Latest news with #2023Census
RNZ News
25-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Should superannuation be means-tested?
Retirement commissioner Jane Wrightson believes the government should be considering means testing what is currently a universal benefit, an idea she concedes is unpopular. Data from the 2023 census shows more than 9000 people aged over 65 earn more than $200,000 a year. Another 33,000 earn between $100,000 and $200,000. Treasury estimates superannuation costs the government about 18 cents of every dollar it collects in tax, or more than 24 billion dollars this year. Honorary Associate Professor of Economics at Auckland University, Susan St John, spoke to Lisa Owen. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
RNZ News
18-06-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
The traditional Census has been switched off: What happens now?
2023 will be the last year the government will ask every person in NZ to participate in the Census. Photo: RNZ For many decades, one night every five years, every person in this country was asked to pick up a pen and answer a series of questions about themselves and the house they lived in. What is your name? How old are you? What language did you first learn? Are you studying? Working? Do you have electricity, internet, a car? How many rooms are there at your house and who lives there with you? The Census - a survey that attempts to count every single person in a population - has offered fascinating insights into New Zealand's changing face over the years. It's charted the downfall of both religion and smoking, and the rise of new technology and ethnic diversity. It's revealed the shifting shape of our households and relationships. Even more importantly, though, these demographic insights have helped to shape everything from where new schools are built, to where electorate boundaries are drawn. But 2023 has turned out to be the last year that the government will ask every person in the country to participate in the Census. Instead, from 2030 Census-style statistics will be created from a combination of data already collected by other government agencies, known as 'administrative data', and annual surveys of a sample of the population. This approach was heavily signalled in consultation that happened last year . A failed 2018 Census, another one in 2023 that had its fair share of problems, and the huge cost of both those Censuses compared to previous years, all led to the government's decision this week. Announcing the change, statistics minister Shane Reti said: "Despite the unsustainable and escalating costs, successive censuses have been beset with issues or failed to meet expectations." It will end more than 150 years of continuous data collection across nearly the entire population . Demographers who spoke to RNZ fear that once it's happened, the change might be irreversible. They warn it may magnify rather than solve the problem of under-counting Māori and Pasifika populations, and that important data currently only captured by the Census will be lost. Both risks could have flow-on effects for all kinds of spending and infrastructure decisions that affect our daily lives. Photo: RNZ Len Cook was New Zealand's chief statistician from 1992 to 2000 and has also served as national statistician in the UK. He says the change has come just when an accurate picture of New Zealand's population is crucial. "We're in the middle of what I call a population storm, where falling fertility, rising life expectancy, and huge migration volatility means that pretty much every one of our 67 local authorities now is changing in an entirely different way from the other," he says. "We really need to be able to make sure that we're going to know in each of these places what's changing and what's driving it." Yet Wednesday's announcement did not make it clear what data might fall by the wayside, he says. "What's the information we now need but we're no longer going to get? What's the information that we're going to get that's new? And if we don't know what we're no longer going to have, what are we going to do alternatively?" Cook has kept a close eye on what's happening in the UK, which had planned to move to a similar system for its next Census in England and Wales in 2031. The day before Reti announced an end to New Zealand's five-yearly Census, the UK Statistics Authority recommended to the government there that the planned move should not go ahead, and instead a traditional Census should be held. The UK is a "trailblazer" in the statistical world, Cook says. "If the UK is not prepared to make this move in six years' time, then we need to have a damn sight better explanation of why New Zealand is going to do it now." Moving to an administrative model would take New Zealand further away from the systems used in many countries we compare ourselves to, he says. Australia, the UK and the USA all currently use a full population-wide census. Professor Paul Spoonley Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly Massey University sociologist Professor Paul Spoonley says he is "very nervous" about the changes. "The Census is an all-encompassing data collection exercise which makes sure that everybody is part of that exercise and is asked the same questions. Administrative data doesn't do that, so there are big data gaps." Spoonley says there are other countries that have moved to an administrative model, but they also use a population register to keep track of data. "If you take somewhere like Sweden, everybody has a unique identifier and it can be linked with administrative data. But you then need to link that data very carefully, and you need to make sure that it's up-to-date, because there are always gaps in administrative datasets." Stats NZ acting chief statistician Mary Craig said at the announcement that there would be a lot of work over the next five years to ensure the administrative data it will rely on is up to scratch. "There's a level of data from everybody, but does it actually have all the attributes that we would need for this type of exercise? No." Spoonley says even if New Zealand's collection of administrative data can be made more systematic, it still won't include all of the information the Census currently collects. There are plenty of things only the Census asks about, particularly around dwelling conditions and household make-up, and te ao Māori data variables like iwi affiliation and te reo proficiency. "What are the surveys going to look like that make up for the data deficiencies - are they going to be adequate? And we need a big sample to make sure we are capturing all of those communities in sufficient depth." He agrees that the 2018 and 2023 censuses were costly, and also cost the country dearly in robust statistics. But the government should have considered previous models