Fighting COVID-19 With the Team of Five Million: NZ Government Communication During Lockdown

• In Event: Making Science in Public III

Abstract

Aotearoa New Zealand’s response to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic is considered one of the best in the world. The New Zealand Government swiftly closed its borders, introduced strict public health interventions to restrict residents’ movements, and benefited from high levels of public support for those measures. A major component to the response was the communication of public health measures to New Zealanders. In this paper, we undertake a reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2019) of major government communications, including Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s addresses to the nation, and her daily press briefings with the Director-General of Health, Ashley Bloomfield. We identify three key themes in the daily briefings: 1) open, honest and straightforward communication; 2) distinctive and motivational language; and 3) expressions of care. Following this, we argue that the messages presented in the daily briefings supported the New Zealand Government’s COVID-19 elimination strategy through building trust with the audience and framing the ‘lockdown’ as an urgent, collective and meaningful cause, mobilising New Zealanders to support public health measures.

Authors

• Alex Beattie, Victoria University Wellington

• Rebecca Priestley, Victoria University of Wellington