1301.6.55.001 - Tasmanian Statistical News, Jun 2008
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 13/06/2008
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General Statistical Enquiries Phone: 1300 135 070 (between 8.30am-5.00pm EST) Email: client.services@abs.gov.au Fax: 1300 135 211 Post: Client Services, ABS, GPO Box 796, Sydney, 2001
Tasmanian CUPS (Community of Users and Producers of Statistics) will be presenting a free seminar on Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) on Thursday 19 June 2008 10.00-11.00am at the Mercure Hotel, 156 Bathurst Street, Hobart. Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) are produced by the ABS to measure differences in socio-economic conditions across regions in Australia. Recently the ABS released SEIFA based on information collected in the 2006 Census of Population and Housing. The presentation will cover:
Our presenter, Jonathon Khoo, is a Director of the Analysis Branch in the Methodology and Data Management Division at the ABS. The Analysis Branch provides technical and analytical advice to other areas of the bureau. His team was involved in the construction and validation of SEIFA 2006. Jonathon's main other technical interest is in methods for small area estimation from sample surveys. Please RSVP to tasmania.statistics@abs.gov.au by Wednesday 18 June 2008. CUPS now has its own web page on the National Statistical Service (NSS) website. Membership of CUPS is free. To join or for further information, please email tasmania.statistics@abs.gov.au, or visit the Tasmanian CUPS page. Tasmanian State and Regional Indicators (TSRI) is a new web-based product containing a summary of Tasmanian statistical information. It uses both ABS and non-ABS sources. The first release covered the topics of Labour, Economic Activity and Industry. The second release covered the topics of Population, Family and Community, and Household Economic Resources. Each topic presents summary commentary and includes graphs, maps and tables of data. Excel workbooks with more detailed data at state, regional and local government levels are linked to each topic and some Population Census and regional tables are included. Included in the second release was a feature article on ageing in Tasmania that explored what we know about Tasmania's ageing population, analysing a selected range of indicators from the 2006 Population Census. TSRI content is being built up progressively over the first four quarters, and will be updated regularly, as data are released. The data contained in each topic are expected to be updated once per year. In future issues, it is planned to increase the number of regional and non-ABS tables, as data become available. Future releases will cover:
Tasmanian State and Regional Indicators (cat. no. 1307.6) is available free of charge from the ABS website: https://www.abs.gov.au. Tasmania at a Glance (cat. no. 1305.6) is a glossy brochure which provides a statistical snapshot of Tasmania. The four main themes: people, environment, economy, and industry include statistics on population, labour force, health and wellbeing, education, internet access, living arrangements, wages, climate, finances, foreign trade, prices, and major industries. The brochure can be downloaded free of charge from the ABS website, or if you would like to receive a hard copy by post, please contact Mary Eagle on (03) 6222 5906 or email tasmania.statistics@abs.gov.au. Q&A with Mellissa Astrinakis, Director, Social Inclusion Unit, Department of Premier & Cabinet Q: What is social inclusion? A: There are many definitions of social inclusion. It has varying uses as a goal, a process and an outcome. It is a term to describe social, economic and civic participation for all individuals, groups and communities. Social inclusion acknowledges that economic growth does not automatically create resilient individuals and strong communities. Despite economic progress in Tasmania, many people and communities remain disadvantaged and socially excluded. There is a persistence of poverty alongside plenty that challenges the conscience of the entire community and requires a whole of community response. Social exclusion is not only caused by low income or poverty. People or communities can experience multiple disadvantages such as poor housing, crime, disability, low literacy, poor health and family breakdown, resulting in cycles of poverty that can span generations. Social inclusion seeks to break these cycles by removing barriers to access and participation and enabling individual and community capacity. Social inclusion seeks to ensure that all Tasmanians can access employment and education opportunities, as well as social and community networks. Q: What is the Social Inclusion Unit and what does it do to address disadvantage in Tasmania? A: The Social Inclusion Unit has recently been established within the Department of Premier and Cabinet and will soon have six staff and an officer seconded from the ABS. Our role is to act on important community issues, called key references, referred by the Premier to the Social Inclusion Commissioner for Tasmania (yet to be appointed). Our initial work program is based on the key references of homelessness and literacy. The major policy task of the Unit will be to develop a whole-of-government and whole-of-community Social Inclusion Strategy that delivers practical results in the Tasmanian community. Social exclusion is a problem that affects the whole of Tasmanian society, so it is vital that the whole community is involved in developing solutions. Progress on the key references for the Unit will be achieved by working collaboratively, not only with other State Government agencies, but with all levels of government, the business and community sectors. Q: What role will statistics and data play in developing your strategies? A: Our Unit has a very strong focus on evidence-based policy, robust research and data analysis. In the short time since our establishment in March we have seconded an ABS officer to the Unit to provide statistical support, and have commissioned