The Wire with Caeden

Last week, Statistics Minister Shane Reti announced plans to scrap the census moving forward. The changes have raised concerns around gathering data on marginalised groups and communities. Lower sample sizes and differences in the method of data collection can expose the data to biases and could lead to poor representation of marginalised and minority groups. The collection and use of administrative data also raises concerns around data sovereignty and increased state surveillance.

To discuss these concerns, Wire host Castor spoke to Associate Professor of Politics at Victoria University and Senior Research Fellow in the Faculty of Statistics at the University of Auckland, Dr. Lara Greaves. You can find more information about Te Mana Rauranga here. 

Although sixty-five is still New Zealand’s retirement age, there has recently been an increase in over sixty-fives in the workforce, for a number of reasons.

Researchers such as Nusch Herman from the Co-Created Ageing Research Centre believe that having older adults in the workplace should be normalised.

Producer Faith spoke to Nusch about ageism, and breaking the stigma around over sixty-fives still working.

With Psilocybin set to be more available for those with treatment-resistant depression comes the question of accessibility.

Currently only one specialist will be able to provide psilocybin to patients, with concerns over how much the treatment will cost.

News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Suresh Muthukumaraswamy, a Professor in the School of Pharmacy at the University of Auckland, about psilocybin, and what should be expected with allowing psilocybin to treat treatment-resistant depression.

Recently, Statistics Minister, Shane Reti, has announced that Stats NZ will be moving away from the Census to collect data, cancelling the next scheduled Census in 2028.

The move will result in data already collected by government agencies to be used as the primary source of population data.

To ensure minority communities are accurately portrayed in national data, Stats NZ say they will be working with these communities, with plans to implement smaller surveys and targeted data collection.

However, concerns have been raised about whether this is enough.

News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to Liza Bolton, a Professional Teaching Fellow in the Department of Statistics at the University of Auckland, about this move, and her concerns regarding moving away from the Census to collect data.