Another call for the next census to be in 2021

Joel Hernandez writes:

Good evidence-based policy depends on reliable and robust data. Having failed to count more than 700,000 individuals, the 2018 census data has failed all New Zealanders.
As far as national censuses go, New Zealand’s 2018 census was a shocking failure: a dismal 85.7 per cent of the population completed it. To put SNZ’s blunder in the global context, India’s 2011 census counted 97.7 per cent of its 1.2 billion population.
I’m with the 2021 census crowd: bring the next census forward by two years to put it back in line with New Zealand’s original 2006 census timeline. This would allow SNZ to address the issues with the 2018 census. It would also give researchers time to get a handle on the 2018 data and put New Zealand back on track to getting the data it needs for better evidence-based policy. 

Totally agree. Time for the Government to show leadership on this and include funding for a census in 2021 in this year’s Budget.