Why – more detail

This page follows on from www.theFacts.nz/why for those who are curious to learn more.

Origin story

Covid coverage (an overwhelming focus on just 2 numbers: i) cases and ii) deaths with Covid) was arguably the key catalyst that led us to create theFacts, and we’ll cover several aspects of that in more detail shortly, but before the C-word ever arrived, we’d already been observing 7 other growing concerns for New Zealand that were catalysts for our thinking:

  1. Rapidly declining Social, Economic, & Environmental metrics (S.E.E.)
  2. Social division
  3. Tax waste
  4. Low political transparency
  5. Weak opposition
  6. Media bias
  7. The “Opinion Age”

New Zealand’s Covid response magnified all 7 of these issues (some more than others), but all of them were already present within our society. The combination of Covid coverage plus these other 7 catalysts gave us the push we needed to launch in November 2021 and inject a healthy dose of facts back into the country. 

As mentioned on the why page, the original seed of this idea was planted long before this time, though, during the National Party’s final 2014-2017 term, and it’s important to tell this part of the story, too (because a) it’s true and b) we’re not anti any particular party, just anti-anti-faxxers). There was one particular week during National’s final term where we noticed (again) that politicians and press releases were only talking about GDP growth, and never GDP per capita, and this sparked a curiosity to find out why…

We discovered that the boasted 2% GDP increase at the time had simply come from a 2% population increase. ~65,000 net migration, + ~25,000 net births which most people forget to add, = ~90,000 more Kiwis that year. It’s easy to increase GDP by 2% if the population is also growing by 2%.

What’s hard, is growing the infrastructure 2% each year to keep up. Net births have remained fairly steady at 25-30k per year since the mid-70s, so there are no surprises for town planners there. For 50 years from 1952 to 2001, net migration averaged 4k per year, and our infrastructure coped with ease there too. But in the 20 years from 2001 to 2020, net migration averaged ~30k per year, and then went up to ~60k per year during the 6 years from 2014-2019 (pre-Covid). In 2019, total population growth under the new Labour Government then hit 98k.
Population Growth NZ

100,000 more Kiwis per year puts immense pressure on many aspects of society, like schools, health systems, roads, and especially our house prices. 100,000 people require ~40,000 more houses (based on Census data of approximately 2.5 people per household), but that’s actually 48,000 if 20% of new builds replace demolitions (the 20% demolition figure was provided by an Auckland Council Economist). We’d never built anywhere near that many houses in a year before, and, in line with basic economic supply and demand curves, house prices, surprise surprice went up. Yet no politician or media seemed to want to talk about these facts. Population just wasn’t a popular topic at the time.

Fast forward a few frustrating years, and, throwing the Covid catalyst into the mix, and we decided to start talking about these things.
theFacts - Housing

NOTES:

  • Arguably, bringing in skilled working-age migrants and graduating 25k+ educated students into the workforce each year, should be lifting GDP per capita/productivity too, not just keeping it at the same level.
  • As previously mentioned, we’re not fans of the convention to write numbers <10 as words, e.g. seven vs 7. It’s uneconomical and un-environmental (think of all that extra ink and paper).

That C-word again

Despite the collective human wisdom built up over thousands of years, when the C-bomb hit in 2020, communities around the world lost our collective minds and balance. 

Evolved human brains and societies had constantly dealt with complex, multi-variate situations with difficult trade-offs, yet here we were in the 21st century numb dumbing humanity’s success down from hundreds and thousands of key metrics to just 2:

  1. Covid cases
  2. Deaths with Covid

Just 2 metrics…. within just 1 part of society (physical health)…and for just 1 illness (Covid). Had we gone Covid crazy? Was this Mad Cow Disease in disguise?

The wealth of metrics that had always measured society’s well-being were largely shelved, and much of the political and media coverage over 2020, 2021, and 2022 too, was dominated by those 2 numbers alone and then, later, 3. Covid vaccination rates (which we were misled on by our own Ministry of Health).

Now, before any biased journalist runs away to write an article out of context about ‘anti-vaxxer faxxers’ (not true by the way) – hear us out. There were a lot of unknowns at the beginning of COVID-19, a significant number died from it not just with it – especially the elderly and unwell, and Covid numbers were/are important, but did we get the balance right, or was there a fact vacuum? Did we fairly consider a weighted scorecard across all measures of societal wellness including:

The Covid-centric world we created, lacked a balanced scorecard and holistic thinking. It was clear to some of us then, and obvious to most of us now. So, in line with our own line:

“Don’t let something affect you, unless you can effect change”

a small group of us thought we’d try to restore some balance to these forces by traveling back in time and creating a facts machine; a platform to cover these key measures of success for our country, and help rebalance and align our thinking again.

