Budget invests in better systems for Statistics NZ

Statistics New Zealand will receive $58 million in new operating funding over the next four years from Budget 2011 to ensure the ongoing supply of important economic and social data, Statistics Minister Maurice Williamson says.

The funding will go towards the programme ‘Statistics 2020: Achieving the Statistical System of the Future’, which aims to update the department’s IT systems.

“Statistics New Zealand has a unique IT environment,” Mr Williamson says. “It has about 250 systems that produce statistics about key economic and social data.”

In addition, the department receives an extra $3.8 million in capital funding over the next four years, totalling $12.7 million over 10 years.

“The extra funding will enable the organisation to transform the way it produces statistics. It will increase productivity and reduce the longer-term cost of statistics production.

“The funding will benefit individuals, communities, and local and central government agencies which base their decisions on robust information,” Mr Williamson says.