January 09, 2013
Ten year census means poor data for iwi
A Māori demographer is warning that shifting to a 10-year census will deny iwi the data they need to plan for their people.
Statistics New Zealand is considering a plan to double the time between counts as part of its response to government cost cutting.
The census was delayed a year because of the Canterbury earthquakes.
Tahu Kukutai, a senior research associate at the National Institute for Demographic and Economic Analysis, says regular censuses are vital to provide the robust and reliable data that makes for good decision making.
She says the census needs to include more questions that are relevant to Māori needs.
Adding a question about people’s iwi in 1991 was a step in the right direction, but it still has a long way to go,” Dr Kukutai says.
She says post-census surveys like Te Kupenga are able to ask questions about social factors that can’t be included in the main consensus, but it is important to have the standardised five-yearly snapshot of the country.
“We also need to find ways to make more use of the administrative data collected by government agencies.
Meanwhile, Labour MP Shane Jones is urging Māori to participate in the March census.
He says the answers people give helps central and local government allocate funds for roads, schools, hospitals and other services.
He dismissed as ridiculous any suggestion Māori should not participate because it undermined their sovereignty, or that the state was hoarding people’s personal information.
The census will be followed by the Māori electoral option, when Māori voters can choose whether they want to be listed on the Māori or the general electoral roll.
A combination of Māori option and census data is used to determine the number of Māori seats.
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