New Zealanders are no longer sheltered from or immune to the threat of terrorism.

"Over the past five years, we have gone through a lot. We've experienced many of the significant issues that are already on our list of national security risks, so we understand them because we've been through them," Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.

In short, as a nation, we've grown up and that's why the Prime Minister wants to treat us as grown-ups.

"One very clear message we've heard is that people want us to talk and share more about national security," Ardern said. "That knowing more about the threats that we face actually makes people feel more confident in our ability to respond to them."

For the first time, the nine government agencies charged with protecting us surveyed public views and found we also want to know how we're facing down potential threats.

"What Kiwis are essentially asking for here is a greater transparency around the reach of those agencies, the work that they do, how they're keeping Kiwis safe. I think in doing that, that offers up an opportunity to demonstrate that our agencies are properly and well-resourced," Ardern said.  

This process of opening up started five years ago, before the two terror attacks of March 15 and LynnMall, but one security expert said it makes sense.

"It's an excellent move. It helps us move away from that kind of bubble approach that things that happen in the international world don't happen here but the threats that we're seeing are multiple and they're coming across a number of avenues," University of Waikato international law Professor Al Gillespie said.

In fact, the threats we perceive are many and various.

The survey identifies the five biggest threats New Zealanders expect to face over the next 12 months: A natural disaster, misinformation, hacking, another major health epidemic and organised crime.