The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has today announced sweeping cuts to its future work program in order to meet the Budget’s requirement to reduce expenditure by $50 million over three years:
While the ABS has been able to implement efficiencies in its operations, these are insufficient to meet the expenditure target. As a result, the statistical work program will be reduced from 2014-15.
Mr Palmer said the revised work program, developed after consultation…“Our highest priority was to maintain activities that are critical to effective government decision making and deliver the most public benefit.
“While the revised forward work program retains core statistical elements and outputs, we have had to discontinue or reduce outputs in areas that are valued by the users of those statistics. If funding is provided for the work we are ceasing, we will reinstate it…
The work program changes, which will be implemented from 1 July 2014, are:
Discontinue
- Environment collections from Australian Households
- Waste Account
- Measures of Australia’s Progress
- Australian Social Trends
- Survey of Tourist Accommodation
- ABS funded component of Culture, Sport and Recreation statistics
Reduce
- Industry statistics research, development and reporting in selected areas
- Social conditions statistics research, development and reporting in selected areas
- State and territories statistical services engagement and analysis activities
- Regional statistics analysis and development
- Macroeconomic research and development engagement in international activities
- National information and referral services response times
- External statistical education development programs
Review
- Review the House Price Index, with the view to discontinuing it pending identification of alternative sources to meet the Australian National Accounts and other requirements
Of all the expenditure cuts by the Federal Government, cutting funding to the ABS has to be amongst the most reckless.
Timely and accurate data is key to good decision making, and the cuts to the ABS workforce risks hampering the Government’s ability to formulate policy, the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) ability to accurately read the economy and formulate monetary policy, as well as the public’s decision making and ability to evaluate policy. It is a retrograde move that will also provide negligible cost savings to the Australian economy.
From my point of view, it is particularly disheartening to see that the house price index is under review. While there are obviously series created by the private sector – for example by RP Data, APM and Residex – it is the ABS’ series that is perceived by many as being the most trusted and reliable.
If anything, the Government should consider expanding the ABS’ budget. As noted by Callam Pickering earlier this year, “we are one of the few developed countries that does not have a monthly measure of inflation. The ABS also releases its first read on gross domestic product over a month later than the likes of the United States. The RBA would certainly benefit from having more timely data.”
Sadly, we risk becoming less informed during what is likely to be the greatest structural adjustment affecting the Australian economy since the early-1990s recession.
