An alliance of Australian councils in urban growth areas has called on the federal government not to scrap the five-yearly census.
The National Growth Areas Alliance (NGAA) of councils said outer suburbs would be further disadvantaged if the federal government cancelled the national census.
South Australia’s NGAA chairman Glenn Docherty, who is also mayor of Playford, said outer growth suburbs housed more than four million people and were growing at double the national rate. “We rely on the census, the most important evidence base we have to plan services and infrastructure for our rapidly expanding communities,” he said.
“The long-term ramifications of less reliable data will come at a massive cost and communities will pay the price.”
Earlier this year, the Australian Bureau of Statistics confirmed it was considering overhauling the census.
ABS statistician David Kalisch said while the bureau was committed to a census, “the census in its current form only provides a snapshot of Australia on one day every five years, and it takes some time for key information to be released after census night.”
There was speculation in February about the future of the census, which is an increasingly costly exercise. The most recent census of 2011 cost $440 million and involved about 43,000 temporary field and collection staff.
Parliamentary secretary to the Treasurer, Kelly O’Dwyer, also confirmed the federal government was considering reforming the ABS.
Shadow Assistant Treasurer Andrew Leigh said Labor had flagged concerns about the impact of losing accurate data on regional and remote communities, as well as challenges in accurately mapping service needs to support vulnerable communities.
Whittlesea council officer Brad Wynter supported the NGAA’s call to keep the census as it is.
“Planning decisions for community facilities, infrastructure and service programs all rely on census data for accurate and timely decision-making about local areas,” Mr Wynter said.
“This is particularly pertinent for a growth area like Whittlesea, which is undergoing rapid change.”
