SELECTED NON-ABS RELEASES

NatStats Conference 2008

The NatStats 08 Conference is being held from the 19th to the 21st November 2008 at the Crown Promenade in Melbourne. It presents an opportunity for a wide range of key players involved in the production and use of official data to come together to discuss how we might improve and extend our measures of progress in Australian society as well as more generally improve the statistical base for the nation.

This is a particularly important time in the evolution of our national statistical infrastructure as the many data custodians and producers of official statistical data seek to support the greater emphasis being placed by governments on both the importance of clearly defined outcomes for publicly funded initiatives and of establishing quantifiable measures to assess progress in achieving these outcomes.

The conference events are as follows:

• 19 November - Welcome reception 6.00pm, Tonic Room, Crown Promenade
• 20 November - Conference proceedings 8.45am -5.00pm
• 20 November - Gala dinner at the Melbourne Aquarium 7.00pm
• 21 November - Conference proceedings 9.00am to 4.45pm

KEY DATES:

• 21 June - Early Bird Registration opens
• 26 September - Early Bird Registration Deadline
• 3 October - Accommodation Booking Deadline
• 14 November - Registration Deadline
• 19-21 November - Conference

For further information on Natstats 08 visit the conference website at www.nss.gov.au/natstats
OECD Factbook 2008

The OECD Factbook provides a global overview of today’s major economic, social and environmental indicators. The 2008 edition also includes increased data for key non-OECD Member Countries, Brazil, Chile, China, Estonia, India, Israel, Russia, Slovenia and South Africa.

The OECD Factbook 2008 is now available online at http://puck.sourceoecd.org/vl=619253/cl=20/nw=1/rpsv/factbook.

New features in this edition include:

• Extended coverage: More countries than ever are now covered by the Factbook, enabling direct comparisons for many indicators between OECD Members and Brazil, China, India and South Africa.
• Special chapter on Productivity: This year’s special focus is on productivity, how efficiently production inputs - such as labour and capital - are being used.
• Enhanced, animated presentation of data: Users can now interact with the data more intuitively. The dynamic software facilitates the identification of long term trends and comparisons between countries.