11. Question No. 11—StatisticsNAISI CHEN (Labour) to the Minister of StatisticsQuestion No. 11—Statistics11. NAISI CHEN (Labour) to the Minister of Statistics: What actions has the Government taken to ensure that Census 2023 meets its goals and objectives?Hon Dr DEBORAH RUSSELL (Minister of Statistics): Today is census day. Our five-yearly census is taking place this month and we aim to count everyone who is in New Zealand on the night of 7 March 2023. This year for this census Government has doubled the number of census collectors with more assistance to complete the census. Census collectors will be employed for longer so doing more with more people. Before census day 44 percent of all dwellings have received paper forms. There is more assistance to complete census forms with 30 percent of household support at or over the doorstep to complete census forms. [Interruption]SPEAKER: Order! Sorry to interrupt. Yeah I wanted to hear the answer to this so dial it back.David Seymour: Point of order Mr Speaker. I think what some members were pointing it out is that a member was apparently videoing or photographing the Minister giving the answer which I thought was in contradiction of Standing Orders.SPEAKER: Well it is but that's not the point of order that I just—sorry the issue that I just dealt with. So what is your point?David Seymour: I was just trying to be helpful Mr Speaker. There was a member apparently videoing the answer being given by the Minister and I think that's what members were barracking about: trying to draw to your attention to it without disrupting the question and answer.SPEAKER: OK. Is there a member who was filming during the answer of that question?Hon Willow-Jean Prime: Photographing.SPEAKER: Pardon?Hon Willow-Jean Prime: Photographing.SPEAKER: Photographing. And you know the rules are you going to delete them now?Hon Willow-Jean Prime: Sure. And I apologise.Hon Dr DEBORAH RUSSELL: I'm delighted to see the level of engagement with this question and in fact that's something we've done in Census 2023. There is much more engagement with communities to support awareness and participation in the census. And we are focused on working directly with community and Treaty partners to help deliver the census. As my census badge says Tātau tātou—All of us count". [Interruption]SPEAKER: Order! Supplementaries are heard in silence.Naisi Chen: What is different for Māori in this year's census?Hon Dr DEBORAH RUSSELL: This year in some areas of the country the collection of census data is being led by iwi. In Te Tai Tokerau Tai Rāwhiti and with Te Whānau-ā-Apanui in the Bay of Plenty data will be collected by iwi and shared with the census team. And it will be easier for all Māori to identify iwi affiliation with a new iwi-affiliation map and there are twice as many census engagement staff than there were in 2018 with more than half being Māori.Naisi Chen: What is being done to ensure minority groups are counted?Hon Dr DEBORAH RUSSELL: The census team is holding assisted-completion events going out into libraries and community halls and attending community events to help people complete their census forms. Special events have been held for particular communities such as a community event for young disabled people in Takapuna last week and a gathering for the Kiribati community in Auckland.Naisi Chen: When can people do the census?Hon Dr DEBORAH RUSSELL: This year's census has been open since 9 February and over 1.5 million individual forms have already been submitted. And of course there are plenty of people who rather than doing in advance like to do the census actually on census day—that is today. So anyone can do the census anytime from now. And the important thing is that when people do the census they base it on where they are tonight 7 March.Naisi Chen: What impacts have the Auckland anniversary weekend floods and Cyclone Gabrielle had on the census?Hon Dr DEBORAH RUSSELL: The extreme weather events have had a significant effect on Census 2023. Census activity has gone ahead as planned in most parts of the country but in areas that have been deeply affected dispatching census packs has been delayed until communities are ready to receive them. The post-census collection period has been extended and extra help is being put into these areas to ensure that people are assisted to complete the census.Simon Watts: How does Statistics New Zealand plan to reconcile the data from the duplicate census papers sent to over 1.5 million New Zealanders; and does she believe this will affect the census data quality?Hon Dr DEBORAH RUSSELL: Of course each census pack contains multiple copies of the census form in order that multiple members of a household may complete the census. The member however may have been referring to the second letter that was sent to many households to remind them to complete the census. This was done because in field testing in 2022 it was found there was a much greater response rate from households if a second reminder letter was sent."