Counting On The Community: One New Zealand Warriors Team Up With Stats NZ To Support Hawke’s Bay Census Collection

A partnership between Stats NZ and the One New Zealand
Warriors aims to support more people in the Hawke’s Bay to
be counted in the 2023 Census, Stats NZ said today.

In
collaboration with the Napier City Council, people will be
offered tickets to the NRL fixture between the One New
Zealand Warriors and Brisbane Broncos at McLean Park in
Napier on Saturday 27 May if they turn up and complete their
census forms at local events leading up to the
match.

“The goal is to get more people completing
census forms. Working with the One New Zealand Warriors is
an opportunity to engage parts of the community in a way
that resonates for them,” said Simon Mason, Deputy
Government Statistician and Deputy Chief Executive Census
and Collection Operations.

“Data from this census
will be a critical input to the recovery and rebuild of the
region after Cyclone Gabrielle, and we want to encourage and
support every person to contribute to that future by taking
part in the census.”

Working with community partners
to engage diverse communities across Aotearoa New Zealand
has been a feature of 2023 Census. Stats NZ has engaged new
community partners in the latter stages of the census to
lift participation where the response has been
lowest.

A collaboration with the One New Zealand
Warriors for their Auckland home game in April raised the
profile of the census with priority response groups and
resulted in around 2,000 census forms being
completed.

“In cyclone impacted areas, we understand
that the census has not been a priority for some people. We
hope that this opportunity will encourage more people to
take part. Every completed census form counts!” said Simon
Mason.

The One New Zealand Warriors have been strong
advocates of the 2023 Census, with a deep connection to
their community underscoring the importance of every person
being counted and reflected in the census data.

“We
urge our Warriors’ whānau to participate in the census,
supporting their communities just as they support us. This
data will play a crucial role in bolstering community
wellbeing, a top priority following Cyclone Gabrielle,” One
New Zealand Warriors CEO, Cameron George said.

To
secure tickets to the match on Saturday 27 May, people can
complete their census at the One New Zealand Warriors open
training session at McLeans Park on Friday 26 May, where
there will also be the opportunity to engage with the
team.

Stats NZ is holding census support events where
tickets will also be available (details below).

The
census provides an understanding of all the people in
Aotearoa New Zealand and where they are living. It is a
complete picture of life in our cities, towns, rural areas,
and outer islands. Census data is used by government,
councils, iwi, community organisations, and businesses to
make decisions about funding and location of health and
community services, and infrastructure like
roads.

Stats NZ understands the value of the
information people share in the census, and are committed to
high standards of privacy, security, and confidentiality at
all times to keep it safe. People’s information is never
shared with any other agency or organisation.

Tickets
will be offered at the following events for completion of
census forms (check www.census.govt.nz/warriors for updates
and more information):

1. Tuesday 23 May 2023, 4.15pm
to 7.00pm

Flaxmere Community Centre, 400 Swansea Road,
Flaxmere Hastings.

2. Wednesday 24 May 2023, 4.15pm to
7.00pm

Flaxmere Community Centre, 400 Swansea Road,
Flaxmere, Hastings.

3. Friday 26 May 2023, from 9.30am
(signing session 10.45-11.30am)

One New Zealand
Warriors open training session
Meet your favourite
players including local hero and Warriors’ captain Tohu
Harris at a signing session from 10:45am to11:30am. There
will also be a
BBQ.

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