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Record of APS Stats Network Meeting - 1 August 2001
Attendees:
Ian McDermid, Customs
John Cauchi, DVA
Mark Allenby, Health
Paul Nelson, Health
Philip Shannon, Health
Michael Whitfield, ISR
Darren Benham, DCITA
Kuldeep Bhatia, AIHW
Neil Batty, DFAT
Nick Staniforth, ATSIC
Frank Wojtaszak, AusAID
Ron Jungwirth, ATO
Geoff Armitage, ABARE
Malcolm Gall, DIMA
David Ward, DIMA
Jane Young, DIMA
Mary Patton, ABS/ISR
Sally Goodspeed, ABS/Health
Geoff Neideck, ABS/FaCS
Andrew Webster, ABS/ATSIC
Graeme Brown, ABS/ATO
John Struik, ABS
Shaun Hardy, ABS
Gill McPadden, ABS
Sue Taylor, ABS
Jeff Carlton, ABS
Mark Patton, ABS
Rob Martyn, ABS
Apologies:
Mark Mussared, ISR
Mark Lound, BTR
Zak Rahmani, DETYA
Bob McCombe, ABS/DEWRSB, DETYA
The meeting was held in the ABS Conference Room, 4a5, Cameron Offices, Belconnen, commencing at 2pm.
Agenda:
2001 Census theme
Welcome address
John Struik, Assistant Statistician, Census, Demography and Geography Branch, opened the meeting with a talk on the 2001 Census, emphasising the efforts in 2001 to improve the quality and timeliness of the data. John briefly covered topics such as relevance of the Census questions to the community; where efficiencies have been made in the field operations and processing (e.g. by the use of character recognition software, auto coding and 'paperless' processing); and the public awareness campaign. John mentioned that most enquiries received to date on the Census helpline had concerned the privacy of personal information.
Product and Service Overview including Advance Order Service
Gill McPadden from the Information Consultancy Census team gave a presentation which covered the range of Census products and services and the timetable for their release, making particular mention of the Advance Order Service, which will operate from September to November 2001 to allow intending Census users to discuss and pre-order their detailed requirements, ensuring relatively delivery after the Census data is released.
Census on the Internet including Census Table Specification Service
Shaun Hardy from the Census Processing & User Services area spoke about the Internet being the major thrust of the 2001 Census Output Program and for general Census awareness. He mentioned the proposed increase in free data that will be available from the ABS web site, the self help features and future directions. Shaun demonstrated navigating through the content and structure of the new Census Main Page, highlighting the Profiles, Dictionary, timetable, etc. He then spoke about the Customised Table Specification Service (CTSS), which has been developed to allow users to design their own table specifications and obtain pricing information; and gave a brief demonstration of the CTSS, discussing also some operational and installation issues. Shaun outlined proposals for Census content and available formats on the ABS@/AusStats services, and how the ABS@ consultancy container could be used to deliver data.
Afternoon tea
Historical Population Statistics
Sue Taylor, Demography, gave a talk on the methods used to prepare the Historical Population Statistics, a Centenary of Federation project, which includes estimates dating back to, where possible, to the beginnings of European settlement (1788) of Australia. Statistics are included on population size and growth, population distribution, population age-sex structure, births, deaths, migration, marriages and divorces. The sources were varied and included State Censuses and Statistical Registers, which in some cases were compiled as far back as the early 1800s.
General business
- Neil Batty offered to host the next meeting on 10 October at the RG Casey Building, Barton.
- the Network Christmas Function is set down for 28 November.
- Members were reminded of the Network's web site presence.
- the proposed letter from the Statistician to his counterparts in other agencies was close to being finalised.
More complete details of the matters discussed at the meeting are available on request from the ABS Stats Network Coordinator, Rob Martyn, phone 02 6252 5280, email rob.martyn@abs.gov.au.
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This page first published 4 December 2001, last updated 5 November 2004 |
