Ngāi Te Rangi's chief executive Paora Stanley. Photo / NZME
Ngāi Te Rangi's chief executive Paora Stanley. Photo / NZME
The release of official data on iwi affiliation has been "gracefully accepted" but met with resentment by one iwi chairman due to the long wait.
The new information, released by Stats NZ and the Rotorua-based Data Iwi Leaders Group (ILG) this week, includes estimates of iwi population based on a combination of data from the previous two censuses.
It also includes estimates on social data like age distribution, level of education and homeownership.
In April 2019, Stats NZ announced official statistical counts of iwi from the 2018 Census would not be published due to missing iwi affiliation data and a lack of alternative government data sources to fill the gaps.
It provoked a working partnership between Stats NZ and Data Iwi Leaders Group to develop a solution to issues with the 2018 Census.
Ngāi Te Rangi chief executive Paora Stanley said the data set, which shows the iwi is the largest of the three in Tauranga, met his expectations.
"You're able to get a lot better predictions on where to put your resources. But in the future what you really want is for Stats NZ to get their s*** right.
"It can be really frustrating to be held off and I get [that] no data crunching can be easy, but we deserve better as a country."
The iwi affiliation information was an asset to iwi across the country. Photo / Getty Images
ILG lead technician Kirikowhai Mikaere (Tuhourangi, Ngati Whakaue) said the information was an asset to iwi across the country.
"You get the real value from data when you understand the context and nobody understands the context better than us.
"It's being able to put our narratives with our stats. When you don't have the stats people sometimes just think they are stories. It also gives evidence to the thinking and connecting that we already know."
The availability of the data creates the opportunity for the right investment in health, education and in communities, Mikaere said.
"The census effectively lets you see everybody across the country ... but we couldn't see ourselves.
"There are big consequences when you inadvertently make people invisible because you don't collect the data properly," Mikaere said.
The 2018 estimates will be stored in Te Whata, the recently launched online platform built to house iwi data.
Te Whata includes a searchable database of iwi information - for instance, that 24.9 per cent of Tauranga Moana under the age of 15 speak te reo Māori, compared to 14.6 per cent for all Māori.
The new estimates are the result of the 2018 census not being able to deliver official statistics due to the high level of missing iwi data.
In 2018, Stats NZ was only able to collect census forms from 68.2 per cent of Māori, down from 88.5 per cent in 2013.
The government organisation apologised by acknowledging the delay in releasing the data, and the impacts the delay had on iwi.
The work completed has reduced the impact of the missing data, but there are limitations to how the estimates can be used, said Te Tohu Rautaki Angitū Māori Stats NZ director Rhonda Paku.
"The Data ILG, with its understanding of and connections to iwi populations, has played a critical role in the evaluation and analysis of the 2018 Census iwi data, and use of appropriate methods to improve the quality of the data to make these estimates possible.
"Delivering for and with Māori, iwi, and hapū is one of our organisation's four strategic priorities."
Data ILG will be running a roadshow for iwi in July and August, to demonstrate Te Whata and to train iwi-nominated administrators in how to use the full functionality of the data tool.
