1392.0 - Statistical News SA, June 2010  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 09/06/2010   
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SOUTH AUSTRALIAN STATISTICAL NEWS AND RELEASES


ABS NEWS AND RELEASES

SA Stats (cat. no. 1345.4)

SA Stats provides an overview of the state's population and economy. This publication is updated on a monthly basis, with most releases also containing a feature article on socio-economic and environmental issues of interest.

SA Stats, May 2010

This month's SA Stats includes a feature article that focuses on interstate departures from South Australia. The State currently has the slowest population growth of all Australian mainland states and a key factor behind this slow growth rate is the state's annual net loss of people due to interstate migration. The issue of net migration outflow is highlighted in both the State Population Policy and South Australia's Strategic Plan with the latter including the specific target of reducing annual net interstate migration loss to zero by 2010, and then sustaining a net inflow through to 2014.

SA Stats, April 2010

Recent engineering construction in SA is analysed in April's feature article. Driven by public sector projects, the value of engineering construction has exceeded the value of building construction in SA for the first time since the series was measured more than 20 years ago. The proportion of the public sector engineering construction work contracted to the private sector increased from 34% in the September 2008 quarter to 65% in the December 2009 quarter.

SA Stats, March 2010

This month's feature article analyses current burial and cremation trends and finds that even if the gradual shift to cremations were to continue, South Australia's projected population growth could put pressure on cemetery space. Over the last 20 years there has been a gradual increase in the number of cremations which has resulted in the proportion of burials in South Australia slowly decreasing.


New geographic boundaries for Adelaide capital city

Australian Statistical Geography Standard: Design of the Statistical Areas Level 4, Capital Cities and Statistical Areas Level 3, May 2010 (cat. no. 1216.0.55.003)

The Australian Bureau of Statistics intends to replace the current Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) with the new Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) with effect from July 2011.

The ASGC is used for the collection and dissemination of geographically classified statistics. The ASGC has been the foundation of the statistical geography used by the ABS, and many other organisations, since 1984. Over the years it has been scrutinised for: lack of stability over time, inconsistent population sizes of the defined areas and that some of the areas were not meaningful. Furthermore it is incompatible with mesh blocks.

The ASGS has therefore been developed to address these issues. It will be based on mesh blocks and will define more stable, consistent and meaningful areas than the ASGC. It will be the new basis for the publication of the complete range of ABS spatial statistics. The ASGS will become the essential reference for understanding and interpreting the geographical context of ABS statistics.

This is the third and final information paper designed to explain aspects of the ASGS. Its purpose is to provide background to stakeholders regarding the Statistical Area 3s (SA3s) and 4s (SA4s) of the ASGS to facilitate consultation on their design.

Local users will be interested to learn that the proposed ASGS Capital City definition of Adelaide has been extended considerably (from the existing Adelaide Statistical Division). To the north, the towns of Gawler, Roseworthy and Two Wells are now included. To the east, a large area of the Adelaide Hills and the towns of Mount Barker and Lobethal, are now included.

The attached Information Paper invites stakeholder comments, feedback and suggestions, by Friday 2 July 2010. The ABS is interested in your views on both the boundaries and the labels. These can be emailed to geography@abs.gov.au with the words "ASGS Submission" in the title. A CD copy of the proposed boundaries can also be obtained for this email address.
National Regional Profiles Made Easier

The National Regional Profiles now use a Google Maps based interface to make it easier to find information on Local Government Areas and other types of regions across Australia.

Each of the more than 2,000 regional profiles offers a range of current social and economic indicators spanning 2004-08.

The profiles also include information from a number of other government departments, such as the Australian Tax Office and Centrelink.

Selected findings for SA:
  • The Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Adelaide and Burnside had the largest average value of private sector houses in South Australia in 2007-08, with $444,000 and $371,200 respectively. These LGAs also had the second and third largest average taxable incomes in 2006-07 - $70,804 in Adelaide and $69,761 in Burnside.
  • The LGA of Walkerville had the highest average taxable income in SA in 2006-07 of $78,021 (compared to an average of $51,734 for Australia and $46,641 for SA).
  • Outside of the capital city, the LGA of Roxby Downs had the largest average value of private sector houses in South Australia in 2007-08, with $290,300. This increased from $109,600 in 2003-04. In 2006-07 Roxby Downs had the fourth largest average taxable income ($67,691) in South Australia.
  • The LGA of Adelaide had the largest number of registered passenger vehicles per 1000 people in South Australia in 2008 with 1,222. Outside of the capital city, the LGA with the largest number of registered passenger vehicles per 1000 population was Light with 647 in 2008. For South Australia there were 579 registered passenger vehicles per 1000 people in 2008.


Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2008-09 (cat. no. 3218.0)

This product contains estimates of the resident populations of areas of Australia as at 30 June in each year from 2001 to 2009. The areas for which estimates are provided are Local Government Areas (LGAs), Statistical Local Areas, Statistical Divisions, Statistical Subdivisions, Statistical Districts and states and territories of Australia, according to the 2009 edition of the Australian Standard Geographical Classification.

South Australian findings include:
  • At 30 June 2009, the estimated resident population of South Australia (SA) was 1.62 million people which represented 7.4% of the total Australian population. The estimated population increased by 19,600 people since June 2008 mainly due to net overseas migration.
  • Copper Coast, on the northern Yorke Peninsula, and Playford, in the northern suburbs of Adelaide, were the two fastest-growing LGAs in the state, increasing by 3.2% and 2.8% respectively.
  • During 2008-09 the two LGAs with the largest estimated population growth in the state were Salisbury in the northern suburbs of Adelaide, which increased by 2,500 people, followed by Onkaparinga in Adelaide's southern suburbs, which increased by 2,300 people.