Colmar Brunton have done a survey of 1000 NZers, Who Do We Trust.
27% of respondents said their level of trust in judges and the courts had fallen cf 10% who said their levels had risen.
35% had complete or lots of trust in judges and the courts. 17% had little (14%) or no trust (3%). The majority had some trust 48%.
Younger people (45% of 18-29 year olds) had more trust 45% whereas those aged over 30 were more distrusting with only 31% having complete or a lot of trust. in the court process. Is that the voice of experience?
However the most startling result is based on household income. Those with $100,000 or more coming in were more assured 49% having complete or a lot of trust cf just 27% for those of us with incomes of $70,000 or less. I was somewhat surprised that the results for those on incomes of $30,000 or less was no different than those of us with average household incomes.
Does this reflect that those reliant on legal aid have found judges and the courts fail them? It seems to show higher satisfaction for those with an ability to pay for legal workers to successfully lead them through the maize of bureaucracy. Is this a concern? Maybe “blind justice” is peeking behind her blindfold?