preliminary ABS Census data on homelessness. We are also co-chairing a working group that is developing a benchmark figure for primary homelessness (rough sleepers) in Tasmania by 30 June 2008. The figure will be used as the baseline to measure progress made in achieving the State Government’s target of halving primary homelessness in Tasmania by the end of 2010. This group comprises representatives from the Social Inclusion Unit, Housing Tasmania, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Shelter Tasmania, and the University of Tasmania. One of the tasks of the working group has been to identify robust sources of data on primary homelessness in Tasmania. In sourcing data to help build this picture of primary homelessness in Tasmania the Group has consulted with all levels of government and relevant community organisations. We will continue this collaborative approach to data collection and sharing when developing our whole-of-government Social Inclusion Strategy. The first major task in developing the Strategy will be to work with other Local, State and Federal Government agencies and organisations to identify available indicators of disadvantage and social exclusion in Tasmania. These will be used to build a ‘data map’ to help guide evidence-based policy responses. To find out more about the Social Inclusion Unit, please contact the Director, Mellissa Astrinakis, on 6233 9953 or email: SIU@dpac.tas.gov.au. The web page for the Social Inclusion Unit is at http://siu.dpac.tas.gov.au. Help for Local Government on the ABS Website Local Government users of the ABS website can now access information designed to help find data and other resources of interest to Local Government. Called 'Services We Provide to Local Government', these new information pages include:
The pages include ABS releases that contain data at Local Government Area level, and information about ABS training available to Local Government clients. For further information see the Services We Provide to Local Government page. The page can be accessed via the 'Services We Provide' link at the top of the ABS home page, then follow the link to 'Local Government'. 'Services We Provide to Local Government' is the latest in a series of help pages aimed at assisting ABS clients. Other 'Services We Provide' pages on the ABS website include: State/Territory Government, Small Business, and Universities. On Wednesday 7 May 2008, Dale Chatwin, Director of the Australian Bureau of Statistics Knowledge Management initiative, presented a seminar on Digital Recordkeeping at the ABS as part of Information Awareness month. The event was attended by about 15 records management specialists. Dale's role at the ABS is to ensure that the ABS' current knowledge resources and infrastructure initiatives align with those required to achieve the organisation's goals and objectives. He has responsibility for records management services and was recently part of the Working Group which put together the Australian Public Service report: Note for file: a report on record keeping in the Australian Public Service. Dale has been working in the Tasmanian Office for the last seven months and took the opportunity to brief local records management specialists on ABS' approach to records management. The agency has operated a digital recordkeeping environment since January 2006 and Dale discussed the things ABS has learned in shifting from paper to digital recordkeeping. He also explained how the ABS information and IT security architectures ensure that the privacy of respondents' data is well protected. If you would like to talk to Dale about his work in this area please contact him on (02) 6252 6610 or email tasmania.statistics@abs.gov.au. An article on the proposed sample cuts to the monthly Labour Force Survey has been included in the latest issue of the monthly Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0) publication released on 8 May 2008. If you have any questions concerning the proposed cuts, please contact Rebecca Cash on (02) 6252 6525. Regional Statistics Releases On 4 April 2008 Regional Wage and Salary Earner Statistics, Australia, 2004-05 (cat. no. 5673.0.55.003) was released. This release contains data on the characteristics of wage and salary earners (defined as persons aged 15 and over whose main source of income is from wages and salaries) in a series of data cubes. These data cubes contain various cross-tabulations of these data such as wage and salary earners by age groups, sex, occupation, wage and salary income and total income. Most of the data within these data cubes are available for each Statistical Local Area across Australia. In 2004-05, wage and salary earners in the Tasmanian Statistical Local Areas of Hobart Inner, Hobart Remainder and West Coast had the highest averages incomes in Tasmania from wages and salaries at $40,610, $40,521 and $39,996 respectively. In 2004-05, the Tasmanian average wage and salary income of wage and salary earners was $34,959. On 27 March 2008 a new series was introduced by the ABS Rural and Regional Statistics National Centre through the release of an Information Paper: Persons with Main Source of Income from Own Unincorporated Business, Experimental Estimates for Small Areas, Australia, 1996-97 to 2003-04 (cat. no. 6225.0) and associated data cubes (cat. no. 6225.0.55.001). This Information paper presents experimental estimates of the number of persons whose main source of income comes from their own unincorporated business(es) by region. Estimates of the aggregated individual income (or 'take home pay') these persons receive from their own unincorporated business(es) and the total income they receive from all sources are also available from this series. The statistics compiled to date are for the financial years 1996-97 to 2003-04 and should provide further insight about economic and employment activity in regions. The data are available for various levels of the Australian Standard Geographical Classification such as Statistical Local Areas, Local Government Areas, Statistical Subdivisions and Statistical