What's new in The Social Report 2010

We introduce two new indicators in this report: voluntary work (in the Social Connectedness domain) and overall life satisfaction (in a new Life Satisfaction domain). A revised contact with family and friends indicator replaces the former indicator on regular contact with family and friends. These three new and revised indicators use data from the first New Zealand General Social Survey (NZGSS).

The NZGSS is the source of new information for another two indicators: perceived discrimination (personal discrimination), and voter turnout (age, ethnic group and other characteristics of voters). The telephone and internet access in the home indicator has been updated using the 2009 Household Use of Information and Communication Technology survey, while the participation in arts and cultural activities indicator is now based on a 2009 survey commissioned by Creative New Zealand.

We have deleted two indicators from this year's report: air quality and drinking-water quality. We consider they have limitations which reduce their usefulness as social indicators. Both are available in environmental indicator reports (see Other indicator reports and Appendix 1 for details). Because these were the only indicators in the Physical Environment domain, this domain is not included in the report. We will review options for environmental indicators for future reports.

A full summary of the changes to this report is provided in Appendix 1. Technical details about indicator construction and data sources are in Appendix 2.

The 43 indicators for The Social Report 2010 are set out in Table IN1. Twenty-nine of them have new information this year and these indicators are shown in bold type. They include the two new indicators. For those indicators that have not been updated, it is either because they are based on surveys that are not repeated annually, or because new data was not available in time to be included in this year's report.

Table IN1 The Social Report 2010 outcome domains and indicators (updated indicators in bold)

Health
Desired outcome statement	Indicators
Everybody has the opportunity to enjoy a long and healthy life. Avoidable deaths, disease and injuries are prevented. Everybody has the ability to function, participate and live independently or appropriately supported in society.	Health expectancy Life expectancy Suicide Cigarette smoking (partial update) Obesity (international comparison updated) Potentially hazardous drinking (international comparison updated)
Knowledge and skills
Desired outcome statement	Indicators
Everybody has the knowledge and skills needed to participate fully in society. Lifelong learning and education are valued and supported.	Participation in early childhood education School leavers with higher qualifications Participation in tertiary education Educational attainment of the adult population Adult literacy skills in English
Paid work
Desired outcome statement	Indicators
Everybody has access to meaningful, rewarding and safe employment. An appropriate balance is maintained between paid work and other aspects of life.	Unemployment Employment Median hourly earnings Work-related injury claims Satisfaction with work-life balance
Economic standard of living
Desired outcome statement	Indicators
New Zealand is a prosperous society, reflecting the value of both paid and unpaid work. Everybody has access to an adequate income and decent, affordable housing that meets their needs. With an adequate standard of living, people are well-placed to participate fully in society and to exercise choice about how to live their lives.	Market income per person Income inequality Population with low incomes Housing affordability Household crowding
Civil and political rights
Desired outcome statement	Indicators
Everybody enjoys civil and political rights. Mechanisms to regulate and arbitrate people’s rights in respect of each other are trustworthy.	Voter turnout (voter characteristics, international comparison updated) Representation of women in government (international comparison updated) Representation of ethnic groups in government Perceived discrimination (now includes personal discrimination with international comparison) Perceived corruption
Cultural identity
Desired outcome statement	Indicators
New Zealanders share a strong national identity, have a sense of belonging and value cultural diversity. Everybody is able to pass their cultural traditions on to future generations. Māori culture is valued and protected.	Local content programming on New Zealand television Māori language speakers Language retention
Leisure and recreation
Desired outcome statement	Indicators
Everybody is satisfied with their participation in leisure and recreation activities. They have sufficient time to do what they want to do and can access an adequate range of opportunities for leisure and recreation.	Satisfaction with leisure time Participation in physical activity Participation in arts and cultural activities (revised with new data source)
Safety
Desired outcome statement	Indicators
Everybody enjoys physical safety and feels secure. People are free from victimisation, abuse, violence and avoidable injury.	Assault mortality Criminal victimisation Fear of crime Road casualties
Social connectedness
Desired outcome statement	Indicators
People enjoy constructive relationships with others in their families, whānau, communities, iwi and workplaces. Families and communities support and nurture those in need of care. New Zealand is an inclusive society where people are able to access information and support.	Telephone and internet access in the home Contact with family and friends (revised with new data source) Contact between young people and their parents Trust in others Loneliness Voluntary work (new indicator)
Life satisfaction
(New domain)	Indicator
	Overall life satisfaction (new indicator)

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