Yvonne Van Dongen: What Should We Be Talking About - And Aren't?

A topic even more inflammatory than gender.

The latest report from the Integrity Institute on the 2025 Acumen Edelman Trust Barometer made me think of the final question that Triggernometry podcast hosts Konstantin Kisin and Francis Foster always ask their guests: what should we be talking about that we aren’t talking about?

The Acumen Edelman Trust Barometer is an annual global survey of confidence in institutions. New Zealand’s 2025 results are not good. Trust in government is down to 45 per cent. Business sits at 54 per cent. And trust in the media has fallen to 35 per cent.

Roger Partridge: Beyond grievance politics - New Zealand’s search for common ground

Trust in New Zealand is fracturing before our eyes. The 2025 Acumen Edelman Trust Barometer reveals a society divided by mistrust. Most alarming is the collapse in media trust. It has plummeted to just 35% – down from 41% three years ago.

But the damage extends beyond the media. For the first time, New Zealand’s trust index has fallen below the global average, dropping to 47% compared with the global index of 56%. Trust in government has fallen to 45%, while business trust stands at 54%.