Census data delays persist
Crucial funding decisions in Budget 2019 will be made without data from Census 2018.
Statistics New Zealand has confirmed valuable population data coming from the repeatedly delayed national survey will not be ready for next year’s Budget, and says it never was intended to be.
But National Party finance spokeswoman Amy Adams says it’s ‘‘highly unusual’’ that such data wasn’t intended to be used.
Census 2018 had the lowest turnout in 50 years, and Stats NZ has repeatedly pushed out an initial release date set for October 2018, due to the continued threat of incomplete data.
Stuff has revealed Stats NZ is now planning for an August 2019 release, and concern has been raised it will lead to ‘‘less than ideal’’ decisions being made by organisations who depend on the data.
Yesterday, a Stats NZ spokesman said the department had produced national and sub-national population estimates for June 30, 2018, based on the 2013 census.
‘‘Updated population data was never intended to be available for Budget 2019.
‘‘[Stats NZ] has also created a customised projection based on the national population estimate, and is managing queries from government agencies about the data available in the interim.’’
Population and occupied dwelling counts were expected for the initial release of census
‘‘Stats NZ has been tight-lipped about what the lower-thanexpected national response rate might mean for Ma¯ori.’’ Te Mana Raraunga (Ma¯ ori Data Sovereignty Network)
results, previously scheduled for October 2018.
Stuff has asked why 2018 population estimates were never intended to be used in 2019.
Adams said: ‘‘I’d be interested to know when was the last time a Budget didn’t use real information when there had been a census taken the previous year.’’
The Government needed to explain whether district health boards and schools – which are funded based on census population data – would have funding backdated ‘‘if the actual population data in Census 2018 varies significantly from the estimates used in Budget 2019’’. ‘‘It would appear the agencies that are funded in this way such as district health boards and schools are going to have legitimate expectations that their funding will be backdated,’’ she said.
Details of Budget 2019 leaked to the National Party emerged yesterday, and revealed focuses on mental wellbeing, reducing child poverty and family violence, and lifting Ma¯ori and Pacific incomes.
Tackling such goals requires accurate data of populations, and Te Mana Raraunga (Ma¯ ori Data Sovereignty Network) has spelled out its concern to Stats NZ behind the scenes.
The organisation, made up of more than 1000 Ma¯ ori researchers and entrepreneurs, has said the response rate for