Big shake-up for census proposed

The people of Aotearoa New Zealand want more new data that is relevant to their daily lives and they want it faster, the country's top statistician says.

Mark Sowden says changes proposed by the government are set to increase the accuracy, equity, and legitimacy of the census.

He says Statistics NZ will need to make use of new technology and data sources if it is going to meet the needs and expectations of Kiwis sustainably.

Watch Mark Sowden's full interview below.

Sowden said StatsNZ is exploring administrative data - already collected by other government agencies - supplemented by survey information and bespoke solutions, to deliver Census 2028 and beyond.

Sowden said the data landscape was changing and that traditional census collection models with a large-scale field workforce were becoming unsustainable.

This involved the survey burden on people, the timeliness of delivering data and statistics, and the cost pressures associated with a full field enumeration census.

But he said there was an opportunity to modernise how the data is collected, and at the same time deliver "value for money" to the country.

"This is an opportunity for us to provide better data for New Zealanders, data that meets New Zealanders' needs, whilst reducing what we're asking of New Zealanders, reducing the burden on New Zealanders by not asking them for things that we already have," Sowden told Pacific Mornings' Levi Matautia-Morgan.

"It is a way of managing the increasing costs. I'm not going to say it's going to be less costly, but it's certainly a way of managing the increasing costs.

“The people want more and new data that is relevant to their daily lives, and they want it faster. We need to make use of new technology and data sources if we’re going to meet the needs and expectations of Kiwis sustainably."

From 10 May, members of the public can have their say on what Aotearoa's five-yearly count could look like in the future.

The consultation document, ‘Modernising our approach to the 2028 Census’ includes information about the opportunities and challenges of changing Kiwis' approach to the count every five years.

The proposed changes include providing better data for New Zealanders, data that meets New Zealanders' needs. Photo/supplied

The document is available in different formats and languages including Easy Read, braille, te reo Māori, and New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL).

Following public consultation, an independent evaluation panel will provide advice to Sowden and his team on an approach to the 2028 Census and beyond.

By 1 May, 4,408,894 people out of an estimated population of 5.15 million had returned their census forms.

Data from the 2023 Census will be released on 29 May 2024.

Sowden is urging the public to participate in the consultation "because all we've decided is where we can use admin data, so that's the data we already hold about New Zealanders from them paying their taxes or applying for a benefit or applying for a driver's licence.

"We're not gonna ask for those questions. We're not gonna ask New Zealanders for that information again. Things like income and population counts but we still need to figure out how we're gonna collect and does it address the cost.

"A lot of it will be how we spend our money a bit differently because the other key part of this, as well as using more of the data we already have is working in partnership with the Pacific community and representatives of the Pacific community to collect targeted pieces of data from the populations that we struggle to connect with.

"The Pacific community is one that we do struggle to connect with. So, it's an opportunity to shift some of the costs to do that differently and more in partnership."

Submissions close at 5pm on Wednesday 18 June 2024. Visit the Stats NZ website for more details.