4147.4.55.001 - Culture and Recreation News, Sep 2012  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 25/09/2012   
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FROM THE DIRECTOR


WELCOME TO THE SECOND EDITION OF CULTURE AND RECREATION NEWS FOR 2012.

It has been an exciting year in sport with the London Olympic and Paralympic Games held late July to early September. Our Olympians did very well and I would like to congratulate all the participants in general and the medalists in particular. Australian Olympians and Paralympians are a great source of inspiration for everyone.

At the NCCRS we are eagerly awaiting the latest ABS round of releases on sport and physical recreation. The Children's Participation in Cultural and Leisure Activities, Australia, April 2012 (cat. no. 4901.0) will be released on the 31 October 2012. This will be followed in December by a new edition of the time series publication Children’s Participation in Sport and Leisure Time Activities, 2000 to 2012 (cat. no. 4901.0.55.001). On 19 December Participation in Sport and Physical Recreation, Australia, 2011-12 (cat. no. 4177.0) will be released. This iteration of the adult sport and physical recreation survey has been made possible through the support of the Committee of Australian Sport and Recreation Officials Research Group. The survey, which was previously conducted on a four yearly basis, will now be undertaken biennially. Please note that both the adult and children's publications will be followed by a series of state and territory tables.

The much awaited second release of the 2011 Census of Population and Housing will be published on 30 October 2012. Using the data from this release we will publish Employment in Sport and Recreation, Australia, August 2011 (cat. no. 4148.0) in December 2012. A new edition of Sports and Physical Recreation: A Statistical Overview, Australia, 2012 (cat. no. 4156.0) will also be released at the end of the year.

Currently, data is being finalised for the publication of Cultural Funding by Government, Australia, 2010-11 (cat. no. 4183.0), which will be released on 9 November 2012. We have expanded the publication to include additional state and territory level data which we trust you will find useful. We would like to thank those in federal, state and territory agencies for their time and effort completing the 2010-11 survey.

I would like to draw your attention to the article on 'Cultural Attendance by People With a Disability' which was published in Perspectives on Culture, August 2012 (cat. 4172.0.55.001). The article summarises data from the 2009 iteration of the Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia and examines attendance by people with a disability at selected cultural venues or events.

A significant development in recent times is the decision to undertake a feasibility study into a Culture Satellite Account. This work is expected to commence in October 2012. The feasibility study will tackle issues relating to scope, models, data availability and gaps, with the aim of providing a mechanism for measuring the economic value and contribution of arts and culture in a manner consistent with other sectors of the economy. Several other countries already have Culture Satellite Accounts in place, notably Finland, Spain and Colombia. This feasibility study will be an important step towards potentially providing a similar approach in Australia so that our users have a better understanding of how arts and culture contribute and interact with the national economy.

For those of you who are using the 2011 Census of Population and Housing data, you may wish to use the TableBuilder tool and enjoy customising the data to suit your needs. Census TableBuilder was updated for the release of the 2011 data. It now provides greater mapping functionality and the ability to create and save tables at any geographic area level, ranging from a single Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1) to the whole of Australia. See the TableBuilder page on the ABS website for further details.

There have been some senior staffing changes within the NCCRS. Paul Pamment has joined the NCCRS as the new Assistant Director for Sport and Culture. Paul has been with the ABS for 13 years and we are excited to put his extensive skills to use in the section. Kirsten Gerlach (previous Assistant Director for Culture) has moved on to another project within the organisation, and Liz Finlay (previous Assistant Director for Sport) has left the ABS to pursue her dreams. I would like to thank both Kirsten and Liz for their respective contributions to the Centre.

Recently, Paul and I travelled to chilly Tasmania to give a presentation on the breadth of data that the ABS collects in relation to sport and physical activity. There was a good turnout of researchers and policy makers at the presentation, including representatives from Sport and Recreation Tasmania, the Tasmanian Premier's Physical Activity Council, the Menzies Research Institute and the Population Health group from the Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services. Whilst in Hobart we also met with representatives from the Arts and Culture sector to discuss a range of culture issues. It was a successful trip all round, if a little cold.

As always I hope you find this newsletter informative and interesting. Please feel free to contact us with any questions, comments or suggestions.

Andrew Middleton

Director