June 29, 2023
Iwi input boosts census success
Te Whanau a Apanui hapū leader Willie Te Aho says the iwi has achieved a more than 90 percent response rate for the census.
All census forms must be in the hands of Stats NZ or completed online by 5pm Friday to be counted.
Fewer than 60 percent of people in Te Whanau a Apanui people took part in the 2018 census.
This time the iwi made an agreement with Stats NZ to run the exercise in its rohe, and it used the same networks employed in the Covid lockdowns and vaccination campaigns to identify trusted people to take charge in each hapu.
“Across the whole of Te Whanau a Apanui for both Māori and pakeha we has a 90-plus percent response rate so (it shows) when Maori are given the resources to achieve outcomes for the benefit of our people they do a far better job than anyone else can do,” Mr Te Aho says.