Warriors tickets offered for late Census completion in Hawke's Bay

Stats NZ has teamed up again with the New Zealand Warriors, offering game tickets to people who complete a Census form, this time in the Hawke's Bay.

"People will be offered tickets to the NRL fixture between the One New Zealand Warriors and Brisbane Broncos at McLean Park in Napier on Saturday 27 May if they turn up and complete their census forms at local events leading up to the match," a Stats NZ statement read.

A similar promotion for the Warriors' Auckland home game in April "raised the profile of the Census with priority response groups and resulted in around 2,000 Census forms being completed."

The strategy is to engage "new community partners in the latter stages of the Census to lift participation where the response has been lowest," Stats NZ said.

Deputy Chief Executive of Census and Collection Operations Simon Mason said it's an opportunity to engage these parts of the community "in a way that resonates for them".

Mason recognised that in heavily cyclone-impacted areas, such as the Hawke's Bay, filling out the Census hasn't been a top priority.

But in such areas, accurate data on where and how people are living is all the more crucial.

"Census data is used by government, councils, iwi, community organisations, and businesses to make decisions about funding and location of health and community services, and infrastructure like roads," Stats NZ said.

Warriors CEO Cameron George said they "urge our Warriors’ whānau to participate in the Census, supporting their communities just as they support us".

People who haven't yet completed their Census can secure their tickets by filling it out at an open training session at McLeans Park on Friday, May 26.

"Meet your favourite players including local hero and Warriors' captain Tohu Harris at a signing session from 10:45am to 11:30am. There will also be a BBQ," Stats NZ said.

Tickets will also be available at Stats NZ events: