Democracy, impartiality and the online political activity of Aotearoa New Zealand’s public sector employees: similarities and differences with other Westminster countries

Abstract

ABSTRACT While some hail social media as improving political participation, some governments have received social media with a touch of trepidation; concerned that public servants’ online political activity might threaten the public service’s reputed impartiality. Recent research from some Westminster countries where government messaging about social media have been especially cautious have found a negative relationship between public sector employment and online political activity. But what about public sector employees in Aotearoa New Zealand, where, comparative research suggests, the tone and substance of social media guidelines are less risk-averse than other Westminster countries? Using data from the 2014, 2017 and 2020 New Zealand Election Study, this article examines the relationship between public sector employment and online activity with several multivariate regression models. The results lead to two conclusions. First, consistent with research from other countries, a negative relationship has emerged over time between public sector employment and online political activity in Aotearoa New Zealand. Second, although public sector employees are less politically active online relative to other citizens, the substantive size of this gap is not as great as that found in other Westminster countries. The implications of these findings for the state of democracy and impartiality in Aotearoa New Zealand are discussed.