Divisions. In 2003-04, of the Tasmanian Statistical Local Areas whose main source of income was from own unincorporated business, the highest average incomes from own unincorporated business were in Hobart Remainder, Hobart Inner and Northern Midlands Pt B with $46,693, $41,225 and $36,315 respectively, compared to the Tasmanian average of $31,699. Together these two series provide a valuable insight into the labour forces of regions at the small area level. The publication Health and Welfare of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, 2008 (cat. no. 4704.0) was released on 29 April 2008. This publication is a joint venture between the ABS and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. It provides a comprehensive statistical overview, largely at the national level, of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and welfare. In addition to a wide range of administrative data sources, this issue features results from:
Population Characteristics, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians (cat. no. 4713.6.55.001) was released 27 March 2008. Around 30 electronic tables of information on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians in Tasmania complement the information presented in the national publication Population Characteristics of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians (cat. no. 4713.0). Based on the 2006 Census, topics covered include: the demographic and geographic distribution of the population and its growth in recent years; mobility; household composition; language and religion; education; work; income; housing and transport; and need for assistance.
Planning for the ABS-hosted NatStats 08 Conference is well underway. The conference will be held from 19-21 November 2008 at the Crown Promenade in Melbourne and will connect users and producers of official statistics, and provide an opportunity for participants to discuss strategies for improving statistics for policy and decision-makers. The main theme for the conference will be "Working together for a better informed Australian Society". Keynote and invited speakers are being identified who are significant contributors in the policy arena or who are valued and recognised in their particular field of work and can provide insights into the future role of statistics. The NatStats 08 Conference will be linked with the global initiative, being led by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development), on Measuring Progress in Societies as well as the Australian initiatives being developed through the 2020 Summit and the National Reform Agenda. If you would like more information on the conference, please email Mark Lound at mark.lound@abs.gov.au or phone 02 6252 6325. Alternatively, if you would like to register your interest in the conference please email conference solutions: natstats@con-sol.com or phone (02) 6285 3000. Look out for details of the conference in future editions of Tasmanian Statistical News. Finding Historical Data Currently all ABS publications from 1994 onwards are available full-text on the ABS website. The Historical Publications Index allows you to search for ABS print publications 1901-1993.
For further information about historical data available please visit the Services for Libraries page on the ABS website. 06/06/08 Family Characteristics and Transitions, Australia, 2006-07 (cat. no. 4442.0) This publication contains information on family characteristics including household and family composition including demographic, labour force, and family types. A particular focus is families with children aged 0-17 years. The additional information collected for families with children includes information about family structure, the social marital status of the parents, and contact arrangements for children with non-resident parents. Comparison with data obtained from the 1997 and 2003 Family Characteristics surveys helps to show how the number and proportions of various family types have changed over the last decade. Information on family transitions and history includes information for persons aged 18 years and over about the family transitions they have experienced in their lives, such as the death or divorce of their parents, their experiences of leaving the family home, the forming of marital relationships, children born and their expectations of having children in the future. Datacubes for the publication tables, in Excel spreadsheet format, will be available on the 'Details' tab in late June 2008. Selected State/Territory versions of the publication tables, in Excel spreadsheet format, will be available on the 'Details' tab in late July 2008. 29/05/08 Household Expenditure on Health, A Snapshot, 2004-05 (cat. no. 4836.0.55.001) Using data from the 2003-04 ABS House Expenditure Survey (HES) and the 2004-05 National Health Survey (NHS), this snapshot presents a brief overview of information available on household expenditure on health in Australia, focusing on medical care and health expenses incurred by Australian households. State and territory data is included. 29/05/08 Private Hospitals, Australia, 2006-07 (cat. no. 4390.0) Provides details about the operation of private acute and psychiatric hospitals, and free-standing day hospital facilities in Australia. Information is included about facilities (beds available, special units, etc.), activities (patient throughput, days of hospitalisation provided, bed occupancy rates), patients (types of admitted patients, outpatients and operations performed), staffing and finances. State and territory data is included. 28/05/08 Performing Arts, Australia, 2006-07 (cat.no. 8697.0) Contains information about performing arts in Australia, with separate breakdowns provided for: music and theatre production; and performing arts venues. Data include: number of businesses, income, expenditure, employment, key characteristics by state and territory, and selected information broken down by income size and employment size. Also includes information on performances, attendances, seating capacity and size of performing arts venues.
