Channels people use to contact government

Table 7 presents the results of questions 33, 37, 41, 45, 49 and 53, which asked how respondents made contact with government for each type of contact mentioned. As expected, most responses were for contact by phone (3607) or in person (3283). The least common way was email/Internet (1204). The 'other' category consisted largely either of fax, or through other people such as doctors or family members. The Internet was used most often when seeking information, and used least often in regards to receiving money and making an appointment.

Table 7: Percentage of ways respondents made contact with government

Table presented showing percentage (%) rounded to one decimal point. Totals of contact methods add to more than 100% because respondents frequently had multiple types of contact.

There was no real difference between male and female respondents. People aged 60 and above were less likely to use the Internet for some categories of contact, and those that did use email or the Internet were likely to be aged 39 or under, particularly 30 to 39. Those respondents earning wages, salary, commissions, bonus etc also showed higher than expected contact by phone (207). Those respondents living in towns showed higher than expected contact in person (70) when compared to city (124) or country (52). Overall only 48 respondents made contact by letter but this was higher than expected in the country (17) in comparison to the city or town (31). Somewhat surprisingly, there were no significant results in relation to education level and seeking information on the Internet; rates of use were largely in line with sample proportions.

New Zealand Māori (256) were significantly more likely to make phone contact when seeking information (77%) than in person (25%). In comparison, those reporting 'other' ethnicity were less likely to make phone contact (55%) but significantly more likely to email (14%), although the number in this category is small (81). New Zealand European (1182) were more significantly likely to make contact by letter when providing information (37%). New Zealand European (618) were significantly less likely to make contact in person to make an appointment (44%).

Those with an income of $20,000 to 29,999 were more likely to provide information by telephone (59%), those with no income were more likely to provide information by letter, and those earning between $60,000 and $79,000 were more likely to provide information via the Internet.

When receiving money from government, New Zealand European (1236) were significantly more likely to make contact by letter (25%) and other (25%) and less likely to phone (29%) or contact in person (32%). This compares to New Zealand Māori (237) who were significantly more likely to phone (40%) or make contact in person (38%), and less likely to use other means of contact (19%).

New Zealand European (1068) were significantly less likely to make contact in person (40%) but more likely to make contact by letter (41%) when paying money to government. In comparison, New Zealand Māori (198) were more likely to make contact in person (51%) and less likely to contact by letter (32%). The other significant difference was in the 'other' ethnic group (81) who were more likely to make contact in person (53%).

When filling in forms, New Zealand European (1563) and 'other' (110) were significantly more likely to make contact by letter (47% & 55%, respectively). In comparison both groups were significantly less likely to make contact in person (39% and 31%, respectively). Those with children were more likely to telephone both in regard to making appointments and receiving money. Respondents earning wages or salaries were also more likely to telephone when receiving money, while those on the domestic purposes benefit were more likely to make contact in person. When filling in forms, respondents with an income of under $10,000 and between $10,000 and $19,000 were significantly more likely to make contact in person (51% and 45% respectively).

When paying money to government, those on low incomes were generally more likely to make contact in person, while those in the $70,000 income brackets and above were more likely to write letters, as were the self-employed.

When compared to level of urbanisation, city-dwellers were generally more likely to use the Internet, except for making appointments, in which case they were more likely to telephone. There were few significant results for respondents living in towns, except that they were more likely to provide information in person and less likely to make appointments by phone. Country-dwellers were significantly less likely to make contact in person overall, were more likely to make appointments and fill in forms by letter and were less likely to make contact relating to receiving money by Internet. Although it may have been expected that respondents in rural areas would be more likely to use the Internet, this was not the case. Respondents living in the lower North Island were significantly more likely to make contact by email when receiving money, but there were no other significant relationships to geographical location.