4147.4.55.001 - Culture and Recreation News, Sep 1999  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 13/10/1999   
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Publications released July to September 1999

i) Cultural Funding, Australia, 1997-98, ABS Cat. no. 4183.0, was released on 15 July. It contains estimates of public funding of cultural activities in 1997-98 and the preceding two years for the three levels of government in Australia. The estimates have been compiled from data collections from State and Territory arts authorities, the Australia Council and local government authorities.

  • DATA HIGHLIGHT - Total government funding for culture was $3,531.0m in 1997-98 which was an increase of $83.5m (2.4%) from the previous year. Cultural funding was equivalent to $189.6 per head of population compared to $187.1 in 1996-97.

ii) The Department of Communication, Information Technology and the Arts (DOCITA) publication Cultural Trends in Australia, No 8 - Business Sponsorship of Cultural Activities, 1996-97 provides detailed analyses of corporate sponsorship of arts and cultural activities highlighting information on sponsorship by industry type, business size and the types of activities sponsored.
  • DATA HIGHLIGHT - In 1996-97 business sponsorship of the arts and cultural activities was $29.2m or 6.3% of total business sponsorship. There were 2,898 businesses which sponsored arts and cultural activities.

iii) Australian Book Publishing 1997-98, a DOCITA report and No. 9 in their Cultural Trends in Australia series, contains detailed information from an ABS survey of book publishers. The report gives financial and employment data as well as details on exports, imports and the types of books sold.
  • DATA HIGHLIGHT - During 1997-98, 261 businesses in the book publishing industry generated $109.8m from the sale of 111.5 million books. Compared to the previous (1995-96) collection, the number of books sold fell by 19.1 million although the total value of sales rose by $85.6m.

iv) Australia's Culture No. 8 - Cultural Industries is a brochure which contains details extracted from the Service Industry Surveys of employing businesses conducted by the ABS in respect of 1996-97.
  • DATA HIGHLIGHT - At the end of June 1997 there were 881 businesses involved in music and theatre production. At June 30 they employed 6,082 people including 3,329 performing artists.

v) Business Sponsorship of Sport - is a publication produced by the SRMC. It presents the findings of a national survey of businesses who provide funds to sporting organisations in return for some advertising or promotional benefit. The publication gives details of the industries which sponsor sport, the value of sponsorship and the benefits received.
  • DATA HIGHLIGHT - Almost 23,000 businesses sponsored sport in the 1996-97 financial year. The total value of their support was $282m.

vi) Employment in Sport and Recreation, June 1999 - an SRMC brochure summarising data from the 1996 Census of Population and Housing. Data is provided on industries and occupations which are considered to be part of the sport and recreation sector. The data includes only those who were working in the sector as part of their main job during Census week.
  • DATA HIGHLIGHT - The most common sport and recreation occupation was greenkeeper with a total of 11,908 employees. This was followed by fitness instructors (7,670) and club managers (4,886).

vii) Publications and data reports about information technology released in the last 3 months include:

Use of the Internet by Householders, May 1999, ABS Cat. no. 8147.0 ($16.00);
Use of Information Technology on Farms, Australia: Data Report, ABS Cat. no. 8150.0.40.001($40.00); and
Year 2000 Problem, Australia, Preliminary, ABS Cat. no. 8151.0 ($15.00).