Statistics New Zealand wins Best Plain English Organisation Award

Statistics New Zealand is proud to have been named the 2011 Best Plain English Organisation by the WriteMark Plain English Awards Trust. Statistics NZ also came first runner-up for the Best Plain English Individual/ Team, and for the Best Plain English Sentence Transformation.

Statistics NZ chief executive Geoff Bascand says winning the award recognises the effort our people have put into transforming the way they communicate with each other and with New Zealanders, our customers.

"Statistics are incredibly important to New Zealanders. They tell us a lot about ourselves and our communities, and can help groups plan for providing services. Statistics NZ’s business is telling stories about New Zealand for New Zealanders.

"This can be challenging at times, as we have a lot of technical information. Numbers are the essence of our work, but we need to tell stories about the numbers that are both interesting and accurate.

"We know that statistical information isn't always easy to understand. Plain English helps us to focus on
the important messages and share them in a way that all New Zealanders can understand."

Statistics NZ would like to thank the award organisers, the WriteMark Plain English Awards Trust, for its commitment to plain English, and to congratulate those who entered the awards this year.