Wellington: New Zealanders are most concerned about natural disasters, misinformation, hacking, another major health epidemic and organised crime, according to a national survey released on Tuesday.
These are the top five threats of most concern to New Zealanders over the next 12 months, cited by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in her speech at the second Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism meeting in Auckland, reports Xinhua news agency.
The two-day meeting is to “pursue a safer New Zealand, with a focus on prevention”, Ardern said.
The survey was part of a draft National Security Long-term Insights Briefing, the first of its kind in New Zealand, released by the national security agencies on Tuesday, which was prepared independently by agencies to help plan for not just the next few years, but into the future, she said.
The public perceptions survey provides “a representative view of the things that are worrying New Zealanders the most — and their views on how we’re equipped to manage those risks”, Ardern said.
People have said their confidence in government agencies’ ability to protect or respond to threats is highest for natural disasters and terrorist attacks and lowest for misinformation and nuclear, chemical or biological attacks, the survey showed.
About 87 per cent of New Zealanders are worried about the threat of natural disasters, it said.
New Zealand is one of the most natural disaster-prone countries in the world.
This year in particular New Zealanders have been affected by flooding across the country.
Regarding disinformation, the Prime Minister said the government is committed to working with communities, media, academia, civil society, and the private sector — especially social media platforms to counter the threat of disinformation.
New Zealanders are concerned about transnational organised crime operating in and through the country, causing harm to communities and businesses, according to the survey.
Ardern said New Zealand was forever changed on March 15, 2019 when 51 people were killed by a gunman in two Christchurch mosques, with their loved ones suffering the consequences of violent extremism or terrorism.
The Christchurch attacks reflected an evolution in terrorism and violent extremism as the attacker connected through online platforms with others who were radicalized to hateful views and violence, which were in turn amplified via live stream, and proliferated around the world in the days, weeks and months following, the Prime Minister added.
–IANS