No more free Warriors tickets or food vouchers to complete Census; Government considering harsher fines

Those who were slow to fill out Census forms in 2023 were offered food vouchers or tickets to see the Warriors as an incentive. Photo / Bevan Conley

Vouchers for free food or tickets to watch the Warriors are “unlikely” to be offered again in exchange for completing the Census, with the new Government considering harsher penalties rather than incentives.

Statistics Minister Andrew Bayly was today asked by fellow National MP Tom Rutherford, in a Governance and Administration committee meeting scrutinising Budget plans around statistics, whether the 2028 Census will provide similar incentives to those given out last year.

In 2023, Stats NZ offered tickets to the Warriors and vouchers for food, in a bid to get more people to send back their Census forms, as the uptake target had not been met at the time.

When asked, Bayly confirmed to the select committee it would be “very unlikely” the Government provides those sorts of incentives for the 2028 Census.

“New Zealanders have an obligation to fill out forms, particularly for the Census,” Bayly said. “It’s an important thing. It only happens every five years... it sets health policies, it sets housing policies, it sets up a huge amount of issues. If you want to help the Government drive better outcomes, it’s important from that perspective.”

The minister confirmed Statistics New Zealand was looking at a different infringement regime.

Currently, anyone who is asked to complete the survey has to respond to the mandatory questions, or cop a fine of up to $2,000.

“We’ve got to get back to a situation where people feel like they understand the importance of the Census. When I talk about these surveys to more vulnerable communities, or if I can, and another community, I’m not saying they’re all necessarily vulnerable, but you know I talk about Pasifika right [sic]. Maybe the approach where people are getting approached in the right way, and some of the lessons out of that, are really important,” Bayly said in the committee.

Stats NZ had budgeted $150,000 for Warriors ticket giveaways in the scheme promoting Census 2023, and more than $1 million was spent on incentives.

At the time, deputy government statistician Simon Mason said the move focused on getting more Census responses from people with Māori and Pasifika backgrounds.

National’s then-Statistics spokesman Simon Watts slammed last year’s Census as an “an expensive and embarrassing failure”.

“Labour has failed to meet all its targets. Māori participation is at 72 per cent, a mere 5 per cent higher than in 2018 and nowhere near the 90 per cent target. Labour’s only response is to shovel more of taxpayers’ money into it,” Watts said last year.

Warriors Chief Executive Cameron George had urged those in Hawke’s Bay to take part in last year’s Census, saying the data “will play a crucial role in bolstering community wellbeing”.

Minister Bayly confirmed Statistics New Zealand was undertaking a review of Census 2023.

Stats NZ has just recently closed submissions on its public consultation on the future of the Census in New Zealand, with chief executive and government statistician Mark Sowden suggesting Census 2028 could used a mixed approach in data collection, that considers taxpayer costs.

Azaria Howell is a Wellington-based multimedia reporter with an eye across the region. She joined NZME in 2022 and has a keen interest in city council decisions, public service agency reform, and transport.