Delivery of 2011 Census forms begins tomorrow

The 2011 Census is in full swing from tomorrow, with the delivery of close to eight million census forms and Internet Access Codes to nearly two million households around New Zealand.

In the lead-up to census day on Tuesday, 8 March, over seven thousand census collectors will be tasked with this mammoth job, which is crucial to ensuring everyone in New Zealand gets the message – You Count.

Census information helps determine how billions of dollars of government funding is spent in the community.

There were 265,974 Pacific people in New Zealand in 2006 (at the time of the last census) – about 7% of the population. This was 15% more than in 2001, and we expect that this will have increased again. It is important to know by how much, so resources are properly allocated.
Census General Manager Carol Slappendel says one of the main challenges of delivering the census forms is New Zealand’s rural and often isolated nature.

“Delivering census forms in built-up areas is pretty straightforward, but it’s when collectors have to get out into the country that things get a bit more complicated.

“We’re going to have collectors visiting DOC huts, remote rural communities, cruise ships, school camps, prisons, military bases…covering all of New Zealand is a huge challenge, but we’re up to it.”

Carol Slappendel says the 2011 Census will be the biggest census undertaken in New Zealand yet, and people can opt for the secure, quick and easy option of filling in their forms online.

ENDS

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