QUALITY OF LIFE IN NEW ZEALAND’S SIX LARGEST CITIES Foreword from the Mayors Improving the quality of life of people is perhaps the most important role of local and central government. This first Quality of Life report presents a picture of wellbeing in New Zealand’s six most populated cities. These cities are great places to live, work and play and are vibrant with a rich diversity of people from different cultures and backgrounds. However some communities are excluded from the social and economic benefits that others in our cities are enjoying. In fact the inequalities have been widening. By monitoring the complex factors that interplay in assessing quality of life, we can continue to address these issues and pinpoint areas for further action. Addressing the matters raised in this report requires a co-operative effort by local and central government, community organisations, businesses and citizens. The report is an extremely important document that will prove invaluable as we strive to measure our progress as cities and improve the quality of life of those who live in them. It is also a valuable information resource that will stimulate debate and focus planning, policies and decision making. The work provides an excellent example of how local authorities can work together to deliver common outcomes. The Councils involved remain committed to ensuring their cities are vibrant, exciting urban centres. All are already taking action through partnerships with central government and the community sector in areas such as affordable housing, health and employment. Continuing to work together can positively impact on the challenges raised in this report to ensure that quality of life in cities remains a priority for all. Christine Fletcher Garry Moore Sir Barry Curtis Mayor of Auckland Mayor of Christchurch Mayor of Manukau George Wood Bob Harvey Mark Blumsky Mayor of North Shore Mayor of Waitakere Mayor of Wellington EducationForeword 2 Acknowledgements This project has been made possible by the support of the Chief Executives of the ‘150+ Forum’, which covers the cities in New Zealand with a population of over 150,000 people. They have taken a keen interest in the project, guided us when necessary, and buoyed our spirits when the completion of this project seemed a rather distant goal. The elected representatives of the six cities have also, without exception, welcomed the report as a way of better understanding the communities over which they exercise governance. The highly co-operative nature of this project has enabled us to achieve far more than any one council could on its own, and produce a report that is valuable at both a national and city level. The team of council officers who have worked on this project has changed slightly over the course of it, but I would like to thank the following individuals in particular for their tireless effort, teamwork, and the formidable collective talent they have applied to this project: Auckland City Council - Kathryn Nemec Christchurch City Council - Kath Jamieson Manukau City Council - Kate Goodfellow North Shore City Council - Alison Reid, Karin Adelinger Waitakere City Council - Megan Courtney, Kevin Wright Wellington City Council - Paul Desborough A special thank you to Louise Fawthorpe who took on the immense task of gathering the data necessary for the project from far and wide. This required a huge amount of work and determination. Many data sources were used, including government departments, council records and Census data, and the assistance of the many people involved is genuinely appreciated. Statistics New Zealand in particular was very responsive to our continual requests for detailed information at a city level. We are also indebted to the many people who gave feedback on our early drafts, often providing substantial comment that has improved the quality of the final report. A list of those consulted is printed inside the back cover. And finally to the document production team, especially Cliff Burgess at Print Strategies, and Jacqui Leclercq at Pageworks, who have presented this report in a lively and accessible style. Leigh Gatt, Manukau City Council Project Manager Published by: Auckland City Council, Christchurch City Council, Manukau City Council, North Shore City Council, Waitakere City Council, Wellington City Council. Quality of Life Produced and Printed by Print Strategies Limited, Auckland, New Zealand. Contents PAGE NO. