Sheri-Lee Sherman-Beamsley (back right) and her family filled in Census forms and scored some Warriors tickets. Photo / Paul Taylor
Warriors tickets and kai vouchers are just two of the carrots Stats NZ has employed to entice the final group of people who have not yet filled out their Census 2023.
Te Ao Māori Census23 director Atawhai Tibble says this final census mile was always going to be the longest and toughest. Census day was March 7 and as of 9am today, 4,521,381 people have returned their Individual Forms.
“We have still got people out in the field and Whānau Ora around Auckland and we are continually pushing and leaving no stone unturned,” Tibble said.
The Warriors game in April against West Tigers in Tamaki Makaurau had a budget of $150k to entice those who had not completed their census forms to do so. They were also given a $25 kai voucher with entry to the game. Two thousand people participated.
The Warriors-Broncos match in Napier last weekend was on a much smaller scale and budget, which targeted areas which had low and slow responses. Census officials gave away 550 Warriors match tickets and also kai vouchers for those at the game, who also completed their census forms.
A security guard tackles one of the pitch invaders as he enters McLean Park on Saturday night. Photo / Ian Cooper
It is not known if any of the 22 pitch invaders at McLean Park received their tickets via the census promotion.
Tibble said they knew from the Covid-19 immunisation roll-out that there was an element of distrust held by some groups - Māori included - and that was where the final focus would remain.
“There are still groups out there for whatever reason don’t know about the census,” Tibble said.
Statistics NZ's Atawhai Tibble. Photo / Supplied
“Maybe they are not sure and hesitant or don’t want to give any information to the government through fear, we don’t know.
“And you always have the resistant people.”
Stats NZ estimates it has got seven out of 10 Kiwis to date and as an organisation, it too must grow with the times.
“My grandfather from Ngati Porou went to World War II and the price of citizenship was like a phrase that Māori worked towards and would discuss at the dinner table,” Tibble said.
“I don’t know that those views or values are spoken at the dinner table.
“We know that social media is a big area where our people go to and we just have to try to figure who we use that to get whānau engaged.
“From a Stats point of view, I’m trying to get a sense of what the size of that pocket is.”
The feedback from the community has been positive, but what that equates to will become more visible in the Census 2023 debrief.
He urged those still not convinced to think of their wider community. Government funding for projects is made on a per capita basis for many developments and infrastructure.
“But you can’t fund invisible whānau and being counted makes a difference for your community.
“Census is one of the most regulated data sets and there are rules against us using people’s private information.
“We do not share information with IRD or police and we need to address it more directly next time and we will continue to tell the truth while those anti-census talk their rubbish.”
Tibble said one woman in Gisborne refused to complete her Census form three times.
“Then they had an event on her street and she decided to complete her Census.
“It wasn’t about the voucher but the engagement.”