Latest news with #census
RNZ News
11 hours ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Scrapping national census raises data sovereignty, surveillance fears for Māori
By Lara Greaves, Ella Pēpi Tarapa-Dewes, Kiri West, Larissa Renfrew of An administrative census will use information collected in day-to-day government activities. Photo: 2023 Census, Stats NZ Analysis - Wednesday's announcement that the five-yearly national census would be scrapped has raised difficult questions about the effectiveness, ethics and resourcing of the new 'administrative' system that will replace it. An administrative census will use information collected in day-to-day government activities, such as emergency-room admission forms, overseas travel declarations and marriage licences. The move is not necessarily bad in principle, especially given the rising cost of the census and declining participation rates, but to make it effective and robust, it must be properly resourced - and it must give effect to the principles of te Tiriti o Waitangi (Treaty of Waitangi), as set out in the Data and Statistics Act. The transformation process so far leaves considerable room for doubt that these things will happen. In particular, there are major ethical and Māori data sovereignty issues at stake. As Te Mana Raraunga (the Māori Data Sovereignty Network) advocates, data is a living taonga (treasure), is of strategic value to Māori and should be subject to Māori governance. Changes to census methods risk compromising these values and undermining public trust in the official statistics system in general. Because the new system takes census data gathering out of the hands of individual citizens and households, it also raises questions about state surveillance and social licence. Surveillance means more than police stakeouts or phone-tapping. The state constantly collects and uses many kinds of data about us and our movements. For more than a decade, the Integrated Data Infrastructure has been the government's tool to patch gaps in its own data ecosystems. This administrative data is collected without our direct and informed consent, and there is no real way to opt out. The safeguard is that information about individuals is 'de-identified', once it enters the Integrated Data Infrastructure - no names, just data points. Stats NZ, which administers the system, says it has the social licence to collect, cross-reference and use this administrative data, but genuine social licence requires that people understand and accept how their data is being used. Stats NZ's own research shows only about one in four people surveyed have enough knowledge about its activities to make an informed judgement. The risks associated with this form of surveillance are amplified for Māori, because of their particular historical experience with data and surveillance. The Crown used data collection and monitoring systems to dispossess land and suppress cultural practices, which continue to disproportionately affect Māori communities today. Meaningful work to address this has taken place under the Mana Ōrite agreement , a partnership between Stats NZ and the Data Iwi Leaders Group (part of the National Iwi Chairs Forum). The agreement aims to solidify iwi authority over their own data, and ensure Māori perspectives are heard in decision-making around data and statistics. On the face of it, repurposing administrative data seems like a realistic solution to the census budget blowout, but there are questions about whether the data and methods used in an administrative census will be robust and of high quality. This has implications for policy and for communities. Administrative data in its current form is limited in many ways. In particular, it misses what is actually important to Māori communities and what makes life meaningful to them. Administrative data often only measures problems. It is collected on Māori at their most vulnerable - when they're in crisis, sick or struggling - which creates a distorted picture. In contrast, Te Kupenga (a survey by Stats NZ last run in 2018) included information by Māori and from a Māori cultural perspective that reflected lived realities. Before increasing reliance on administrative data, greater engagement with Māori will be needed to ensure a data system that gathers and provides reliable, quality data. It is especially important for smaller hapori Māori (Māori communities), which need the data to make decisions for their members. Stats NZ plans to partly fill the data void left by removing the traditional census with regular surveys, but the small sample size of surveys often makes it impossible to obtain reliable information on smaller groups, such as takatāpui (Māori of diverse gender and sexualities), or specific hapū or iwi groups. Photo: RNZ /Dom Thomas It is not clear the implications of this have been fully been worked through in the census change process, nor is it clear whether the recommendations from Stats NZ's Future Census Independent External Review Panel - from Māori and a range of experts - have been fully considered. This included crucial recommendations around commissioning an independent analysis informed by te Tiriti principles, meaningful engagement with iwi-Māori and the continuing implementation of a Māori data governance model developed by Māori data experts. We are not opposed to updating the way in which census data is collected, but for the new approach to be just, ethical and legal will require it to adhere to te Tiriti o Waitangi and the relationship established in the Mana Ōrite agreement . Lara Greaves is an Associate Professor of Politics, Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington Ella Pēpi Tarapa-Dewes is Professional Teaching Fellow, Faculty of Arts and Education, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Kiri West is a lecturer in Indigenous Communication, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Larissa Renfrew, is a PhD Candidate, School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau. - This story originally appeared on [ the Conversation].
New York Times
11 hours ago
- Business
- New York Times
Landlords Say They Don't Make Enough Money. Is That Really True?
