Shane Reti: Statistics Minister on the Government scrapping the census for an annual survey - Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

The Statistics Minister says his agency is well up to transforming how the Census is done in New Zealand, despite previous short-comings.

The five-yearly census is being replaced by a smaller, annual survey - and using Government department data.

Stats NZ has faced past criticism over poor Census response rates 

But Shane Reti says it's ready to turn that around.

"There's been some fall-overs with Stats NZ - and actually, part of our job is also to build trust and to build quality with Stats NZ. I believe they'll be able to rebuild their reputation and deliver quality."

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