The census plays a critical role in planning for the country's future. Photo / Getty Images, File
The census plays a critical role in planning for the country's future. Photo / Getty Images, File
Editorial
EDITORIAL
Statistics nerds and social planners rejoice. It is census week.
On Tuesday, March 7, a snapshot will be taken of New Zealand in an attempt to see how many there are of us; the sizes of our households; and all sorts of generally nosey questions such as our gendersplit, ethnicities, countries of birth, and religious beliefs.
Some of the questions delve even deeper, such as whether we’ve ever been a smoker, and the state of our mental health.
NZ Herald’s head of newsroom data Chris Knox told The Front Page podcast recently that we collectively gain a great deal of power from the census.
Illustration / Rod Emmerson
“I personally think that filling out the census probably gives you more than voting in terms of what you get from the government,” he says. “It’s your one chance to ensure that you, as an individual, are captured in the government’s decision-making process.”
Effectively, it puts us and anyone else like us in the frame when decisions are made that will impact us.
For instance, it might change the way people with disabilities are supported if more is known about how many there are, and whether they are disproportionally living in some parts of New Zealand.
Examples cited by Knox include a welding contractor in Hāwera, who used the census data to identify where there were young people who didn’t have employment and then went there to find those young people and offer them apprenticeships in his welding firm.”
Another example is 2022’s Young New Zealander of the year Ezra Hirawani, who saw in the census data that many New Zealanders didn’t have electricity and then decided to do something about it.
One thing is for sure, New Zealand and the makeup of our population will have changed since the last census was taken five years ago.
The 2018 New Zealand census was the 34th national census in New Zealand, taking place on Tuesday, March 6, 2018. The population of New Zealand was counted as 4,699,755 – an increase of 457,707 (10.79 per cent) over the 2013 census.
It can’t be ignored that there are concerns about the census.
There have been calls to postpone it, due to the massive upheaval in people’s lives following Cyclone Gabrielle but it will go ahead regardless.
Officials fear anti-government sentiment will also undermine the process with “fake websites” one of 16 key risks identified in the briefings released to the Herald last year under the Official Information Act.
Briefings by Stats NZ to ministers show it was waging a $100,000 “national trust and confidence marketing campaign - focusing on myth-busting and managing disinformation about [the] census”.
The department concedes poor results in recent years. In 2013, it massively undercounted Māori, and 2018 tried to do the count mostly online resulting in Māori and Pasifika response rates plummeting.
There’s also the rise of conspiracy theorists and others distrustful of government. This was most visibly evident at the Parliament occupation and protests a year ago.
Stats NZ officials say there is a risk that this negative sentiment will impact the trust and confidence in Stats NZ and/or the 2023 Census and will in addition negatively impact responses to the 2023 Census.
Sadly this means around 3000 census collectors visiting homes across New Zealand will be carrying panic alarms as a safety measure.
Meanwhile, the costs continue to mount up. The entire census budget across five years is likely to hit $272m, according to a Stats NZ report in September to the Finance Minister.
The official budget is $251m but this does not include a $14m Māori-led project or another $13m to “manage unknowns”.
Two years ago, Treasury was recommending $232m.
In this day and age, the collection and storage of data is always a worry. Stats NZ says it will safeguard privacy by collecting only the information needed to produce statistics and research.
The department has pledged to maintain security by keeping data safe from unauthorised access and use; protect confidentiality by not releasing information that could identify individuals, households, or businesses; and maintain transparency in all processes.
Stats NZ has consulted with and follows the guidance of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner to ensure best practice.
For all the hurdles, objections and fears, this is your one chance in five years to tell the government who you are, where you are and what you need.
