New Zealand Surveys

I’ve always been amazed at the number of surveys the assorted branches of the New Zealand government sends out, but right now things seem to be in hyper drive. If you live in Auckland, here are some of the opportunities you’ll have to participate in policy formation and government regardless of citizenship status:

Auckland Council

AK Have Your Say is always sending out emails inviting responses to everything under the sun. It is easy to sign up to be notified whenever a new survey is available, or you can check in whenever the mood suits. There are opportunities to comment on everything from big items - like the annual budget - to smaller ones - like how people use specific neighbourhood parks. Each survey takes anywhere from 5-15 minutes and is all online. I don’t fill out all of them, but if there is something is of particular interest, then I’m sure to respond.

I like how the Auckland surveys connect me to both my neighbourhood and the larger Auckland region. I feel like I know more about what’s going on in local politics here than I ever did in the US. I’ve also found that these surveys aren’t intentionally polarising or political. I get them impression that council members legitimately want to know their constituents’ needs and wants.

New Zealand Government

Census - New Zealand does a nationwide census every five years - twice as frequently as the US. The questions in the census are different than the US census, too. A few weeks before the census day (March 7, 2023) we received a pamphlet with a log-in code for the New Zealand census website. The first time I logged in, I was shocked at how many questions there are in the Kiwi census. Yes, there are the questions about people staying in our house the night of the 7th in the general “dwelling” form, but then there is a supplemental individual form for each person in the house.

The dwelling form asks about the physical characteristics of the home, like the number of each type of rooms, how things are heated, and if there is mould or dampness (big problems for many Kiwi homes). There are also questions about the number of motor vehicles at the location and what type of connectivity people there use.

The individual form has to be filled out for each person in the house on March 7. This was a bit of a shock because there are 54 questions in this form. Not everyone answers every question, but it is still quite lengthy. The individual form asks about the usual ethnicity, gender (both at birth and presently) and age. Then it starts asking more and more questions that eventually felt a bit invasive - everything from information about past behaviours, health issues (generic questions, but still…) and sexual orientation. There were also questions about education, jobs, and earnings. It was a very comprehensive list.

The whole form can be filled out online, and it is my understanding that if there isn’t a census completed for your dwelling, the census powers-that-be will send someone to your house to ensure you fill out a form completely. I did our household’s online so I can’t guarantee that will happen, but I had several people mention to me that it is important to fill out so you don’t get surprised one day by a census person at your door.

I was surprised at how long the census took me to fill out. I ended up completing it in two sittings that lasted about 20 minutes each. Fortunately Jon was travelling that day so I only had to fill out three individual forms! And for a laugh - Harry Styles was playing Auckland the night of the 7th, so he joked about how he dutifully filled out his census form and followed all of the rules.

Crime and Victim Survey - This is the most recent survey I’ve been asked to participate in. A few weeks ago I started receiving more pamphlets in the mail about how our household had been selected to participate in New Zealand’s annual Crime and Victim Survey. 8,000 New Zealanders are randomly selected each year to participate in the survey. I should’ve read the material closer, but at first I only skimmed over the information and didn’t think much of it, but then on Friday evening as I pulled into my driveway after my son’s cricket game, there was Ray, waiting to do the official interview.

Fortunately, Ray could see that trying to get me to focus on anything other than getting the two kids to bed was a lost cause, so we agreed he would come back by on Sunday morning for the interview. That gave me time to actually read the pamphlets - and discover that I could’ve gone online and either scheduled a time for an interview there or simply filled out the questionnaire by myself. Whoops. I also learned that the point of the survey is to get an idea of what the crime statistics should be because many crimes go unreported.

On Sunday morning, Ray - who turns out to be a chatty and aimiable retired police officer - rang the bell just after 10 am, and we started the process. He had lots of prompts to follow on his laptop including privacy information which was good to hear. There were a fair number of questions that were duplicate to the New Zealand census questions which seemed like bad coordination among departments, but it wasn’t too onerous. His survey covered whether or not we had been victims of any crimes in the past 12 months (we had - a car break in) and what our experience was as far as reporting, police responsiveness, loss, etc. We then went on to talk about unreported suspicious behaviour we had noticed, then general feelings about how the police in New Zealand operate and whether or not they do their job effectively. The last part was a section on domestic violence in the home, which Ray said he was always surprised to see how much domestic violence there seemed to be in different pockets of town.

All in all, the interview took about 50 minutes. I think it could’ve gone by much faster if I had done it online by myself, but I enjoyed the conversation with Ray. He was full of interesting stories about New Zealand and how things have changed over the years. We said goodbye and I sent him on the way with one of the muffins I had been making while we went through the survey questions.

The quantity and extensiveness of the assorted New Zealand surveys absolutely take time both in terms of the physical act of filling out the forms and the thought and potential research needed to do so accurately. It’s a commitment to fill out some of these, but I feel a thousand times more connected to the government here in New Zealand than I ever did in the United States because I feel like my views and opinions are valued and could (possibly) make a difference. I don’t have any delusions that my responses are given any special consideration or weight, but simply being asked makes an impact.