Mon, 18 Oct 2004

Population information on new on-stop website

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Population information is available on a new one-stop website providing access to material held by 19 government agencies - www.population.govt.nz.

Launching the website today, Economic Development Minister Jim Anderton and Social Development and Employment Minister Steve Maharey said it aims to improve the quality of advice to government.

"The website is designed to provide a practical guide for planners and analysts on population issues and public policy. It will be a useful tool for a wide range of organisations including local government, the business community, District Health Boards and the education sector," Steve Maharey said.

"The government needs high quality analysis of population issues to ensure that the right services are delivered in the right places to the right people. The new website pulls together all the information already available on government websites, with practical guidance for analysts and planners on how to accurately access and interpret it."

Jim Anderton said policies to increase the supply of skilled labour need to be based on accurate information about the country's present and future population.

"People who will be in our workforce in 2020 are in our early childhood education centres and schools right now. To achieve sustainable economic development we need to plan ahead, on the basis of what we know already about the likely size and compositon of our future population.

"Planning for regional development also depends on good information about internal migration and changing patterns of settlement in New Zealand."

Some of the interesting facts included on the website are: three in four New Zealanders live in the North Island; half of all New Zealanders are over 35 years; the median age of women having babies is over 30 years; and New Zealand's resident population may not reach five million in the next 50 years.

ENDS

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