for running the Census before it decided to scrap it entirely, he says. "We've had 35 censuses in New Zealand. It provides an enormous and rich database. "We're breaking that continuity with no guarantee that we're going to get good quality data that tells us what's happening in New Zealand." If the new approach also goes awry, he says, "We've got no comeback." "We're a modern society that relies on good quality data to make good quality decisions at a national and local level. The risk is that we're not going to have that data to make those decisions, and the problem is that that will become apparent at a moment that's too late to rectify it." Photo: RNZ Te Kāhui Raraunga and Data Iwi Leaders Group lead data technician Kirikowhai Mikaere says her organisation was involved in some of the consultation behind the changes, but she still has many concerns about how it will go ahead. Te Kāhui Raraunga was set up in the wake of the 2018 Census, which severely undercounted Māori populations, and was given kaitiakitanga of Māori data from the 2023 Census. "Administrative data, we know, doesn't necessarily have the robust coverage for some key variables for iwi Māori - in particular for the iwi affiliation variable, the Māori descent variable, and te reo Māori," Mikaere says. "One of the concerns of moving to a system that relies on the combination of administrative data and smaller annual surveys, is that it might roll back the progress we've made and negatively impact the quality of Māori data." Rural and remote communities, and those with vulnerable populations, find it harder to access government services. The new approach could compound that problem, Mikaere says. "Administrative data is primarily collected from the delivery of services. If you don't access those services, then you're not seen in administrative data." Te Kāhui Raraunga worked closely with Stats NZ during the 2023 Census and was hoping to meet the agency and minister at the end of this month to discuss some of its solutions to those concerns, Mikaere says. "We support the modernisation of data collection in Aotearoa but it's really essential that the Crown works in genuine partnership with iwi to make sure that the new approach doesn't repeat historical data collection failings for Māori. "How do we make sure that all of our communities are seen in this alternative system?"
Scoop
10-06-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Working Lives Are Getting Longer
Press Release – Stats NZ Compared with previous censuses, teenagers were more likely to be in the workforce in 2023, 2023 Census spokesperson Dr Rosemary Goodyear said. New Zealanders are joining the workforce earlier and continuing to work later in life, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. 'Compared with previous censuses, teenagers were more likely to be in the workforce in 2023,' 2023 Census spokesperson Dr Rosemary Goodyear said. 'There was also a steady increase in employment for those aged 65 years and over.' Visit our website to read these news stories and information release:
Scoop
10-06-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Working Lives Are Getting Longer
Press Release – Stats NZ Compared with previous censuses, teenagers were more likely to be in the workforce in 2023, 2023 Census spokesperson Dr Rosemary Goodyear said. New Zealanders are joining the workforce earlier and continuing to work later in life, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. 'Compared with previous censuses, teenagers were more likely to be in the workforce in 2023,' 2023 Census spokesperson Dr Rosemary Goodyear said. 'There was also a steady increase in employment for those aged 65 years and over.'
Washington Post
05-06-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
India is preparing to launch its delayed census, including controversial questions about caste
NEW DELHI — India will start counting its vast population in a mammoth exercise starting next year. The first census in 16 years will be conducted digitally and include controversial questions about caste for the first time since independence. The Home Ministry announced plans to conduct a two-stage count ending March 1, 2027 in a statement Wednesday night. India's last official census in 2011 counted 1.21 billion people. The country's population is now estimated to be well over 1.4 billion, making it the world's most populous country , according to the U.N.'s Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The once-in-a-decade population survey was originally due in 2021 but was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and logistical hurdles. Here's a look at what goes into India's census and why it matters. The official count of the country's people is used to allocate many of India's welfare programs and other policies. It could also pave the way for redrawing the political landscape of India as seats are added to the lower house of Parliament and state legislatures to represent a larger population. Under the 2023 Women's Reservation Bill, a third of those seats will be set aside for women. The Indian census is said to be the largest peacetime mobilization in the world. Almost 2.7 million people were hired to implement the 2011 census, visiting more than 240 million households. The Home Ministry said the new census will be carried out in two phases and conclude by March 1, 2027. The government will spell out the details and schedule of the exercise later this month. They'll collect information about houses and their occupants, such as sex, age, marital status, religion, mother tongue, language, literacy and economic activity — as well as caste. The next census will be the first to consider the caste status of most Indians. Caste is an ancient system of social hierarchy in India and is critical to Indian life and politics. There are hundreds of caste groups based on occupation and economic status across India, particularly among Hindus, but the country has limited, or outdated data on how many people belong to them. Since independent India's first census in 1951, it counted only Dalits and Adivasis, members of marginalized groups known as scheduled castes and tribes. But India also has quotas that reserve government jobs, college admissions and elected offices for a swathe of lower and intermediate castes that are recognized as Other Backward Classes. India's current policy caps quotas at 50%, with 27% reserved for OBCs. A count of these groups will likely lead to calls to raise the quotas. Successive Indian governments have resisted updating caste data, arguing that it could lead to social unrest. The announcement on the census comes months ahead of a crucial election in India's poorest state of Bihar, where caste is a key issue. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party runs a coalition government in Bihar.