26/05/2008 Arts and Culture in Australia: A Statistical Overview, 2008 (cat. no. 4172.0) Contains information on a range of topics including employment in culture, time spent on cultural activities, attendances at cultural venues and events, expenditure on culture, and imports and exports of cultural goods and services. Also provides profiles of the cultural sectors, grouped according to the Australian Culture and Leisure Industry Classification. State and territory data is included. 28/04/08 Cafes, Restaurants and Catering Services, Australia, 2006-07 (cat. no. 8655.0) This publication presents results for the 2006-07 reference year from a survey conducted by the ABS of cafe, restaurant and catering businesses. Previous collections were conducted in respect of the 1979-80, 1986-87, 1991-92, 1998-99 and 2003-04 financial years. State and territory data is included. 17/04/08 Measures of Australia's Progress: Summary Indicators, 2008 (cat. no. 1383.0.55.001) Provides a summary of measures which relate to the 14 headline dimensions of progress presented in MAP. It presents the headline indicators (where a headline indicator is available) at the national level, and a brief summary discussion about the measure and associated trends. State and territory data is included. 15/04/08 Government Finance Statistics, Education, Australia (cat. no. 5518.0.55.001) This release contains statistics on expenditure on education by the general government sector for the period 2001-02 to 2006-07. State and territory data is included. 15/04/2008 Taxation Revenue, Australia 2006-07 (cat. no. 5506.0) This publication contains statistics of taxation revenue collected by all levels of government in Australia for the period 2001-02 to 2006-07. Includes breakdowns by state and territory. 25/03/8 Persons not in the Labour Force (cat. no. 6220.0) This publication presents information about people aged 15 years and over who are not in the labour force: that is, neither employed nor unemployed. The data measure the potential supply of labour not reflected in employment and unemployment statistics, and measure the characteristics of that potential supply. Additional material datacubes were released on 21/04/08. State and territory data is included. 20/03/08 Corrective Services, Australia (cat. no. 4512.0) This publication presents information on persons in custody and community-based corrections. The statistics are derived from information provided to the ABS from administrative records held by corrective services agencies in each state and territory, and from the Federal Attorney-General's Department. 18/03/2008 Employment in Sport and Recreation, Australia (cat. no. 4148.0) This publication presents summary data on selected sport and physical recreation occupations from the 2006 Census of Population and Housing. The occupations included are derived from those included in the Australian Culture and Leisure Classifications (ACLC), 2008 (cat. no. 4902.0). The tables show the number and selected characteristics, such as sex, age, state/territory, indigenous status, industry, industry sector, hours of work and income of persons in Australia employed in a sport or physical recreation occupation as their main job at the time of the 2006 Census. 17/03/2008 Hobart ... A Social Atlas (cat. no. 2030.6) Presents colour maps, based on data collected in the 2006 Census of population and housing, that highlight key social, demographic and housing characteristics of the population in Hobart and two selected regional areas in Tasmania: Launceston and the Burnie-Devonport region. The maps highlight the diversity which exists across these cities and regional areas and are easy to interpret as the distribution of the data are represented by different colours and shading. Brief commentary explaining the main features and characteristics also accompany each map. Future Statistical Releases Want to keep up with the latest releases of ABS products? Subscribe to our free email notification service. Document Selection These documents will be presented in a new window.
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