Wednesday, May 30, 2012

The ABS cull - the stats headed for the tip

Have your say, before it's too late

Job vacancy figures, capital expenditure figures and building approval counts are set for the chop in a major shakeup of what the Australian Bureau of Statistics does, one it says will concentrate its work on “essential” statistics at a time of “shrinking real resources”.

Others with an uncertain future include disability services, house price indicies and motor vehicle sales. Details are at the National Statistical Service website: nss.gov.au Submissions are due by September 14.

In today's Age

UPDATE: The ABS today.

Good afternoon,

You may have noticed reports in some sections of the media today suggesting that a range of official statistics, including economic statistics, may be under threat as part of the Essential Statistical Assets for Australia initiative that was released yesterday by the ABS. The purpose of this note is to reassure that there are no plans to cut any ABS or other statistics as a result of this initiative.

The aim of the initiative is to identify a small core set of statistics to target for potential future investment because of their broad application and critical use for decision-making.

Clearly, the wider range of official statistics produced and used across Australia are still important. They will continue to be so, and will continue to be produced, managed and invested in.

The list released this week is a preliminary one, aimed to generate discussion and debate and we'd welcome your input. Further information about the initiative and how to contribute to the discussion can be found on www.nss.gov.au



HERE'S THE SHORTER LIST:







The ABS Hit List- Consultation Paper



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