Dont let this be an excuse to cut ABS statistical gathering. Arts North West has viewed and worked to 6 business plans this week from local, state, and federal organisations ALL of which that rely heavily on ABS data to plan and operate effectively. ABS cost cutting? What is rather strange is that the explanation that the seasonal adjustment process needs to be refined has developed into a political argument that cuts to funding are preventing the ABS from doing its job properly. There is talk that the actual data collection may have been compromised to cut costs. There may be some truth in this since the ABS has been moving from face-to-face interviews to online surveys. Also, it appears that the ABS changed its survey methodology recently and didn’t run dual surveys to measure the impact of the survey change. This could have been due to lack of resources. The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) says budget cuts are making it impossible for staff to do their jobs properly. Meanwhile the Treasurer, Joe Hockey, blamed the previous Labor government. It is rather sad to see such a well-respected organisation as the ABS being abused for perceived incompetence. It is also disturbing for an independent, respected organisation, held in high regard both in Australia and internationally, being dragged into political squabbling. If the critics took a bit more time to interpret the statistics and their limitations then they might be less vocal in their criticism.
Posted on: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 22:58:46 +0000
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