Te Whata – an online storehouse of data designed to make iwi data more relevant, accessible and useful for iwi needs – has been welcomed by Government Statistician and Stats NZ Chief Executive, Mark Sowden.
“I’m delighted to see Te Whata in action – it is ground-breaking and easy to use,” Mr Sowden said today.
The development of Te Whata has been resourced by Stats NZ Tatauranga Aotearoa under the Mana Ōrite Relationship Agreement with the Data Iwi Leaders Group (Data ILG) and Te Kāhui Raraunga Charitable Trust.
“I would like to congratulate the Data ILG and Te Kāhui Raraunga Charitable Trust on the recent launch of Te Whata,” Mr Sowden said. “It’s clear that a huge amount of hard work, innovation, and thought leadership has gone into building this exciting tool.
“The platform provides iwi with access to data and insights that are relevant to their own contexts, enabling Māori to see themselves in the data better.”
“The tool lets iwi customise their data, to help them tell their own stories about themselves,” Kaihautū Stats NZ, Rhonda Paku said.
“For example, iwi members can see how many people belong to their tribe, what percentage own their own homes, their academic qualifications, levels of wellbeing, and how many speak te reo Māori,” she said.
The insights from the data will help iwi members and leaders make evidence-based decisions to inform their strategies and development plans for the future and to engage with other decision-makers, including government.
Some of this data is based on earlier Stats NZ data from 2013 Census and surveys such as Te Kupenga.
“As we announced in April 2019, Stats NZ was not able to release official counts of iwi from the 2018 Census, because of the level of missing iwi affiliation data, and the lack of alternative government data sources to fill the gaps,” Mr Sowden said.
Stats NZ, in collaboration with the Data ILG, are currently exploring how to best make use of 2018 Census iwi data to benefit iwi, which would be shared through Te Whata. See a recent update on this work – 2018 Census iwi data.
“We support and encourage everyone to use Te Whata,” Mr Sowden said. “It is another important step forward for the Māori-Crown relationship, as Stats NZ aims to do more to help iwi and Māori to access and use data about themselves.”
The Data ILG is in discussions with government agencies, including Stats NZ, to provide more data for the new platform.
The name Te Whata refers to a non-carved storehouse of sustenance or a platform to display a hākari following a long deliberation by a group about the future. The analogy for this website refers to the importance of data as a tool for deliberation, sustenance, and wellbeing.
See About Te Whata for further background.
