Many see the Australian Bureau of Statistics primarily as a collector of information but just as importantly it is an information provider as well. While Local Governments throughout Australia provide considerable information to the ABS on a range of subjects, consolidated information is available to Councils which, together with Population Census information, can assist not only with planning and other community servicing decisions but also with benchmarking best practice.
The ABS has recently released the National Regional Profile (NRP) from which you can quickly obtain essential information on your council area. This free, web based product, allows you to download a spreadsheet containing a range of indicator information for a standard area of your choice. Access to the National Regional Profile facility is through the new ‘Regional Statistics’ icon on the ABS home page:
Clicking on this icon will take you to the ABS’ Regional Statistics Program Theme Page which contains not only a link to the National Regional Profile, but also information about other aspects of the program that may be of interest including additional regional products with State specific data series and comparative information.
Information is available on the NRP for Local Government Areas, Statistical Local Areas, Statistical Subdivisions, Statistical Divisions, States/Territories as well as at the Australia level. The National Regional Profile is an easy to use facility which combines a range of ABS and non ABS information including population, births and deaths, remoteness, unemployment, income support customer numbers, wage and salary earners, new vehicle sales and building approvals. To obtain information about the region of your choice, use the drill down map facility or choose the selected region’s name from a picklist. The choice is yours.
At the moment the National Regional Profile contains data for only one year. The next version, expected to be released early in 2005, will contain a five year time series for each region. It is also anticipated that, over time, the suite of indicators will grow. This National Regional Profile does not, however, contain data from the 2001 Census of Population and Housing. Information from the Census is available through the 2001 Census Page on the ABS web site.
A specialist electronic newsletter ‘Local Government and ABS’ is also published to assist the Sector to use and understand statistics. New ABS initiatives affecting Local Government are announced in the newsletter. An additional benefit is that the newsletter provides a central contact point for the Local Government Sector to provide views and suggestions as to how the ABS can better assist Local Government. More directly, the newsletter provides practical help by explaining statistical terms to assist users to understand ABS data and includes direct electronic links to take clients to relevant data on the ABS web site. Subscription is free.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics recognises the importance of the Local Government Sector both as a provider and user of statistical information and is working closely with stakeholders to improve the services it provides. Visit the ABS web site at www.abs.gov.au, access the National Regional Profile or select News, then Newsletters, then Local Government and ABS.
If you would like to provide comments to the Local Government Account Manager contact Jeff Bulger at the ABS via email jeff.bulger@abs.gov.au or telephone (08) 8237 7621.
