KEY POINTS:
Two academics have criticised Statistics NZ for producing ethnic data which cannot be compared with information from the previous census. And a Statistics NZ spokesman has defended the apparent changes as required to keep abreast of changing ethnic realities.
In fact we are in the happy situation of being able both to compare with past censuses and also track newly emerging ethnic identities. Since the emerging category is that of being a "New Zealander", the topic is pertinent, not least with the recent observance of Anzac Day.
Census questions need both to remain comparable over time and to change to reflect changing conditions. This can be particularly difficult when the subject matter is complex and shifting, as it is for many people's views of their own ethnic identity.
Moreover, there are collective currents which shape people's thinking on which particular categories and terms are pertinent, such as the media attention to ethnic labelling before the last census.
On the other hand, social statisticians are particularly concerned to trace over time how people of particular categories fare over different census periods, and thus want constant and comparable measurement. It is crucial that the changing circumstances of those who identify with particular ethnic categories can be investigated over time in a comparable way.
In fact ethnicity was handled in exactly the same way in the 2001 and 2006 censuses, although the information was reported differently. The same question was used. This asks respondents to the census to tick one or more of several boxes or to write their ethnicity in an open box.
Although "NZ European" is the first box presented, terms such as New Zealander, Kiwi or Pakeha do not appear on the form. Nevertheless, over the last few censuses growing numbers have written in that they are New Zealanders or Kiwi - 45,000 in 1996, 89,000 in 2001 and almost 500,000 in 2006.
To put the effort into writing these terms suggests a considerable commitment. For 1996 and 2001 Statistics NZ made a decision to include these within the "NZ European" category, but in 2006 they were presented separately.
Since the processing takes place only after data collection, Statistics NZ has not shaped how this question has been answered. Those wishing to compare 2006 and 2001 results have only to add back the "New Zealander" category into the "NZ European" category to get an entirely precise and unproblematic comparison.
A lot of readers will be interested in the differences between "New Zealanders' and the more general "NZ European" category. After all, ethnic identities are socially shaped and to some extent fluid and changes need to be charted.
The issue of "New Zealander" as a potential ethnic identity received considerable media attention and this undoubtedly influenced the response obtained. Had Statistics NZ added a tick-box for "New Zealander" those ticking it would undoubtedly have swollen the numbers reporting themselves to be New Zealanders even further. But this then extends ethnicity into nationality.
You would expect a New Zealander to be someone born in New Zealand (or at least to have lived here for a long time), and to have become uncomfortable with the European aspect of the standard category and probably to not have another strongly competing ethnic identity.
Dropping the European aspect of the term opens up the possibility for the identifying with "New Zealander" to extend to wider groups. Indeed, a Statistics NZ analysis of the 89,000 "New Zealander" responses to the 2001 census shows that compared to "NZ Europeans" the New Zealanders are distinctly younger (more precisely younger middle age) and also more likely to be men.
They are are overwhelmingly New Zealand-born. Some are of Maori descent - some 10 per cent of New Zealanders are of Maori descent and 10 per cent of the Maori Descent group see themselves as New Zealanders.
A particular complication with ethnicity is that people may give several answers - and in fact some 10 per cent have double (or multiple) ethnic identities.
It is likely, though, that multiple ethnic identities, including being a New Zealander, are on the increase among the young. For example, Asian children are often recorded as "NZ Asian".
More analysis of census and other data on ethnic identities is required to see if there are further characteristics which distinguish this emerging group.
Observers will be watching the outcomes of future censuses with interest. Hopefully, this interest will be accommodated by simultaneously allowing strictly comparable comparisons between censuses and allowing emerging ethnic identities to be recorded.
Finally, what is Ethnicity/Ethnic group? The Statistics NZ definition is that Ethnicity is the ethnic group or groups that people identify with or feel they belong to. Ethnicity is a measure of cultural affiliation, as opposed to race, ancestry, nationality or citizenship. Ethnicity is also self-perceived and people can belong to more than one ethnic group.
An ethnic group is made up of people who have some or all of these characteristics - a common proper name; one or more elements of common culture that need not be specified, but may include religion, customs, or language; unique community of interests, feelings and actions; a shared sense of common origins or ancestry, and a common geographic origin.
* Charles Crother is a professor of sociology at AUT University in Auckland.
