NZ MR Bodies Slate Bogus Survey Claim

The Market Research Society of New Zealand (MRSNZ) and the Association of Market Research Organisations (AMRO) have condemned the New Zealand Labour Party for what they describe as 'unethical and misleading activities'.

The criticism is of Labour MP Rick Barker who recently instructed party volunteers to conduct a public opinion telephone poll, using false names and a non-existent company. The pollsters were told to say that they were calling from 'Data Research', even though the firm has been de-registered for 12 years. In addition, Barker suggested that the volunteers use pseudonyms to 'make them feel more comfortable'.

'If pollsters said they were from Labour, people might not answer honestly,' Barker said. 'No political party uses its own name directly when it undertakes polling.'

In a joint statement, MRSNZ and AMRO said that The Labour Party's use of a non-operational company's name deceived those who had participated in the poll. They confirmed that this practice broke several of the rules that are followed by most market research companies, regardless of their country.

MRSNZ President Horst Feldhaeuser said his organization was 'dismayed' that the Labour Party had broken so many rules concerning ethical behaviour, misleading respondents, abusing the trust of respondents and making false statements about the organisation conducting the research.

'The Labour Party's actions risk increasing the cost of conducting bona fide market research in New Zealand,' Feldhaeuser stated. 'If the public becomes more reluctant to answer surveys because they cannot trust the interviewers who call them up, then costs will increase.'

The country's Prime Minister John Key agrees with the concern, describing it as 'a serious matter' which needs further investigation. Labour Party President Andrew Little will undertake the enquiry into whether Barker used parliamentary funds inappropriately to carry out party polling.

AMRO Chairman Colin Yee said that all the Labour Party had to do was to explain to potential respondents that they were a political party surveying the public and that their identity would be revealed at the end of the interview to avoid skewing the results.

'If any of our members were caught acting in the way that the Labour Party has done, then tough professional measures would be taken, quite possibly including expulsion from the organisation, job loss and definitely a hit to one's business reputation,' he added.

Web site: www.mrsnz.org.nz .