture and Heritage
PO Box 5364
Wellington
Ph: (04) 499 4229
Fax: (04) 499 4490
e-mail: info@mch.govt.nz