Politics, privacy and morality - top trends for 2014, by communications firm SenateSHJ

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A year of politics, privacy and morality SenateSHJ’s top 10 predictions for 2014

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| Tipping Points | November 2013SenateSHJ - grounded in smart thinking

You name it, they’ll make it political in 2014.

1. You name it, in 2014 they’ll make it political

3SenateSHJ - grounded in smart thinking

In Australia• Tony Abbott and the Liberals will be under pressure to make good on

their election promises – whilst contending with the arrival of micro parties in the Senate.

• The rise of community-based campaigns via social media, for example: Get Up and Destroy the Joint means there will be more campaigning on issues independent of political parties.

• Tony Abbott’s controversial Commission of Audit is due to present its findings in March, with major changes likely in social welfare.

And it’s election year in New Zealand. Will it be Key or Cunliffe?• Expect a convoluted and complicated political battle, particularly

amongst the minor parties.

• Politicians will jostle business, social and environmental issues, as much as they will jostle each other.

• The false choice between prosperity and the environment will again be offered, with more emotion than fact ruling the debate.

• Issues around economic development will see renewed political attention on the regions where the conversation will play out.

SenateSHJ - grounded in smart thinking

2. The new media hero will be you


• Social media will continue to empower citizens and contribute to mainstream media content.

• There will be even greater public participation in the news cycle as a result: we will contribute to the news rather than passively consume it.

• Traditional media outlets will rely more and more on this participation, as budgets are stretched.

• Now anyone with an internet connection can set themselves up as journalist and publisher – but as more people realise this, and the media environment becomes more cluttered, only the genuinely good will cut through.

| Tipping Points | November 2013SenateSHJ - grounded in smart thinking

3. Big brother will be sent to the naughty corner


• This year, we will begin to seriously question whether we are willing to trade our privacy for our digital participation.

• We will question the role of Big Data in our lives – while still enjoying the benefits of better products and services that data mining brings.

• At a governmental level, repercussions of the Five Eyes spying scandal will continue to be felt and this will make us more suspicious of government – both our own and others.


4. Social celebrity will square up against social values


• Our increased participation through online media - at the cost of our privacy - has made sending, receiving and sharing explicit material easier than ever.

• With hyper-sexualised entertainment the norm, more (and younger) people are being exposed to media which challenges traditional social values.

• Scandals in 2013 (think Harry Goodman in Australia and Roast Busters in New Zealand) raised questions about how we interact as people, and what values we’re teaching our young.

• We will ask more questions this year about the role of authorities, and of communities, in protecting people.

• New Zealand’s Harmful Digital Communications Bill demonstrates that the tide is turning – this year we will take collective responsibility for protecting vulnerable people online.


5. Journalists will step down off the fence


• Boundaries between neutrality and advocacy are blurring, and mainstream journalists will increasingly contribute their own opinions, hopefully not at the expense of balance and fact.

• With so much choice, people don’t just want the news: they want to choose how it’s told to them, and by whom.

• In 2014, we will see more blogging, more editorialising and more journalists trying to morph into thinking celebrities.


6. Urban migration does a u-turn


• Values are high on the agenda in 2014 as people yearn for, and create, stronger connections with their local communities.

• This will hasten the movement towards doing business, and living life, the traditional way (for example, locavores and community co-ops).

• Attitudes towards rural living will also change as people more successfully combine pastoral existence with a rewarding career.

• This will contribute to a renaissance of the regions – provided big business rises to the challenge of providing remote work opportunities.


7. Our health storm is gathering clouds


• The impact of the obesity, respiratory and health disease troika is no longer just around the corner: in 2014, it’s knocking on the door.

• The urgency behind preventative health and individual responsibility messages will increase.

• Governments may even resort to legislative measures. But is it too late?

• Increased health spending will be required, with more lobbying for health dollars from patient and consumer advocacy groups.

• Securing funding for pharmaceutical products via the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) in Australia will continue to be a challenging and prolonged process.


8. Housing (un)affordability will continue to hurt


• Business confidence is up, but so are house prices.

• Property prices in the big cities are putting massive pressure on people and

families.

• The social effects of prohibitively expensive housing will continue to be felt

in 2014, as will the impact of minimum house deposit rules in New Zealand.

• The high cost of living in the city may be another reason people exit to the

regions, where the living is supposedly easier.

• But will there be the jobs to support this shift?


9. The public service will live up to its name


• There will be a concerted effort by the public sector to reduce red tape, invest and be more attuned to the private sector – and to the public.

• In Australia, this will mean government departments are ‘open for business’.

• In New Zealand, this will lead to a more efficient and accessible public service, with more departments opting to digitise and collaborate more.


10. Prosperity will be explored


• As the exploration and resources boom in Australia gently eases, New Zealand asks whether it will allow itself a boom at all.

• Expect more (and more heated) debate and protest against exploration in New Zealand, especially with a resurgent New Zealand Green Party.

• Meanwhile, Australia will be looking more at foreign investment and new partnerships to top up the bank account.


To learn more about SenateSHJ, please visit www.senateshj.com

Australia New Zealand

Sydney Auckland

Nerida Thorburn, GM and PartnerP + 61 2 9256 9700Level 3, 63 York StreetSydney, NSW 2000

Kim Palsenbarg, GM and PartnerP + 64 9 353 6622Annex Level 241 Shortland StreetAuckland 1010

Melbourne Wellington

Angela Scaffidi, Partner + 61 3 8643 7900Level 16, 330 Collins StreetMelbourne, Victoria 3000

Tracey Bridges, GM and PartnerP + 64 4 471 5372Level 3, Dimension Data House99 - 105 Customhouse QuayWellington 6011

http://www.senateshj.com/

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