And it does feel now, in August 2023, like political parties, media, and, therefore, our citizens, are running on a lot more fact fuel again, which is great to see and hear!

The Opinion Age

Humans are born to evolve, and for centuries, we rooted for the humans who rooted out the root causes of the universe for us. The scientists, doctors, mathematicians, statisticians, researchers, analysts, economists, detectives, and others who problem-solved with evidence and without agenda. It got humanity onto the same pages throughout history.

But despite history’s wonderful work, through those c-word years, perhaps as a negative side-effect, we’d somehow devolved into ‘The Opinion Age’ where:

  • Only some truths were now welcome.
  • Click-bait rose as critical thinking fell.
  • Reason became treason.
  • Realists were labeled ‘racists’.
  • Misters as ‘misogynists’ if they dared challenge a female leader’s decisions.
  • Soft emotion defeated hard evidence across multiple lockdown events and decisions.
    (Let’s be honest – lies were later exposed by some of those claiming to be the sources of truth.)
  • Democratic wishes were rarely canvassed and sometimes brushed aside for the opinions of some.
  • Samples of one were granted great power via media platforms to millions.
  • Everyone became an expert.
  • Uncertainty, fear, stress, and mistrust didn’t help our cause.
  • It got harder, not easier, to find the truth amongst the noise and nonsense.
  • And common sense, and common ground, become less common than ever.

It was a mad time! Extremities were shouting at each other from afar, over many of us in the middle, and both sides increasingly turned up their volume, culminating in the Wellington protest, as we forgot the old rule:

“We have two ears and one mouth”

We were largely ignoring the well-considered, non-partisan views in the middle.

We went from revering to rejecting some facts if they didn’t suit the narrative of the day, e.g. as mentioned above, obesity in NZ went up 10% in just one year over lockdowns. Not one media outlet wanted to tell that story. Presumably because it was a negative side effect of lockdown measures.

During those Covid years, the concept of robust debate with a healthy contest of ideas appeared to be headed for extinction, and anyone daring enough to try, risked getting attacked by any number of online cave trolls with an arsenal of offensive and prejudiced labels.

The human tide seems to be turning back towards truth and transparency now, but time will tell if humans have evolved out of this period, or will regress again the next time we’re put under sudden fear and uncertainty. Humans are rarely at their best under stress.

We believe it should be getting easier, not harder, to find the truth, and that this will better prepare us the next time we are tested at short notice.

Media bias

Media bias over the Covid years was immense, and, more recently, has been well-researched (1, 2). There have also been numerous studies into declining media trust, and www.mediabias.co.nz created an automated algorithm over 2019-2021 which showed 13/15 media outlets had a strong left-wing bias in their written articles. There are also many story examples detailed under the ‘bad’ and ‘ugly’ on our media page that should have been covered, but weren’t. There is no hiding from these facts. If your journalistic opinion of 1 believes these media bias facts are wrong, then you’re providing further proof that bias exists. This political bias has been incredibly detrimental to the progress of our nation, and also many media outlets themselves. 

Many have questioned whether the $50+ million Public Interest Journalism Fund was serving the public’s best interests, or the Government’s, especially given the terms of trade.

Either way, we are pleased that with the Covid cray cray years behind us, many media outlets seem to have returned to more balanced and fact-based reporting. We would like to think that our fact work has helped, even if just a little, and that those extreme bias media days won’t return again.

Mis/dis/mal-information

Despite the reporting improvements from many media outlets,

  • misinformation (incorrect, no ill intent)
  • disinformation (incorrect, ill intent)
  • and malinformation (correct, ill intent)

are all still too common in New Zealand, and too often come from sources who promote themselves as sources of truth. Some Ministers, government departments, local councils, media, and outspoken organisations/individuals, still have a long way to go.

Politicians and media often blame outspoken organisations and individuals on social media. Ironically, many of those, in turn, blame the politicians and media as the primary cause of mis/dis/malinformation.

This has fueled many Kiwis to create their own media and social media platforms in the search for the truth, which, sometimes, only fuels misinformation further.

We’re one of those platforms and will continue to strive for the truth, but if we ever stray into any of these other three categories, we expect you to hold us to account! (Please). 

Politics

We are non-partisan and hate hearing that tribal line, e.g. “I vote for ______ because I/mum/dad have always voted for ______ .”

