Lydia
Lewis, RNZ Pacific Presenter/Bulletin
Editor
A national survey is set to kick off in Tokelau
later this year in an effort to measure the cost of
living.
The non-self-governing territory of New
Zealand’s national statistician said the survey would ask
questions like:
How much do you spend in one
day?
How much do you spend on boat fares?
And,
how much do you receive in remittances from your families
overseas?
National statistician Malama Uain Kitiona
knows it’s a tough ask to give that information but said
it’s vital for the future of Tokelau that people do
so.
“That’s all data that it’s very, very crucial,”
Kitiona told Atafu atoll’s government media team.
“We
really, really, really need your support. The information
that we will ask you is very critical to our
development.”
He said people are also welcome to ask
questions about the process.
Kitiona started out in
Samoa’s Finance Ministry (2006-2008) and joined the Bureau
of Statistics before taking on his role in Tokelau.
He
moved to Atafu atoll last week.
Kitiona said there is
a global economic and also regional economic crisis, “and it
would be very challenging for small island nations like us
in a rising of inflation, the unemployment rate, even family
incomes”.
“It’s becoming a challenging issue for some
families, but this is the only way [to measure the
impacts]”.
In his address he also took the opportunity
to try and try and inspire more youngsters to take on
statistics as a profession.
There are only a few
statisticians in Tokelau.
“Some people say, and I’m
pretty sure they will tell you, it’s a very boring job. You
just sit your desk doing Excel, reading numbers, but those
numbers are your guiding stars to the
future.”
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