Census in Hawke’s Bay: Napier mayor ‘pretty disappointed’ it’s still going ahead

Census worker Sharon Taylor has been volunteering at the Hastings distribution centre as collection of the forms in Hawke's Bay remains in flux.

Hawke’s Bay residents unaffected by Cyclone Gabrielle can and should fill in their Census forms, but the plan for how they will be collected - and how to include those left homeless or cut off by the storms - is still in flux.

Tuesday night is Census night for many New Zealanders, but for many in flood-stricken Hawke’s Bay, it’s the last thing on their mind.

The collection of the forms has been delayed for eight weeks, until June 1. Statistics NZ says Hawke’s Bay residents should fill in physical and online forms (if they can) along with the rest of the country on Tuesday.

It says more detailed information will be released about how the Census will be carried out in Hawke’s Bay in the coming weeks.

Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise said she was “pretty disappointed” the Census was still going ahead.

While she understood it was hard to stop at such a late stage, an eight-week extension wouldn’t service the struggling and flood-affected community effectively.

“Even with [the extension], there’s so many in the community that won’t be remotely interested in doing the Census any time soon.

“That has long-term implications for us as a city in terms of our planning, and not having accurate data to assist us with our planning.”

Census worker Sharon Taylor knows all too well how people in Hawke’s Bay are feeling right now.

Taylor is one of the approximately 30 census staff given backing by Statistics New Zealand to do volunteering in the region.

When Gabrielle hit, Taylor traversed floodwaters in Maraenui to source cooking materials and food for her eight-person household, including a baby.

“On the second day, I was able to purchase a couple of cooking stoves so we were able to feed our family and get the baby a hot bottle.”

After making sure her whānau was safe and had the right resources, Taylor got word from a friend down south who was concerned about her parents.

The couple had medical issues, and Taylor’s friend was concerned they hadn’t been checked on.

“They had no cooking facilities or access to medication that they needed.”

Taylor helped the couple get the things they needed and continued to go over every day until the couple’s power came on.

“They were so grateful that they actually cried.”

When power returned, she decided she wanted to continue to help the community by doing volunteer work.

“I wanted to be out in the community helping people because I’d seen the devastation and lived through it myself.”

She said that while physical census collection had been delayed in Hawke’s Bay, it would play a big role in the recovery process later down the track.

“We will be reaching out to people in the near future, but not right now because right now the community needs our help.

“Now more than ever is the time that we need to make sure our community does the Census so we can get them the funding they need.”

With Census ground operations suspended, Sharon and many of her co-workers are helping aid recovery efforts.

Census Regional Operations Manager Annette Papuni-McLellan said Cyclone Gabrielle was a significant stressor for team members.

“Most of our Hawke’s Bay team have been affected in some capacity, from the flooding, and with whānau affected and displaced.

“The minority that aren’t directly affected still have close whānau, friends, or communities that are. "

Papuni McLellan said Stats NZ’s primary goal was to allow people in Hawke’s Bay to focus on recovery.

The on-the-ground Census extension and re-plan for the region would give teams and the public time to focus on the Census.

“Giving people the time and space they need to respond to the recent weather events is the priority. There will be more time for people impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle to complete their census forms, with the on-the-ground census collection extended to 1 June. The re-planning for this is under way now.

If people want to do the census before they get their census forms, they can do this by going to www.census.govt.nz, clicking “Start your census”, and requesting an online access code.

The access code will be sent to a nominated mobile phone and they will be able to fill out their census forms for the whole household with this code.