Latest news with #StatsNZ
1News
3 days ago
- Politics
- 1News
Māori roll call: Tāme Iti gives shout outs, apologies in longest ad
Artist and activist Tāme Iti's latest project has him featuring in Aotearoa New Zealand's longest advertisement ever made as part of a campaign to encourage more Māori on to the Māori roll. He sits on a stool in a vast, cavernous space, reading out names from a book of people on the Māori roll for nearly 30 minutes straight — "nearly" because in the middle of it he goes off for a "cuppa tea", but the cameras keep rolling on his empty seat during his break. The roll call makes for an arresting watch, simply for the number of names he goes through in one sitting. The monotony is punctuated by personal shout outs to people he recognises – 'Kiri Tamihere-Waititi, tēnā koe, sis!' – or apologies to those whose names he stumbles on. Speaking to Breakfast about the ad this morning, he urged people to get 'politically involved' on all levels of governance. 'I've gone past the days when we used to say 'don't vote'. Times have changed, we've got a bigger population, we've got a huge Māori population, particularly the [18- to 30-year-olds]. ADVERTISEMENT '[It's] really, really important there for them to be engaged.' He said he was passionate about getting rangatahi engaged so 'they have a voice' and a say in political matters. 'That's really the focus for us, to encourage all of our rangatahi, ngā rangatahi from 30 down to 18.' Created by the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency (WOCA), the ad campaign marks the 50th anniversary of the Māori electoral option — the choice for Māori to be on the general or Māori roll. In 1975, the Electoral Amendment Act passed, defining Māori as a person of New Zealand Māori descent. Prior to the act, a person's electoral roll was determined by the percentage of Māori blood they were deemed to have. WOCA chair Merepeka Raukawa-Tait (Te Arawa) said in a statement the agency wanted to capture the voice of the politically-charged young Māori and give them a genuine seat at the table. 'When our people are engaged in the systems that shape their lives, we start to see real change not just politically, but in health, education, and the wellbeing of our whānau. At the end of the day, this is about M.M.P.; More Māori in Parliament. But that's only going to happen if we can help drive Māori to vote.' ADVERTISEMENT As of June 1, 565,985 voters of Māori descent were enrolled to vote, with 297,798 (52.6%) on the Māori roll and 268,187 (47.4%) on the general roll, according to Stats NZ. Raukawa-Tait said tamariki Māori are expected to make up 1 in 3 children within the next 20 years. 'We must safeguard our rangatahi's future with an electoral roll that centres the political system in te ao Māori. I believe the Māori roll is our most powerful manifestation of tino-rangatiratanga, or self determination, for people to have their voices heard.' The deadline for switching rolls is July 10.
Scoop
4 days ago
- Health
- Scoop
Damning New Groundwater Figures Reveal Growing Drinking Water Crisis
New data published yesterday by StatsNZ shows about half of groundwater monitoring sites had contamination that exceeded maximum health limits for New Zealand at least once between April 2019 and March 2024. Over that period, 45.1% of sites exceeded the maximum acceptable level for E. coli, and 12.4% for nitrate - a contaminant linked to cancer and preterm births. The alarming figures have been revealed less than a month after the Luxon Government released proposals to further weaken freshwater protections. Greenpeace freshwater campaigner Will Appelbe says the proposals show the Government is knowingly sacrificing the health of rural communities to appease corporate dairy and Federated Farmers. "While he should be ensuring that everyone has access to clean drinking water and swimmable rivers, Luxon has instead proposed scrapping the cap on synthetic nitrogen fertiliser. This rule exists to prevent further nitrate contamination and protect people's health." "His Government also wants to prioritise corporate uses of water over safe drinking water and healthy rivers." "The Government's job is to safeguard public health - not bankroll big dairy." A cap on the use of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser was introduced in 2021, which was set at 190 kg/hectare. As part of the National Direction proposals for freshwater, the Luxon Government has proposed repealing this cap, along with other changes that weaken environmental protections and benefit irrigation companies and intensive dairy. Consultation on the proposals are open until 27 July 2025. The current maximum allowable value (MAV) for nitrate is 11.3 mg/L, which was set in the 1950s to avoid blue baby syndrome. But this standard has been criticised by health scientists for being woefully out of date, because it doesn't take into account newer health science that finds health risks like preterm birth and cancer at much lower levels. "We've already seen the influence the agriculture lobby has had over the rollback of freshwater protections last year, and this data published yesterday demonstrates the consequences." "The science is clear, and the stakes are high. Luxon needs to decide if he's governing for people - or polluters."