Instead, we believe 100% of citizens should be informed swing voters, evaluating every politician and political party, every election, and right up until election day based on:

  1. Policy
  2. Performance, and
  3. Proficiency (talent)

Not promises, PR, or personality, more akin to the US presidential style of politics.

In line with our philanthropic work, we always strive to be altruistic voters, voting in the best interests of the people and planet, rather than in self-interest, especially for those who can’t vote, e.g. animals, environments, children, and future generations. This isn’t always easy, especially if you have a strong personal and emotional connection to a particular policy, e.g. End of Life Choice for palliative care, but we believe altruism is something we should all strive for.

We are not aligned with or part of any political parties, however, we do speak with all of the major parties (and also some minor parties too, although, they’re often not so well resourced).

We are also independent of any media or corporate organisations.

And our facts span many years, decades at times, which, of course, covers many different political parties in different governments.

Government transparency and accountability

One of the key reasons we’re independent of the political parties is so that we can help hold them to account, no matter who’s in charge.

“We must be a government that is transparent, and open about the big challenges we must all tackle together.” – Rt Hon. Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand, 31 January 2018

Transparency is the essential ingredient for accountability. And accountability is essential to ensure election promises are kept, and unmandated policies aren’t pursued.

Unfortunately, it has been incredibly hard, and getting harder, to obtain basic information from Government departments. To use just one area, health, many DHB performance metrics were removed, there has been no transparency on where the $1.8 billion Wellbeing Budget has gone, and our own Ministry of Health misled us on the true Covid vaccination rate.

The Chief Ombudsman has also acknowledged how hard it is to gain this transparency, especially through OIA (Official Information Act) requests.

It doesn’t help that there have been so many broken promises too, such as:

  • No new taxes.
  • No vaccine mandates.
  • Councils can opt into Three Waters.
  • Greater transparency.
  • For all New Zealanders.

There have also been major reforms and projects introduced that received no democratic mandate via election policy or referenda, such as:
> Three Waters, He Puapua, and co-governance.
> Bike bridges.
> Light rail.
> The Compulsory Income Insurance Scheme.
> TVNZ RNZ merger.

Kiwis were never given the facts, or a voice, on these issues.

Our democracy went democrazy there for a while.

And that is exactly why we exist. We hold a mirror up to the Government using their own words and data.

If we want a better country, then it must start with a government that proactively and publicly provides all KPIs that measure what a prosperous society looks like. More facts, fewer fables.

Imagine the world we’d have if there was a low-bias political and media landscape that proactively, honestly, and generously shared the truth for the benefit of all of us.

Tax waste

The final point to touch on here with regards to the government is that we’re a small country with a small and finite pool of resources. Taxpayer/government money is our money. As such, it’s critical that our money is spent wisely and not wasted. As such, some of our facts cover high-level taxation and spending figures, and individual examples of wasted taxpayer money.

We’d ideally love to see a mandatory ROTI metric (Return On Taxpayer Investment) reported on all spending over, say, NZ $100,000.

Cancel free

Media and government aside, let’s return to those points on Covid, The Opinion Age, and mis/dis/malinformation and how they also relate to our individual responsibilities as citizens. 

We hate hate speech, but also hate cancel culture so we are strong supporters of freedom of speech. Sadly, censorship and de-platforming have been increasingly common in recent years, and we were ourselves shut out of Facebook for a long time because someone hacked our account and Facebook had 0% empathy.

We believe that it’s best to build opinions based on facts, and to deliver those respectfully, but also that if there are harmful people with harmful comments, then it’s best to let those rise to the surface rather than suppress them so that:

  1. Members of society can self-moderate each other
  2. Minds can be opened/challenged/changed, and
  3. Police authorities can be alerted quickly, if required.

Anti-social cave trolls are a massive time suck for us, but in line with that famous line:

“I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it” – [attribution contested]

Plus, points 1 and 2 above ensure that few trolls return for a round 2, or do so with a more intellectual and respectful approach.

Open minds and hearts

Behaviourial change is essential in order for both the individual and the collective to evolve, and this starts with a growth mindset – the knowledge that you don’t know everything, but have a thirst to find out.

Conversely, if the mind is closed, then change is almost impossible.

“There are none so blind as those who will not see” – unknown 

“If nothing changes, nothing changes” – us and millions more

It’s important to remember that facts come easy for half of us humes who are natural “Thinkers” according to the Myer’s Briggs personality profile. However, for the “Feelers” (the peeps, not the hit Kiwi band from the 00s), it can be a lot harder to want to look at numbers, let alone believe them. On the flipside, those of us who prefer logic over instinct, need to remember that a) there are usually people behind those numbers and b) people with great caring/feeling/emotive skills add a great deal of value to society too.

