RDC Survey Results Wrong in Annual Report

My concern still remains regarding a discrepancy in the Ruapehu District Council's 2023/24 Annual Report, specifically on page 120 (labeled as page 121 in the document). The report states that 73.81% of residents are satisfied with the leadership of the Council and that council achieved their goal of 60% when the true value was only 46.44% were satisfied.

However, upon reviewing the underlying survey data, the satisfaction levels are as follows:

Very Satisfied: 13 respondents (5.44%)

Satisfied: 98 respondents (41.00%)

Unsatisfied: 128 respondents (53.56%)

This totals 239 responses, with only 111 respondents (46.44%) expressing satisfaction. This figure is significantly lower than the 73.81% reported in the Annual Report.

There was a total of 248 survey responses, of which only 11 did not provide any answer with regard to this question. Even if we were to consider these 11 non-responses as 'Satisfied', the recalculated results would be:

Satisfied (including Very Satisfied and assumed satisfied responses): 122 respondents (49.19%)

Unsatisfied: 128 respondents (51.61%)

Even under this generous assumption, the percentage of satisfied residents still falls well short of the reported 73.81%.

I am deeply concerned that this discrepancy may significantly misrepresent the true sentiments of residents regarding the Council's leadership. It appears to reflect yet another instance of misleading or inaccurate reporting to the public—a pattern that has unfortunately become increasingly familiar with Ruapehu District Council. Most troubling is that this incorrect data appears to have been included in the Annual Report submitted to the Council’s auditors, who would have relied on this information when signing off on the document. I respectfully request that your office investigate this matter thoroughly to ensure transparency and accountability in public reporting. Furthermore, I ask that the Council issue a formal written apology for the misreporting—both to our Society and publicly—clearly acknowledging the error and naming our Society in the statement.