March 05, 2013
Census data kept confidential
Statistics New Zealand is reassuring Māori they should have no fear about how their information will be used in today's census.
The department has made a special effort this year to address the Māori undercount in the regular survey of what New Zealand is, has and does.
Luke Crawford, the Census 2013 Māori Community Liaison Team Leader, says Māori give a range of reasons for not participating, from sovereignty to fear they may come to the attention of police or other authorities.
“The biggest thing that we build our whare on and our pā tūwatawata on is the fact that we are not allowed to share an individual’s information with any government department, organisation or anyone. To our whānaunga up there in the shacks out on the east coast, west coast, up the far north or south, you can’t be sort out through census information because we are not allowed to share it,” says Luke Crawford from Census 2013.
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