Social event teaches value of Census to community

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BY JULIA WADE

 

27 Mar, 2023

 

Kapa haka, karaoke, sausages and singalongs were all part of a special community party recently which had a focus on fun, food and filling in forms aimed at supporting all locals.

 

Hosted by social advocate group, Te Whai Community Trust, at their Moir Street centre on March 22, and the Northland Census Community Engagement Team [CCET] led by former Kaipara district councillor Karen Joyce-Paki, the gathering was to help promote the viability and importance of the 2023 Census, and to encourage those who have yet to file the necessary forms.

Kicked off by Mangawhai Beach School’s ever-expanding kapa haka, children were then treated to hot dogs and a chance to show off their singing skills and earn a wad of cash in a karaoke competition with the pool prize funded by Statistics NZ.

The event’s more official side was a focus on increasing the Census participation levels in the area, with CCET members talking to parents and attendees and senior residents earlier on in the day about how the national survey works to help the community they live in.

Te Whai chair Mary-Anne Boyd says members from both organisations were thrilled to see people enjoying the fun gathering as well as taking time to invest in their community by filling in Census forms.

“We really want to encourage people to participate in the Census, because it means we get more funding for our schools, our healthcare, our conservation and disability support,” she says. “It seems some people don’t quite understand or appreciate how it is so important, it really does have a significant impact on how much funding comes in to this area.”

After the 2018 Census ‘did not go to plan’ due to a number of reasons, mainly involving access to online participation, Karen Joyce-Paki says an independent review highlighted the need to raise awareness of the value of the survey and why it is important for individual’s participation.

“So they brought the engagement teams on board, our focus is on Te Tai Tokerau, to get out in the community and engage with our priority response areas, to lift participation and interest in the Census and explain what the data means to small communities. That's what we are wanting to do.”

Due to the disruption of February’s extreme weather events and understanding the survey is not a huge priority to some communities who have been adversely affected, the 2023 Census deadline has been extended for certain regions including Northland, with a new cut-off date now June 01.

Taking to the road on February 28 on what the team call their ‘Te tai Tokarau Tiki Tour’, the group have been travelling to different regions from Whangarei, Waitangi, Kaitaia and Dargaville, talking to and assisting locals with the Census as well as engaging and offering support to groups ‘who are doing amazing things in the communities’ and who have ‘got reach.’

“Te Whai Trust is a natural partner for us as they are already doing so much cool work in Mangawhai and our team worked with them to design this afternoon event and how it would give back to the community.”

CCET have attended various community events across the different regions, ‘this is our second karaoke Census party,’ and Karen says the response so far has been really positive with many people who have never filled in the national survey before taking it on after understanding its relevance.

“Like today with the school, we know Mangawhai is growing, 140 kids in the kapa haka alone, but there isn’t a secondary school, so Census data is critical to say, hey, there's a growing community and in five years there needs to be a plan for the growth and explosion of children who will need a high school,” she says. “We've also met a lot of the seniors earlier today and helped some fill in forms and the services that Te Whai offer all are community funded. It’s critical the government know what the community looks like and what the needs are so they can make decisions on where to appropriate funding.”

So far, out of the thousands the team have encountered and worked with, only a handful hold such a mistrust in the government that they are unwilling to hand over their personal details.

“We find out what their resistance is and try to make the Census relevant to them with issues like roading, health, housing or education,” she says. “With 57 questions the census can feel quite invasive, however they do help shape the community and is needed to help people. If you're struggling to find a house, that’s important information for the government to know so that they can put those housing funding packages in place and work with the districts.”

Karen says the team will likely return to Mangawhai again on their tour as the turnout for the census in the area is still pretty low, hovering around only 60 percent.

“Which is not good enough so we’ll probably be back,” she says. “If you’re invisible everything is fine to the government, they can’t fund invisible people, so you need to get visible in the data.”

 

It’s critical the government know what the community looks like and what the needs are so they can make decisions on where to appropriate funding.”

- Karen Joyce-Paki

1:

Community karaoke party hosts Te Whai Community Trust and the Northland Census Community Engagement Team. Pictured with the brightly coloured Census team are Te Whai wellbeing consultant Carol Syron (left), Census team leader Karen Joyce-Paki (centre), and Te Whai chair Mary Anne Boyd (right). PHOTO/JULIA WADE

 

2:

Fun, food and a chance to earn some cash from singing skills was the drawcard to the Census party, with the event’s more official side focussed on increasing survey participation levels to become more visible for government community funding. PHOTO/JULIA WADE

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