Otago Daily Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Butter prices on slippery slope
A more than 50% surge in the price of butter is a "frightening" sign the hospitality industry is doing it tough, a business owner says. "Butter, cheese, milk — they're becoming luxuries," Speight's Ale House Dunedin owner Mark Scully said. According to figures released by Stats NZ recently, food prices in May increased 4.4% in the past year, on the back of a 3.7% annual rise in April. Higher prices for the grocery food group and meat, poultry and fish group contributed the most, rising 5.2% and 5.4% respectively. Butter, cheese and milk prices were cited as the cause. The average price of butter last month was $8.42 per 500g, a 51.2% annual increase. "The cost of a 500g block of butter is nearly twice as expensive as the lower prices seen in early 2024," prices and deflators spokeswoman Nicola Growden said. Cheese was $13.04 per 1kg block, up 30.1% year-on-year, while milk was $4.57 per 2 litres, up 15.1%. The average prices of beef steak and beef mince were up 18.6% and 13%, respectively. Mr Scully, who is also Hospitality New Zealand's Otago branch president, said he was surprised the average price of butter had become so high. "I knew it was going up, but that is a frightening stat, isn't it?" The price of butter had seen a "real hype" in the past 12 to 18 months, and protein and dairy costs had been particularly tough for businesses. Nobody wanted to have to close their business, but it did appear to be a reasonably regular occurrence around the country, Mr Scully said. "But it's like anything, you just have to be brave and ultimately pass it on to the consumer or else your margins just don't stack up." Ayrburn general manager Kieran Turnbull said the hospitality precinct had seen a steady rise in food prices across the board since the Covid-19 pandemic, but there had been a "real noticeable increase" in the price of butter this year. "Everyone needs butter ... butter goes into everything. "It goes into your scone, it goes into your pastries, it goes into your desserts, it goes into sauces — so it's a cost that flows right through." While prices were always changing in hospitality, Mr Turnbull believed the costs put on to consumers were being "more acutely felt" than at other times. "That's probably why it's so tough at the moment for a lot of operators." The precinct, located between Arrowtown and Lake Hayes, has nine distinct venues. Having a range of offerings allowed it to absorb costs in one outlet while letting them rise in another, but at the cost of providing so many offerings, Mr Turnbull said. Supermarkets were also continuing to "artificially set the expectations for the New Zealand consumer of what things cost". "And that directly affects hospitality."
Scoop
4 days ago
- Health
- Scoop
New Stats NZ Groundwater Reporting Highlights Serious Risk To Public From Govt Proposal To Weaken Freshwater Protections
Stats NZ's latest groundwater reporting shows New Zealanders are already at risk from contaminated drinking water sources and highlights the threat to the public should the Government continue with its proposals to weaken policy that protects freshwater, says campaign group Choose Clean Water. 'The Government is consulting on plans to remove the prioritisation of the health of waterways and protection of drinking water sources in current freshwater policy and instead change it to give power to commercial polluters of freshwater. 'Given the state of our groundwater, where many of our communities draw their drinking water from, this Government proposal will inevitably increase the health risks to people. It's unbelievably irresponsible.' says Choose Clean Water spokesperson Tom Kay. The new Stats NZ groundwater quality reporting presents monitoring data for groundwater sites across the country between 2019 and 2024. It shows the Maximum Allowable Values for New Zealand drinking water were exceeded at least once between April 2019 and March 2024 at 45.1 percent of sites (450 of 998) for E. coli and 12.4 percent of sites (146 of 1173) for nitrate. Almost half of the monitoring sites show likely or very likely increasing trends in nitrate. Stats NZ says groundwater provides drinking water to nearly half of the population. 'Healthy water bodies provide safe, good quality drinking water. Where groundwater quality is contaminated, we need strong policy that prioritises the public interest in healthy water. Otherwise, communities will struggle to access safe, good quality drinking water at a manageable cost. 'Treating contaminated drinking water, particularly for nitrate contamination, is expensive, complicated, and not very effective. Some communities are already dealing with this as a result of pollution from commercial interests and the Government is proposing to further open the door to commercial interests to dramatically increase their pollution of a fundamental public need,' says Kay. High levels of nitrate in Waimate's drinking water supply in December last year led to a do-not-drink notice for many households. In 2022, a report estimated that treating Christchurch's water supply for potentially high nitrate levels in future could cost $610 million to construct and $24 million per year to operate. The Government's consultation document on freshwater policy is open for submissions until 27 July. The consultation document proposes to remove national bottom lines for pollution as well as to remove or rewrite Te Mana o te Wai, the decision making framework in current national policy that prioritises the public interest in healthy water bodies. 'Rewriting Te Mana o te Wai or removing it from policy would have the same effect. It would take legal priority away from the public interest in healthy water and give more power to polluters by putting private commercial interests on par with people's drinking water. 'It's immoral but consistent with this Government's approach - look at the decisions on tobacco, for example. The Government is demonstrating it cares more about harmful commercial industries than it does about the health of its people.'
Scoop
5 days ago
- General
- Scoop
1 In 10 Young Adults Are LGBTIQ+
The LGBTIQ+ population is comparatively young, with 1 in 10 people aged 15 to 29 years being LGBTIQ+ (10.2 percent) in the 2023 Census, compared with 1 in 20 adults in the overall adult population (4.9 percent), according to a report released by Stats NZ today. LGBTIQ+ population of Aotearoa New Zealand: 2023 brings together information about the LGBTIQ+ population in the 2023 Census, as well as information on the LGBT+ population from the Household Economic Survey and the General Social Survey. The 2023 Census data has enabled detailed breakdowns of the LGBTIQ+ population and the groups within it, across age, ethnicity, and other census measures for the first time. Gender, sex, and LGBTIQ+ concepts in the 2023 Census has more information on the census concepts used for these breakdowns.
