Carmen Hall: Don’t be like me and leave Census form to last minute

Thousands of people in the Bay of Plenty are yet to return their Census forms. Photo / Bevan Conley

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By nature, I am a bit of a procrastinator. It is a lifetime trait and quite challenging considering the job I do.

In some aspects, I am deadline driven, especially when it comes to my job. However, I also put things off and some of those can be quite important.

These include getting smear tests and mammograms and going to the dentist regularly - once I waited until I was in agony with a toothache and ended up with an eye-watering bill that could have been avoided.

I always have good intentions and on a recent holiday, I used the time to declutter my whole house. It felt liberating and nice to donate my unwanted stuff to the local op-shop. The only thing was I had been thinking about it for more than a year and suffered anxiety when things I needed had “magically disappeared” or, more accurately, I couldn’t find them.

Snails in my mailbox chomped their way through the thank-you note from my nephew about attending his wedding and don’t even get me started on the one trillion false starts I’ve had on getting fit. That’s another story.

But I digress. My latest inaction, I am ashamed to admit, is completing the Census form and I am not alone.

More than 70,000 people in the Bay of Plenty are risking a $2000 fine by not yet returning their 2023 Census forms, according to Stats NZ.

To date, 4.3 million people across the country have returned their Census forms. But about one in 5 people still need to do so, Stats NZ said in a statement.

In the Bay of Plenty, an estimated 274,300 people had returned their forms as of Wednesday. But an estimated 73,400 forms were still yet to be submitted.

The estimates were based on the June 30, 2022 population estimate for our region.

The Census is a five-yearly data collection event that provides a snapshot of our nation at a point in time, including providing detailed information about New Zealand’s small communities.

It helps the Government know who you are, where you are, and what resources your community needs. Census data is used to plan infrastructure like water and roads, and services like schools and hospitals.

From May 5, households that have not completed the Census will receive a final notice. I am encouraging everyone, including myself, to get it done. We owe it to our community and the future of our nation.