It is wonderful that we have such a diverse population to draw upon, and that we are still a relatively peaceful country. Having recent read an article on how people identify with their past, which then carries forward into their actions and thus our future, I would suggest that we consider including further questions in the Census that asks not only where a person was born, and their ancestry, but also how do they identify and see themselves? To clarify, whilst a person may be born here, depending on their upbringing they may not identify themselves as being Australian.
Another point I believe would assist in future planning for local councils is the number of dog owners, and therefore what needs to be planned for as off lead dog parks. Currently in many of our cities there appears to be a lack of planning for this. Some rural councils however seem to be already considering this and planning for it.
Choose your area of interest
Please select one item
(Required)
Population
Sex and gender
Households and families
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
Income and work
Unpaid work and care
Education and training
Disability and carers
Housing
Location
Transport
Cultural diversity
Religion
Ticked
Other topic
If Other topic please specify
Two topics, one is cultural diversity, the other is Planning.
Assessment Criteria 1
1.
This topic is of current national importance.
National Importance
For the first topic - data is required for program monitoring and potentially may assist in re-establishing our national identity.
For the second topic - data is required for planning.
Assessment Criteria 2
2.
There is a need for data from a Census of the whole population.
For whole population
For the first topic - data is required nationally.
For the second topic - data is required in all major cities.
Assessment Criteria 3
3.
The topic can be accurately collected in a form which the household completes themselves.
Easy to answer
For both topics information can be collected in simple questions.
Respondents are likely to easily know the answer to both topics.
Assessment Criteria 4
4.
The topic would be acceptable to Census respondents.
Acceptable
Of the two topics, neither should be considered intrusive, offensive or controversial, with respondents likely to answer correctly.
Assessment Criteria 5
5.
The topic can be collected efficiently.
Collected efficiently
For both topics:
• the topics or questions will not present major difficulties for coding the information
• the topics or questions will not require extensive processing
• the topics will not significantly add to the overall cost of the Census
• the topics will not require a lengthy instruction or explanation
• the collection of data on the topics will not require a large number of response categories or multiple questions
Assessment Criteria 6
6.
There is likely to be a continuing need for data on this topic in the following Census.
Continuing need
• the topics are likely to remain relevant in the future.
Assessment Criteria 7
7.
There are no other alternative data sources or solutions that could meet the topic need.
No alternatives
For the first topic, from reading between the lines of occurrences throughout our country and elsewhere, the disconnect by residents to identifying themselves as Australian is in part what has contributed to various issues we are now facing. However, there does not appear to be any real data to support this.
On the second topic, I believe there is a lack of planning in this area which needs to be addressed sooner rather than later when it becomes more expensive and problematic.