Editorial: Moaners take leave of Census

A few weeks ago I mentioned I hated burglars - while at the same time apologising that hate is a strong word.

I now have another category of people to add - moaners.

While recognising the irony of moaning about moaners, the "moan brigade" is alive and kicking at the moment with the legal requirement to fill out a Census form.

The Census is the official count of how many people and dwellings there are in New Zealand. It's pretty important stuff.

Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter have been flooded with people complaining about the Census for the past few weeks, but it really ramped up on Census night on Tuesday.

I was shocked to read some of my "friends" were complaining about the questions and were purposely answering with stupid answers, thinking they were funny.

One woman (who I don't know, but was commenting on a friend's post) answered the questions about how many people lived at her house by including her cats. "The Government doesn't realise how important my cats are to me," she wrote on Facebook.

I'm sure she's not the only person who thinks they are smart and have answered the questions wrong - just because they can.

While they might think they are being hilarious with their quirky answers, the Census is needed to determine things such as hospitals, schools, roads, public transport and recreational facilities.

Given these people are so great at moaning, I'm sure they will be the first to complain when they have to wait for a hip replacement operation, or can't get to work on time because of traffic jams.

Filling in Census forms is required by law. Those who don't, face a fine up to $500, with a further $20 a day for each day after conviction until the person completes the forms.

The accuracy of the Census depends on everyone filling in their forms properly. I did mine online (as did about 1.5 million other New Zealanders as of midday yesterday). It took me about 10 minutes.

Some people just need to grow up and get on board.