1301.6.55.001 - Tasmanian Statistical News, Dec 2008  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 09/12/2008   
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Tasmania Reaches the Population Milestone of 500 000!
Training Courses: Understanding Demographic Data and Introduction to Labour Statistics
Reinstatement of Full Retail Trade Sample
ABS Launches Reconciliation Action Plan
Tasmanian State and Regional Indicators
Who Cares? 2.5 Million Australians
FREE Training Seminar: Introduction to ABS Products and Services
NatStats Conference 08
Handy Tips for Finding Information on the ABS Website
Selected Recent Releases
Future Statistical Releases
General Statistical Enquiries


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If you wish to provide feedback or subscribe to this newsletter, please contact Sasha Horsell on (03) 6222 5965, or email tasmania.statistics@abs.gov.au. We also encourage you to place this newsletter on your organisation's intranet.



Tasmania Reaches the Population Milestone of 500 000!

Tasmania is reaching the population milestone of 500,000 people. Since the start of the collection of population statistics for Tasmania in 1803, it took us 67 years to reach 100,000 people. The next 100,000 population took 48 years to reach and it took 33 years to get to 300,000 people. While it only took 21 years to reach 400,000 population, this recent 100,00 to get us to 500,00 has taken 36 years. Tasmania is the 5th state to reach 500,000 population. Victoria reached 500,000 people in 1859, New South Wales in 1871, Queensland in 1901, and South Australia and Western Australia reached the milestone over the following 46 years.

From 1972, Tasmania's annual population growth has mostly been less than the national rate. In 2007, the Tasmanian annual population growth of 0.7% was just less than half that of the national rate.


ANNUAL POPULATION GROWTH
Graph: Annual Population Growth, 1972-2007


Population growth has three components: natural increase, net overseas migration and net interstate migration. In Tasmania in the year ended 31 March 2008, natural increase was the major component of population growth at 56.3% (2,600 people) with net overseas migration contributing 32.1% (1,460 people) and net interstate migration at 11.5% (520 people). When Tasmania was moving through 400,000 in population, natural increase accounted for all of the total population growth (4,800 people) with negative net overseas migration (-40 people) and negative net interstate migration (-2,100 people).



Training Courses: Understanding Demographic Data and Introduction to Labour Statistics

The Tasmania Office of the Australian Bureau of Statistics will be running two one-day courses in early 2009:

Understanding Demographic Data - 23 February 2009

This course provides an understanding of the demographic data framework and the processes which shape the population and includes practical exercises in the analysis of demographic data. At the conclusion of the course you will be able to:
  • Understand the demographic data framework
  • Understand processes which shape the population
  • Have a basic ability to analyse demographic data
This course will be most beneficial to people who use and/or need to understand demographic data.

The cost of the one-day course is $450 per person.

Introduction to Labour Statistics - 12 March 2009

This course provides an overview of the range of concepts and issues associated with ABS labour statistics. It explores the data produced by both household and employer-based collections, and highlights the range of products available to access labour-related data. At the conclusion of the course you will have:
  • An understanding of key labour concepts and issues
  • An awareness of available ABS labour-related data and products

This course will be most beneficial to people who use and/or need to understand labour statistics.

The cost of the one-day course is $450 per person.


For further information on either of these courses, please phone Sally Wilkinson on 03 6222 5878 or email tasmania.statistics@abs.gov.au.



Reinstatement of Full Retail Trade Sample

On 4 November 2008, the Australian Statistician, Brian Pink announced that the ABS will reinstate the full monthly sample for the Retail Business Survey.

The Statistician recognised that global developments over recent months had heightened public interest in government action to support the economy and consequently, there was closer scrutiny of economic data. In addition, key macroeconomic statistics users had indicated that more robust monthly retail trade data are their top priority at this time for improved economic statistics.

Whilst month-on-month changes in retail sales are difficult to measure reliably, even with the best of survey designs and robust samples, reinstating the full monthly sample will reduce some of that uncertainty.

At this stage, it is expected that results from the reinstated sample will be available early in 2009.

