Still waiting for Census forms

Problems delivering Census forms have reached beyond inner-city Auckland.

Statistics New Zealand admitted on Sunday that it was having difficulty getting forms into the city, citing problems with access to apartment blocks and people who were out of the house.

But residents from suburbs as far apart as Greenhithe, Takapuna, Henderson, Glendene, Mt Roskill, Botany Downs, Beach Haven and Onetangi on Waiheke Island have also reported that by late afternoon yesterday they had not seen one of the 6400 Census collectors.

An email also came from Huntly complaining of non-delivery. Census night is tonight.

One Hillsborough resident said his house had been continuously occupied in recent weeks, but he had not seen a collector. The situation "doesn't inspire confidence in the statistics that will be produced", he said.

A Greenhithe resident also awaiting papers said he was bothered that forms had not been delivered: "Without 100 per cent participation, it is not a valid representation."

But Census data collection manager Dave Martyn said he was not alarmed. "It's a normal part of the process that at this stage there are individuals who have not received forms. The figures I've got show we've delivered to almost 99 per cent of people in New Zealand."

However, Mr Martyn said: "We've had collectors go down sick [and], a couple with dog bites threw in the towel, so we've had to do some mopping up ... of areas that are still outstanding.

"You never like to hear of people who haven't got a form yet, but I understand the vagaries of trying to catch all of New Zealand at home in a discrete period of time." He urged those without forms to call the Census helpline on (0800) 236-787.

He said it did not matter if the forms arrived late. "It's not a hanging offence if you didn't fill your form out there and then - it's a case of including everyone so the data means something".

* A Telecom fault lasting half an hour yesterday morning prevented callers reaching the Census helpline. "I thought it was the end of the world for a moment," said Mr Martyn, "but it wasn't anything wrong with our system at all".