Truth is irrefutable, so the challenge to all of us is to seek it out, verify the data sources, and change our minds when needed. And, ultimately, if someone still refuses to acknowledge facts, all is not necessarily lost…

“We cannot force someone to hear a message they are not ready to receive, but we must never underestimate the power of planting a seed” – unknown.

Admitting fault

After a facts-first approach with an open mind and heart, the final aspect of successful behavioural change is the ability to concede (and believe) when you’re wrong. We may be called theFacts, but we’ve made a couple of mistakes.

Far more important than making mistakes, though, is the ability to a) proactively ask others to point these mistakes out so that we can reactively apologise and b) correct them quickly when they do appear. Do you do this?

“It’s easier to fool people than convince them that they’ve been fooled” – not Mark Twain (we fact-checked)

“Jerry, just remember. It’s not a lie… if you believe it” – George Costanza, Seinfeld

Social skills

Research suggests that we are growing more divided, and less united as a country (1, 2). Fault lines are widening, and some have arguably become great divides. The 1981 Springbok tour was an incredibly divisive single issue, but some have suggested that we’re an even more divided nation now across multiple issues. We’re far from an NZ United team of 5 million. 

The danger is that we become more like the US on this front, where some families aren’t even speaking to each other anymore because of their beliefs. 

We seem to have lost the ability as a nation, perhaps a species, to hold healthy, smart, respectful discussions and debates.

We believe that facts are a great starting point for those discussions, as well as strong anchors to return to keep debates on point. Facts allow us to better understand an issue, form strong and smart solutions, and measure how well those solutions worked (or not).

We hate the idea of a growing ‘us and them’ culture in New Zealand, no matter the issue. We want to see us come together and be able to make progress through dialogue. We believe:

  • Honesty, no matter how painful in the short term, leads to greater unity long-term.
  • We should trade in facts first, opinions second.
  • We must fight together not against each other.
  • Facts help foster intellectual and respectful conversation.
  • Facts reduce polarisation and help reign in many of those shouting from all extremes.
  • Facts unite and align people.
  • Robust debate can only happen with facts; otherwise, it’s just a debate.
  • We should divide numbers, not people.

“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” – Eleanor Roosevelt, the longest-serving first lady of the United States

Growing grown-ups

Through our work, we’d like to think that we are helping New Zealanders (including ourselves) to be both more interested and more interesting, as well as being a catalyst for positive action for our country(s). Being part of the discussion is the first step to being part of the solution. And if you can do that with intellectual and respectful debate, even better!

Some passionate people, especially the peaceful conflict avoiders, have told us that they were too hesitant to raise discussion points on key issues, or weren’t sure how to challenge others with strong opinions in a respectful way, but that our facts platform has helped them to calmly bring up a topic, or share a fact, to help open up the thinking of others. We love being a catalyst for interactions like this and have even better fact sharing tools coming soon…

Helping Kiwis fly

And, ultimately, we do this work because we love NZ – the land and the Kiwis on it!

We tried to create a clever KIWI acronym (e.g. Knowledge, Innovation, Wisdom, Impact) since it’s a word that unites us, but in the end, we just love what being a Kiwi is all about:

    • A belief that all humans are equal.
    • A humility that keeps us grounded.
    • A unique, innovative streak.
    • A strong desire to help others.

We’re proud and passionate Kiwis who love using data to help highlight insights that solve challenges for all of New Zealand, to create a greater nation. Greater for individuals, communities, businesses, the environment, and future generations too. Solutions that have our best interests at heart, rather than being motivated by political power.

We want to see our awesome wee nation do even better, and the only way to get to better, is to first measure better.

Beyond our shores, we also have a vision for a “Healthy planet, happy people” and to “Change the world for good”, but the obvious starting point was our own nation first.

If you are interested in setting up a similar site for your country, please let us know, and we’ll help you get started.

Giving back

We believe that we all have a duty of care to help others, our planet, and our nation, whenever we can. We also believe:

“You can be part of the problem, or part of the solution”

A factor or a detractor.

We chose the former. What have you decided?

The elaborated reasons above are why we exist. We realise this is a long webpage, and that opening yourself up like this can provide opportunities for opponents to attack, but given our name and cause, we felt it was important to provide full transparency for anyone who wants it.

We have nothing to hide. We’re here to better New Zealand.

See also