Andrew Leigh

THE LIBERALS’ WAR ON EVIDENCE CONTINUES

The Liberals are continuing their war on evidence: forcing job cuts and survey cuts at the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics stated that:

‘The ABS does not have the resources to undertake all the activities that our customers demand… Average staffing levels will need to decline by around 17 per cent over the next two years.’

The latest Australian Public Service Statistical Bulletin lists the total number of staff at the Australian Bureau of Statistics at 2833. As even the most underfunded statistician could tell you, 17 percent of that equates to 482 job losses.

Malcolm Turnbull now needs to confirm whether nearly 500 jobs are set to be axed as the Bureau  struggles with the Liberals’ ongoing campaign to weaken the public service.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has suffered at the hands of Mr Turnbull and his predecessor for too long.

First, they left the position of Chief Statistician unfilled for nearly a year, attempted to cut the Census, appointed three ministers in a year who ignored the Census – and then were surprised when the Census website crashed, causing untold frustration to millions of Australians.

Now they’re struggling under an additional workload thanks to Mr Turnbull’s unnecessary opinion poll on marriage equality.

This is simply not good enough – Malcolm Turnbull needs to ensure that respected institutions like the Australian Bureau of Statistics have enough support to continue their valuable work.

TUESDAY, 24 OCTOBER 2017