A focus on statistics
Users of statistics had the opportunity to discuss their needs and ideas on the Official Statistics System, and to have a say in the development of New Zealand’s official statistics, at the recent Key Statistics 2005 conference.
In addition, attendees had the opportunity to hear about the latest official statistics developments and future trends.
The conference, convened by the Government Statistician and held 25–27 October at Te Papa in Wellington, is a five-yearly meeting of users of official statistics.
More than 550 people attended the conference and the data integration seminar held the previous day. Attendees came from across government, universities, other educational institutions, community organisations, research and other sectors, as well as associations and organisations from all sectors of New Zealand.
Keynote speakers included Bill McLennan, the former head of the Australian Bureau of Statistics, who spoke on international trends in Statistics; Reserve Bank Governor Dr Alan Bollard; and Retirement Commissioner Diana Crossan, who showed how statistical data has been used in the Sorted campaign.
The conference also provided an opportunity for Statistics New Zealand to hold special statistics workshops for policy analysts, NGOs, teachers and children to raise awareness and understanding of statistics. Ten specialist workshops were held for users to discuss how they used statistics, how statistics were meeting their needs, and improvements they would like to see. These workshops, along with other sessions at Key Statistics 2005, enabled Statistics New Zealand to draw together an overview of users’ views on official statistics.
The views and opinions gathered at the conference, as well as those collected in the lead up to the conference, will be used as part of a report that will be published in early 2006.