The reduction in the Retail Business Survey sample was part of a set of program cuts made to enable the ABS to balance its budget for 2008-09. The ABS will face extra costs as a result of this decision, but will not make offsetting cuts in other parts of its statistical work program this year. The future ABS budget is currently being reviewed with the Department of Finance and Deregulation and future ABS work programs will be framed within the resulting budget allocations and in consultation with users.

Further information about the reinstatement of the full monthly sample are included in the Retail Trade publications:

Image: ABS launches Reconciliation Action PlanABS Launches Reconciliation Action Plan

The Reconciliation Action Plan for the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) was launched on Monday 10 November by Brian Pink, the Australian Statistician.

'Our plan outlines actions that the ABS will take to continue forging relationships with Indigenous people and enhance the respect we give to Indigenous culture, as well as acknowledging the contributions of Indigenous people.' Mr Pink said.

'It also builds on the ABS' commitment to leading and coordinating statistical activity involving and relating to Indigenous Australians.

'As well, it states our commitment to recruiting and retaining Indigenous staff and our intention to increase statistical literacy in the Indigenous community.

'The ABS has - for a number of years - had Indigenous engagement managers as a bridge between Indigenous communities and the ABS.

'This collaborative approach has drawn considerable interest from other statistical agencies and reflects the leading role that the ABS has taken in improving Indigenous outcomes - both in a statistical and in a community sense."

Also attending Monday's launch was Barbara Livesey, CEO of Reconciliation Australia.

Ms Livesey welcomed the commitment that the ABS was making, and noted that - as the nation's statistical authority - the ABS was uniquely placed in its ability to record and report changes in issues affecting the Indigenous population.

She also praised the long term commitment of the ABS, and that the ABS had developed its approach after broad consultation and was now joining over 100 other Australian organisations with Reconciliation Action Plans in place.


Image: ABS launches Reconciliation Action Plan
From left: Ivan Copley (IEM SA), Anne Freer (IEM NSW), Vicki Wilkins (Assistant Director, Census & Indigenous Engagement, QLD), Julie Nankervis (obscured, A/g Deputy Director, National Centre of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Statistics (NCATSIS), Barbara Livesey (Reconciliation Australia), Sybille McKeown (Outposted Officer; formerly Deputy Director, NCATSIS), Juanita Johnson (IEM QLD), Justine Boland (Director, National Centre for Education & Training; formerly Director, NCATSIS), Liz Milewicz (IEM TAS), Julie Evans (Director, Policy & Legislation), Gowan Bush (IEM NT), Kelleigh Ryan (Census & Indigenous Engagement, QLD), Brian Pink (Australian Statistician), Lewis Langton, John Austin (IEM VIC) and Agnes Shae (Ngunnawal Elder).
Photograph: Ivan Copley


The ABS Reconciliation Action Plan is available from the ABS website under 'About Us'. For further information about the plan, please contact our Indigenous Engagement Manager, Elizabeth Milewicz on 03 6222 5895, or email tasmania.statistics@abs.gov.au.



Image: Tasmanian State and Regional IndicatorsTasmanian State and Regional Indicators

Tasmanian State and Regional Indicators (TSRI) is a 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; and the third covered Education, Housing and Construction, and Transport. The fourth release on 31 October, 2008 completed the suite of topics and included Crime and Justice, Health, and Environment.

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. Each release has been accompanied by a feature article. The feature article for the fourth release looks at people in Tasmania with a need for assistance, analysing a selected range of indicators from the 2006 Population Census.

TSRI is released on a quarterly basis. 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.

Tasmanian State and Regional Indicators (cat. no. 1307.6) is available free of charge from the ABS website.



Who Cares? 2.5 Million Australians
  • Around 2.5 million Australians aged 15 years and over care for someone at home because of a disability or old age.
  • Women were more likely than men to be carers (17% of women and 14% of men).
  • Carers tended to be an older group. The median age of the carer population aged 15 years and over was 48 years while for non-carers it was 40 years.
  • Of parents aged 35–54 years, 22% of mothers and 15% of fathers were carers. About half of these carers were caring for a child with a disability. The other half were combining raising young children with care of another relative or friend.
  • For all age groups, carers were more likely to have a disability themselves (35% of all carers had a disability compared with 22% of all people).

