22 July 2003

You can trust people from the bush say Aussies

The image of the honest county person lives on, according to findings from McNair Ingenuity Research's latest survey findings. When asked how much they agreed or disagreed with a list of statements, nearly half (45%) of people agree that `Country people are more trustworthy than city people' compared to just 17% of people who disagreed with this statement.

Can you trust country folk?

Of course people living outside of the metropolitan capital cities were the most likely to agree with this assertion (53%) compared to city dwellers amongst whom only 38% felt that their regional and rural neighbours were more trustworthy than their urban next door neighbours. Men were more likely than women to say that country people are more trustworthy than city people.

Are recent immigrants untrustworthy?

When asked their level of trust in new immigrants to Australia, little more than a third (36%) of people agreed with the statement `You can trust new immigrants to Australia as much as you can trust any Australians', compared to approximately a quarter (27%) of people who did not agree with this statement.

Interestingly, people living in the city were equally likely to agree with both statements `Country people are more trustworthy than city people' and the statement 'You can trust new immigrants to Australia as much as you can trust any Australians'.

People living outside of the cities were more likely to trust country people but were no less likely to trust recent immigrants than the total population.

How This Research Was Conducted This topic was included in the ongoing Australians Today Consumer Insights research program conducted by McNair Ingenuity Research between February and May 2003. The survey was conducted by means of a combination telephone interview and self-completion survey amongst 1,065 adults across Australia. The above information is copyright to McNair Ingenuity Research and may not be reproduced or published without McNair Ingenuity Research's express permission. Contact Matt Balogh ph 02 9966 9133.

You can learn more about McNair Ingenuity Research by visiting www.mcnairingenuity.com or calling Client Services Director Matt Balogh on 02 9966 9133

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