We ask about a wide range of topics including how your life and health are going, and a few questions about you to make sure we have surveyed a wide range of Māori.

It is important that the results represent the opinions of as many Māori as possible. We selected participants from the New Zealand Electoral Rolls held by the independent New Zealand Electoral Commission. We did this so that we could reach people from a wide range of backgrounds and be confident that our results would be representative of Māori adults.

We value the voices of Māori and it is very important to have a good source of information on the opinions of Māori from across the motu. By doing this survey your contribution to this research will help government to make better decisions.

We will send out a reminder to you (if you have responded, please ignore it; it probably crossed your response in the mail). The survey may contain some questions that you prefer not to answer. If that is the case, please just leave them blank.

We got your name and address from the New Zealand Electoral Rolls. These were provided to us under strict circumstances for scientific research, pursuant to section 112 of the Electoral Act 1993. Your details will not be used for any purposes other than to contact you to ask if you would like to be a part of this research.

Your privacy is very important to us. Your identifying information (your name, address, etc.), and your questionnaire data and identification numbers will be kept in separate, secure files. University researchers depend on trust and goodwill in the New Zealand community. We take your right to privacy seriously and will not share any personal details with anyone outside the research team. (For further details please see the survey website or call 0800 449 121).

This research is being managed at the University of Otago in collaboration with the University of Auckland, COMPASS Research Centre: www.compass.auckland.ac.nz. We do not profit from this research and are independent of any political party or group. This research is funded by the Health Research Council NZ.

We will collect the information and analyse it. Only our researchers will see this information and your personal details will not be shared with anyone else. Findings from the research may be published in the media, and academic journals, but only in a form where it is not possible to identify you or anyone else who participated. If you would like a copy of the findings, please include an email address at the end of the survey so we can send you a copy.

If you complete the questionnaire, you will automatically go into the draw to win one of twenty $100 Prezzy vouchers.