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 QUALITY OF LIFE INDICATORS Introduction 3 Background 3 Issues and Indicators 4 KEY RESULTS Demographics 6 Housing 6 Health 6 Education 7 Employment and Economy 7 Safety 8 RESULTS Urban Environment 8 Community Cohesion 8 Democracy 9 INTRODUCTION TO AND ANALYSIS OF: Demographics 11 Housing 29 Health 45 Education 59 Employment and Economy 67 Safety 81 ANALYSIS Urban Environment 89 Community Cohesion 101 Democracy 109 DATA COLLECTION 118 CONCLUSIONS 120 DEFINITIONS 122 CONSULTATION Inside Back Cover Contents Index of Indicator Tables and Graphs Indicators Tables and Graphs Page DEMOGRAPHICS Population Percentage population growth, by city (1991 to 1996) 12 growth Population counts, by city (1996 to 2000) 13 Population projections to 2021, by city 13 Migration Net external migration trends, by city (1981 to 2000) 14 Country of last residence for permanent and long term arrivals into New Zealand, by city (1996 to 1999) 14 Ethnicity Ethnic composition of New Zealand’s six largest cities (1996) 15 Characteristics of ethnic groups in New Zealand (1991 to 1996) 16 Projected growth within ethnic groupings, by city (1996 to 2016) 17 Five most common languages spoken (other than English), by region (1996) 17 Age structure Age structure within New Zealand’s six largest cities (1996) 18 Current and projected median age within New Zealand’s six largest cities 19 Age structure, by ethnicity, for New Zealand’s six largest cities (1996) 19 Household Household composition, by city (1996) 20 composition Percent of households with two or more families resident, by city (1991 and 1996) 21 Average household size, by city (1996) 21 Income Median household income, by city (1991 and 1996) 22 Proportion of population aged 15 years and over in personal income brackets, by city (1996) 23 Percentage of people within each ethnic group aged 15 years and over (in six largest cities) within each income bracket (1996) 23 Total beneficiaries, by city (year to May 2000) 24 Number and proportion of beneficiaries receiving benefits for two or more years, by city (2000) 24 Social Percentage of population living in Deprivation Index deciles, by city (1996) 25 deprivation Wards within the six cities with the highest proportion of meshblocks in deciles 9 and 10 (1996) 26 Low income Percentage of families (with children) earning less than 60% families of median family income, by city (1991 and 1996) 27 with children Percentage of families (with children) earning less than 60% of median family income, by ethnicity (1991 & 1996) 27 HOUSING Home ownership Proportion of population who own a private dwelling and who rented, (1986, 1991 and 1996) 30 Proportion of private dwellings owned, by ethnicity (1996) 31 Costs and Median residential dwelling sale price, by region (year to May 2000) 32 affordability Home mortgage affordability as a percentage of the national average, by region (June quarter 1998 to 2000) 33 Median weekly rents, by city (years ended June 1998, 1999, 2000) 34 Proportion of average weekly household income spent on housing costs, by income bracket (year ended March 1998) 34 Percentage of average weekly household spending on housing, by income (years ended March 1996, 1997, 1998) 35 Accommodation Accommodation supplement recipients (years ended May 1998, 1999) supplement as a proportion of city population (at June 1998, 1999) 36 Crowded Percentage of people in private dwellings living in crowded households, by city (1991 and 1996) 38 households Percentage of people in private dwellings living in crowded households, by ethnicity (1996) 39 Central & local Housing New Zealand units as a proportion of rented private dwellings in each city government (years ended May 1998, 1999, 2000) 40 housing Percentage change in the number of Housing New Zealand units, by city (years ended May 1999, 2000) 40 Number of local authority owned houses as a proportion of rented private dwellings in each city (2000) 41 Quality of Life Housing Number of new houses and units as a proportion of all new dwellings (1998 to 2000) 43 intensification HEALTH Infant mortality Infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births, by city (1996 to 1997 averaged) 46 Average infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births, by ethnicity (1996 and 1997 averaged) 47 Birth weights Average annual rate of low birth weight babies per 1,000 live births, by city (1996 and 1997 averaged) 47 Average rate of low birth weight babies per 1,000 live births, by ethnicity (1996 and 1997 averaged) 48 General Rate of general practitioners per 100,000 population (1997 to 1999) 49 practitioners Meningococcal Rate of notified cases of meningococcal disease per 10,000 children aged under 15 years, disease by city (1993 to 1999) 50 Rate of notified cases of meningococcal disease per 10,000 population of children aged 15 years and under, by ethnicity (1993 to 1999 total) 51 Tuberculosis Rate of notified tuberculosis cases per 100,000 population, by city (1993 to 1999) 52 Rate of notified tuberculosis cases per 100,000 population, by ethnicity (1993 to 1999) 52 Immunisation Commentary 53 Suicide Total suicides per city, by age (1993