Simpson denied the Government had sought to push the changes through without sufficient consultation, saying: “This is an initiative of the chief government statistician, it is an initiative that’s come out of Stats NZ. In a statement on its website, Stats NZ said there were “a number of questions” it had to address following the select committee report. Until the future legislative framework was confirmed, it was required to deliver a census in 2028, and had started planning what that would look like if necessary. A Stats NZ spokesperson told Newsroom the agency had received legal advice suggesting the timing of the next census could not be changed without a supermajority. * August 5: This article has been updated with additional comment from Stats NZ about legal advice it has received on whether it can delay the census.