NZ Herald business editor at large Liam Dann is with The Front Page to take us through what this all means for our country’s economy, and for you.
New polling on global views of the war between Iran, the US and Israel shows Kiwis are profoundly anxious about the conflict’s objectives and its outcomes, placing New Zealand among the most pessimistic countries surveyed.
Multinational market research and polling company Ipsos has released findings from its Global Adviser poll,having surveyed more than 22,000 people across 31 countries on their attitudes to the conflict.
The research, conducted over a two-week period ending April 3, shows New Zealanders hold some of the strongest anti-war sentiments globally.
Among those polled, 87% of Kiwis either strongly or somewhat agreed that New Zealand should avoid direct military involvement, while 83% held the view that military action would only trigger further attacks on other countries.
This aligns with the global trend, in which 81% of respondents – including nearly three-quarters of Americans – favoured non-intervention and 77% believed further attacks would stem from military action.
Israel stood alone as the only country where a majority surveyed favoured military involvement (58%) over avoiding it (43%).
The vast majority of New Zealanders are opposed to military involvement in the war in Iran, according to a new Ipsos poll examining global attitudes to the conflict. Photo / Anna Heath
For New Zealand, anxiety over the war is rooted more in the fear of economic fallout than physical threats.
The country is highly dependent on imports of refined fuel, leaving the public exposed to volatile fuel prices and global supply chain disruptions stemming from the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The conflict is also reshaping Kiwis’ attitudes towards the geopolitical order, with a growing number of the view that the US would have a negative influence on world affairs over the coming decade.
While 54% of Kiwis expect China to have a negative influence on world affairs over the next decade, nearly 75% now hold that same view of the United States.
The shift comes as the global proportion of people who view China as having a more positive influence (50%) surpasses that of the US (39%), which recorded a decline across all surveyed countries except India, Brazil and Canada.
Note: Some totals in the survey equal to 101%; Ipsos has confirmed this is due to rounding.