A Profile of Carers in Australia (cat. no. 4448.0), released October 14, 2008, provides an overview of the characteristics and activities of people who provide informal assistance to someone with a disability, long-term health condition or to older people (aged 60 years and over). Information was drawn from the 2006 Census of Population and Housing and from three ABS surveys: the 2003 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers; the 2006 General Social Survey and the 2006 Time Use Survey. To help readers understand the differences between the data sources, the collection methodology and output from the different surveys and the Census are examined in a Technical Appendix. While most data are presented at the national level, some data are also presented for states and territories and by remoteness.



FREE Training Seminar: Introduction to ABS Products and Services

The Tasmania Office of the Australian Bureau of Statistics is currently running a series of free 90 minute seminars: Introduction to ABS Products and Services. We would like to advise that all sessions are now fully booked. Thank you to all those people who have registered for these sessions. Places have been confirmed for you by either email or phone. Please advise us of any cancellations as we have a number of people on waiting lists, ready to snap up any vacancies!

Due to the high level of interest in these sessions, it is very likely that we will be running more next year.

These seminars increase participants' ability to access ABS information, including the wealth of free data available on the ABS website. The overview of the ABS website includes:
  • themes
  • navigation & search
  • Census data
  • CDATA Online which was released 27 October 2008

These seminars will also introduce participants to the range of ABS services available, how they can meet your information needs, and where you can go for help.

The seminars are suitable for a range of users, including government, business, and library sectors.

To register your interest in attending a seminar in 2009, or for further information, please email: tasmania.statistics@abs.gov.au or call Terri Fox on 03 6222 5835. In order for us to plan effectively, please state your preferred location for attending a session: Hobart, Launceston or the North West Coast.



NatStats Conference 08

Over 460 delegates from government, business, community and research sectors attended the first ever NatStats Conference in Melbourne on 19-21 November 2008. A range of international and national speakers illustrated the role statistics can play in policy and decision-making now, and in the future. Delegates were encouraged to provide input on the main conference themes: Informing the Nation; Measuring Progress of Societies; and Environmental Information for Informed Decisions.

The response to the conference was overwhelmingly positive from speakers and participants alike. NatStats08 placed the spotlight on statistics as a valuable resource for the country, injecting some timely debate into the current focus on evidence-based policy and decision-making.

The draft Declaration for Statistics in Australia in the 21st Century tabled at the NatStats conference is currently available on the NatStats website. Speaker presentations will also be available from the website shortly. We will keep you posted on further outcomes from the NatStats Conference.


Handy Tips For Finding Information On The ABS Website

Image: Email Notification

Many of you will be familiar with and use the ABS email notification system. While it is still possible to subscribe to all statistical releases, or a group of products releases, such as "social statistics", did you know you can now subscribe to individual publications making it is even easier for you to control exactly what ABS information is delivered to you?

Make sure you select the Advanced tab to take advantage of the new functionality. The screenshot below demonstrates how you can build a personalised collection of ABS products aligned with your interests.

Image: Create or update a subscription

As you can see, the multi-subject publications on Tasmania sit in the "13" category, i.e. 1301.6.55.001 - Tasmanian Statistical News, 1304.6 - Tasmanian Key Indicators, 1305.6 - Tasmania at a Glance, and 1307.6 - Tasmanian State and Regional Indicators. Alternatively, you can subscribe to a group of products, such as the "20" category for Census statistical products and services by ticking the "All" box at the top of the list of publications, or you can subscribe to all statistical releases by ticking the box on the "Basic" tab. Further information on how to interpret ABS catalogue numbers is available from the ABS website.

Then it's as simple as submitting your email address! Do you have any questions or concerns regarding privacy? Read the FAQs on the ABS website.



Selected Recent Releases

13/11/2008 Average Weekly Earnings, Australia, Aug 2008 (6302.0)
Contains estimates of average weekly ordinary time earnings and average weekly total earnings for full-time adult employees and average weekly total earnings for all employees, classified by sector and state or territory and by industry at the Australian level, for males, females and persons.

