Australia’s chief statistician, David Kalisch, claims that a decade of funding cuts has hampered the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) capability, and warns that funding cuts would result in less accurate statistical reporting:
The cumulative cuts, at a time when demand for information and data was growing sharply, were a “conundrum” for the ABS which had already cut non-essential surveys and releases. More important data, used extensively by all levels of government and the Reserve Bank, were now at risk.
“While the ABS is more efficient and effective than it was previously, funding cuts of this level inevitably reduce the service we can provide for governments, business and the community,” he said.
