ANDREW LEIGH MP

SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER

SHADOW MINISTER FOR COMPETITION
MEMBER FOR FRASER
MEDIA RELEASE
ABS TURBULENCE COMES FROM TREASURERS NEGLECT
The troubles at the Australian Bureau of Statistics are a direct result of the
Abbott Governments decision to hack millions from its budget, while also
leaving the bureau languishing without a permanent head for almost a
year now.
omparing the oalitions !ay budget with "abors #$%&'%( numbers
shows it has slashed the bureaus funding by )*# million over the ne+t
four years.
Last Labor Budget !"#$#%&
F'rst Coa('t'o) Budget !"#%#*&
As a result, the bureau has been forced to discontinue data collection on
ma,or statistical pro,ects like the Australian Social Trends series and
!easures of Australian -rogress. The bureau has also been criticised for
releasing unreliable ,obs .gures, leading to an announcement today that it
will review its data modelling processes.
These problems are hardly surprising given the bureau has been without a
permanent head since the Australian Statistician, Brian -ink, resigned in
/ecember #$%& shortly after the oalition came to o0ce.
Since then, the agency has been overseen by two acting heads while the
government has stalled on .nding a permanent replacement.
/espite his governments own negligence clearly creating problems at the
agency, Treasurer 1oe 2ockey has been 3ailing about this morning trying
to .nd someone else to blame.
4t is an utter ,oke that !r 2ockey would be trying to shirk responsibility for
whats happening at the bureau over a year after his team took over.
5ather than blaming "abor, the bureaus computers and any other straw
he can clutch at, 1oe 2ockey should get to work on .nding a new
Australian Statistician and re'building the bureau his government has run
down.
THURSDA+, - OCTOBER !"#%