Good morning. It's Friday. Today we'll look at why landlords say they're struggling, even though rents have gone up over time. We'll also look at an effort to make sure that everyone in New York is counted in the next census five years from now. It's a New York conundrum: Tenants complain that higher rents make the city impossible, while landlords complain that higher operating costs also make the city impossible. The Rent Guidelines Board, which has the power to raise rents for tenants in nearly a million rent‐stabilized units, could soon raise them on some of the city's most affordable apartments. The board voted 5 to 4 in April to support increases of between 1.75 and 4.75 percent on one-year leases and 4.75 and 7.75 percent on two-year leases. That vote was only preliminary. A final vote is scheduled for the end of the month. Still, some landlords say the financial picture is so bad that it reminds them of the 1970s, when owners abandoned thousands of buildings in low-income neighborhoods. I discussed the different perspectives with Mihir Zaveri, who covers housing in New York. Are landlords really hurting? They say they don't make enough money from rent to run their buildings, even though the Rent Guidelines Board has allowed rent increases of nearly 17 percent since 2014. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Census of England and Wales to be held in 2031
Planning has begun for the next census of England and Wales, with the survey expected to take place in 2031. A census of the population has been held regularly since 1801, typically every 10 years, with the most recent one carried out in 2021. The survey provides the most accurate estimate of the number of people and households across the country. Households in Cumbria will be asked question on topics such as age, sex, nationality and ethnicity. READ MORE: Cockermouth: Mitchells to auction L. S. Lowry pencil drawing | News and Star Census results are used by a range of organisations including governments, councils and businesses, and underpin everything from the calculation of economic growth and unemployment to helping plan schools, health services and transport links. Some 97 per cent of households completed the most recent census of England and Wales, which took place in March 2021 while the Covid-19 pandemic was still under way. The UK Statistics Authority said on Tuesday it had recommended the Government ask the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to carry out the 2031 census of England and Wales, as was the case in 2001, 2011 and 2021.
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
New Zealand Plans Switch to Annual Data-Driven Census From 2030
New Zealand will drop its five-yearly census and adopt a new approach using administrative data collected across a range of government agencies from 2030. The annual data-driven census will be supported by a smaller survey and targeted data collection, Statistics Minister Shane Reti said Wednesday in Wellington. The decision means the next proposed census in 2028 won't proceed.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Plans to replace 2031 census in England and Wales set to be abandoned after backlash
Plans to scrap the 2031 census in England and Wales are expected to be overturned after a backlash from senior statisticians over proposals to replace it with a patchwork of alternative data sources. The UK government said in 2014 that its 'ambition' was to abolish the mandatory national survey after 2021 and instead rely on piecing together 'administrative data' collected by other bodies and surveys. Apart from a wartime gap in 1941, a census has been conducted every 10 years in Britain since 1801. Those in favour of scrapping the census argue that a once-a-decade snapshot is limited when so much real-time data is routinely collected by public sector bodies such as the NHS, HMRC or in school enrolment. 'Based on our work to date … we can move beyond the decade-long cycle of population statistics that has dominated for centuries,' the then national statistician, Prof Ian Diamond, said in 2023. However, the proposal concerned statistical bodies and senior statisticians, who queried the feasibility and cost of patching together datasets that may have been collected in widely different ways. The Royal Statistical Society, while broadly supportive of the principle, said it had concerns over how reliably other bodies would share information and how comprehensive a piecemeal approach would be. In addition, 60 academics and leading statisticians published an open letter warning that an 'untested patchwork' of other sources 'risks an increasingly fragmented and inaccurate data landscape', describing the government's plans 'wishful thinking'. The UK Statistics Authority (UKSA), the government body that oversees official data collection, has now recommended that the England and Wales census goes ahead in 2031 as planned. While acknowledging that the final decision rests with ministers, acting national statistician, Emma Rourke, said on Tuesday: 'It has been clear from consultation and engagement that the decennial census, asked of the whole population, remains of enormous value for informing the most important decisions facing our country.' Alice Sullivan, professor of sociology at UCL's social research institute, said: 'I am absolutely delighted that the census have been saved. National census data is a foundational part of our data infrastructure, as it furnishes the benchmark against which we judge whether other data sources, such as surveys, are representative. 'Without a trusted picture of the population, we would have moved closer to a post-truth world of untestable 'alternative facts'.' Jane Frost, the CEO of the Market Research Society – the UK's regulator and trade body for the sector – said researchers would 'breathe a collective sigh of relief' at the UKSA's recommendations. 'Our £9bn market and social research sector in the UK has long relied on the survey's rich, consistent and reliable data to provide businesses and policymakers with all-important insight on the British people, informing critical decisions across public and private sectors,' she said. Statistics bodies in Scotland and Northern Ireland conduct their own censuses. The UKSA said the ONS was working with National Records of Scotland and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, 'who are also advising their relevant ministers'.
