Responding to the COVID-19 Level 4 Lockdown: Social Cohesion and Trust in Government

Dr Lesley Campbell for Ihi Research

Did the New Zealand Government’s decision to initiate the COVID-19 Level 4 lockdown lead to a sense of social cohesion by its citizens and greater trust in government?

Social cohesion is a willingness and solidarity among members of a society to cooperate with one another in times of disaster (Diversity Best Practice, 2020; CBC News, 2020; Claridge, 2020). The solidarity of New Zealanders has been tested by the Government’s decision to impose a nation-wide lockdown to contain and eliminate the COVID-19 virus. Measures put in place included mandatory border quarantining, closure of educational facilities, shut down of non-essential businesses and restricting all social contact through stay at home orders (Hutt, 2020).

Uslaner (n.d., 185) maintains that to achieve such solidarity among members of society citizens must have trust and confidence in their governments. Moreover, such trust depends on the administration’s performance in quickly and effectively responding to disasters such as the COVID-19 virus pandemic. Grant (2020) states that trust in government is dependent upon citizens’ perceptions about the government’s level of expertise, technical knowledge and impartiality to impose such restrictions on people’s liberty and freedoms to further public well being.

A survey administered by Ihi Research one week into the Level 4 lockdown found that 95 percent of the respondents believed the Government had managed the COVID-19 outbreak well. Furthermore, 92 percent of the respondents felt confident the Government would make the right decisions in the future.

A Colmar Brunton survey (8 April 2020) found that 84 percent of New Zealanders approved of the way the Government is handling the pandemic in this country. This compared to 54 percent across the G7. A total of 88 percent of New Zealanders trust the Government to make the right decisions about COVID-19. This is well above the G7 average of 59 percent. In both the Ihi Research and Colmar Brunton findings only five percent of respondents felt that the Government had overreacted to the pandemic. The presentation of the results from the Colmar Brunton survey did not provide ethnicity information, whereas Ihi Research reported findings for Māori, Pacifica and New Zealand European.

The Ihi Research survey also asked respondents whether they intended to follow the lockdown rules. A total of 99 percent of respondents either ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ to follow the lockdown rules, with New Zealand Europeans more likely to ‘strongly agree’ to do this than Māori. Similar findings about citizens’ willingness to participate in the lockdown were found by Colmar Brunton (Colmar Brunton, 8 April 2020).These findings indicated the majority of New Zealanders had ‘a sense that we are all in this together’ … and that it’s ‘for the good of our whānau, hapu, iwi and the nation’ – a reflection of citizens’ belief that social cohesion and participation can make a difference for New Zealanders. (Māori, New Zealand European).

Interestingly, in the Ihi Research survey, 17 percent of respondents admitted making certain exceptions to the rules. Comments made by survey participants suggested that decisions to venture out were motivated by a desire to provide meals for vulnerable whānau kanohi ki te kanohi, shopping for essential items and travelling outside their neighbourhoods.

New Zealand, along with other countries (Canada, Singapore, Australia, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and some European countries) managed to respond early and strongly on the health and economic fronts (Grant, 2020). For example, during the earliest weeks of Level 4 the New Zealand Government put in place a $24 billion economic support package to mitigate economic impact, whilst providing assistance to ease the social impact on New Zealanders (Grant, 21 April 2020). Yet the pandemic has brought to the fore the inequalities in New Zealand society and the marginalisation of workers who maintained essential services during the lockdown. A number of survey comments highlighted this.

“I’m desperately worried about the health of the vulnerable, the week-to-week wage earners, those who have lost employment and those who cannot participate in an online world that is assumed the norm. It’s not! The divide between the haves and have nots will never be so apparent as during the lockdown.” (Māori/Pacific/New Zealand European)

Moreover, as Gluckman and Bardsley (2020) point out, the high trust in Government and initial solidarity exemplified by New Zealanders during the first weeks of the lockdown may well be tested as isolation, mental health issues and the effects of business and job loses become a reality. Moreover, the United Nations (April 2020) commented that there is likely to be a negative impact on communities, particularly vulnerable and marginalised groups. In order to mitigate the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 the Government should place social cohesion as a key policy platform for New Zealand’s recovery. It is through tailored community-led solutions and supporting the strength of connections among members of the community that such socio-economic recovery from COVID-19 will become a reality (Carlo-Blanco et al., 2013; Putnam, 1993).

References

Calo-Blanco, A., Kovarik, J., Mengel, F., & Romero, J.G. (2017). Natural disasters and indicators of social cohesion. PLos ONE 12(6): e0176885. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0176885.

CBC News (21 March 2020). ‘Lean in to social connections’ during Covid-19 pandemic, experts advise. Retrieved from: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/lean-in-to-social-connections-during-covid-19-pandemic-experts-advise-1.5505096

Claridge, T. (28 January 2020). What is the difference between social capital and social cohesion? Queensland: Social Capital Research. Retrieved from: https://www.socialcapitalresearch.com/what-is-the-difference-between-social-capital-and-social-cohesion/

Colmar Brunton, (8 April 2020). Covid Times. Wellington: Colmar Brunton.

Diversity Best Practices (April 2020) Maintaining Social Cohesion in a Time of social Distancing. Retrieved from: https://www.diversitybestpractices.com/sites/diversitybestpractices.com/files/attachments/2020/04/dbp_hot_topic_maintaining_social_cohesion_in_a_time_of_social_distancing.pdf

Gluckman, P., & Bardley, A. (2020). The future is now: The implication of covid-19 for New Zealand. Auckland: Koi Tū: The Centre for Informed Futures, University of Auckland.

Grant, D. (01 April 2020). Covid-19: New Zealand, isolated, yet far from alone. Australia: Lowy Institute. Retrieved from: https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/covid-19-new-zealand-isolated-yet-far-alone

Grant D. (17 April 2020). New Zealand: Life under lockdown and the view from outside. Australia: Lowy Institute. Retrieved from: https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/new-zealand-life-under-lockdown-and-view-outside

Grant, D. (21 April 2020). Commentary: After four weeks, what New Zealand has learnt about the realities of Covid-19. Singapore: Mediacorp Pte. Ltd. Retrieved from: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/commentary/commentary-after-four-weeks-what-new-zealand-has-learnt-about-12658536

Putnam, R. (1993). Making Democracy Work. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

United Nations (April 2020). A UN Framework for the immediate socio-economic response to Covi-19. United Nations.

Uslaner, E.M., Disasters, Trust and Social Cohesion.