12/11/2008 Lending Finance, Australia, Sep, 2008 (5671.0)
Contains time series data on the value of monthly commitments for secured housing finance, other personal finance, commercial and lease finance. Includes summary tables of personal and commercial finance commitments under fixed and revolving credit facilities, the value of goods under finance lease commitments, and the value of personal, commercial and lease finance commitments by purpose. Also included are thematic tables on the financing of housing, motor vehicles and plant and equipment. Data are provided at the National level. State level estimates, more detailed purpose estimates, and operating lease estimates are available through the Time Series Spreadsheet service.

11/11/2008 Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia, Sep 2008 (3401.0)
Comprises a summary of monthly data by category of movement. For visitors arriving and residents departing short term, the intended length of stay, main purpose of journey, principal destination (departures) or country of usual residence (arrivals) and state and territory in which most time was spent. For settler arrivals -- region of birth.

07/11/2008 Employment Arrangements, Retirement and Superannuation, Australia, Apr to Jul 2007 (6361.0)
Presents first results from the Survey of Employment Arrangements, Retirement and Superannuation by selected socio-demographic characteristics. Contains information about people's employment arrangements such as type of worker (e.g. employees, owner managers); job duration and expected job duration; working patterns; extra paid and unpaid hours worked; and people's work preferences. Includes information about the caring responsibilities that people have, and how people balance their work with their caring responsibilities. The plans that people have for retirement, and issues around why people retire and why some people return to work after retiring are examined.

Also presents information on whether people are contributing to superannuation (through personal, employer and/or spouse contributions), whether they are receiving a pension or annuity from superannuation, and the characteristics of people with different types of superannuation coverage. Selected data presented at state and territory level includes superannuation coverage, caring responsibilities, retirement intentions, as well as selected characteristics of persons retired from the labour force.

05/11/2008 International Trade in Services by Country, by State and by Detailed Services Category, Financial Year, 2007-08 (5368.0.55.003)
These data are released as spreadsheets only. The spreadsheets contain trade in services credits and debits data for: country and country groups by financial years; financial years by country and country groups; state by financial years; financial years by state; and detailed services category by financial years. Data are available from 1999-2000.

30/10/2008 Agricultural State Profile, Tasmania, 2006-07 (cat. no. 7123.6.55.001)
This publication provides an overview of the agricultural industry in Tasmania. Ideal for school students' project work. Covers farm numbers, agricultural production and the state's agricultural contribution to the economy. Includes mapped data, historical data from 1861 and data provided at the Statistical Division level.

30/10/2008 Volunteers in Sport, Australia, 2006 (4440.0.55.001)
Presents detailed results from the 2006 General Social Survey that cover information about the characteristics of people volunteering for sport and physical recreation organisations, other organisations and non-volunteers. People volunteering for sport and physical recreation organisations have been split into two categories which includes volunteering for sport and physical recreation organisations only, and sport and physical recreation together with other organisation(s). Data are presented by state and territory in spreadsheet format.

01/10/2008 Counts of Australian Business Operators, 2006 to 2007 (8175.0)
This product presents business operator counts and proportions, including data pertaining to small business operators. These data are sourced from the 2006 Census of Population and Housing and the 2007 Forms of Employment survey. State and Territory level data presented for business operator status by selected characteristics.

22/09/2008 Internet Activity, Australia, Jun 2008 (8153.0)
Contains details of Internet activity supplied by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Australia. It includes information on Internet subscribers and their type of connection, the type of user (business/household), the volume of data downloaded, the speed of the Internet connection and the location of the subscriber (by state or territory).

12/09/2008 Farm Management and Climate, 2006-07 (4625.0)
This publication presents climate themed data from the 2006-07 Natural Resource Management on Australian Farms survey, and complements that to be published in Natural Resource Management (NRM), on Australian Farms, 2006-07 (cat. no. 4620.0).

The results provide an important perspective into the views of land managers on changes to the climate, the effect of these changes, and the adaptability of land managers to such changes. Results are reported at a national and state/territory level, as well as for NRM regions. Results are further reported at the national level for different industries within the agricultural sector, as well as by the length of time the respondent had managed the agricultural holding.



Future Statistical Releases

Want to keep up with the latest releases of ABS products? Subscribe to our free email notification service.



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