Today is census day. The day when the government comes to your house, asks you all kinds of questions and threatens you if you refuse to answer. As has been noted in Not PC and LibertyScott the Libertarianz are organizing a protest in Wellington today. And good on them, this kind of civil disobedience is what this country needs.

Even the most basic stat to come out of this census, the population count, is useless as there will be people born tomorrow, and people will die tomorrow. Not only that, but some of the questions being asked smell of crosschecking with WINZ or the IRD.

We're also being asked questions about smoking and mobile phones this time around. I don't see that in section 24 of the Statistics Act 1975, nor do I see it in section 4. So not only are we forced to answer questions at gunpoint, we're also forced to answer questions about topics that are not covered by the Statistics Act 1975!

I highly recommend you read what Bill Weddell had to say in 1978 regarding his moral objection to being forced to fill out the census. Perfectly logical arguements, yet almost 30 years later we're still subjected to the same process. A process the government isn't even able to get right! There are still a large number of people who don't have their census form. Is the government going to prosecute all of them? Wouldn't put it past them.

Apparently: Statistics New Zealand greatly appreciates your goodwill and cooperation in providing information.

And to get that "goodwill and cooperation": By law, everyone present in New Zealand on census day ( 7 March 2006 ) must be included in the census. Section 43 of the Statistics Act 1975 states clearly that an Individual Form must be completed for every person and a Dwelling Form must be completed for every occupied dwelling.

Section 43 of the Statistics Act 1975 does not clearly state what they claim either, it lays out the penalties for not complying like a good little citizen.

So for this year's census the government is asking you questions they are not entitled to ask, and lying to you about "goodwill" by simply forcing you at gunpoint to comply with their orders. And people wonder why I say government doesn't work.