N. Zeland conducts a census and includes Harry Styles on a tour of the country

Sydney (Australia), March 7. New Zealand conducted a survey of all people in the country this Tuesday, and this time British singer Harry Styles, who is on tour, is asking about sexual orientation for the first time.

“Everyone in New Zealand on census night (Tuesday 7 March) should be counted in the census. This includes tourists, visitors and former One Direction members. .

Census operations deputy director-general Simon Mason confirmed to public broadcaster Radio New Zealand on Tuesday that Styles will need to fill out a form available at “all hotels” and can send it by post or online.

However, Styles, who is performing in Auckland today, will only need to fill in the first ten questions out of a total of 54 questions on two 2023 census forms to move to the Maritimes.

As of this morning, more than 1.4 million people (out of an estimated 5.1 million people) have answered census questions online, according to data from Statistics NZ, which hopes to surpass the lowest participation recorded in 2018.

New Zealand authorities impose fines of 2,000 New Zealand dollars (1,240 US dollars or 1,160 euros) on those who do not complete the country’s census or provide false information.

An exception has been made this time, and the deadline has been extended to June 1 for those affected by Cyclone Gabriel, which hit the North Island in February and the historic floods in January, and also in the Northern Territory.

The census, which began in 1851, included information on sexuality and gender identity for those 15 years of age and older for the first time.

“The LGTBI+ community, which has not been well represented in the data in the past, will now be represented (…) so that their needs can be better met through better funding through government agencies,” Mason said. EFE

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