Today, Tuesday, 09 August 2011 is Australia's Census Day. As per the Household Form delivered to our door by the agent of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) , a census "is the only practical way to get information on how many people there are in each part of Australia, what they do and how they live."
Yesterday, i tried to call the Census Inquiry Service but for five minutes waiting on the phone, no agent answered my call. As an overseas worker on paid leave, I just want to inquire on how to answer some of the questions related to job.
The form has 60 questions pertaining to basic information such as name, address, relationship, ethnicity, citizenship, income, education, job, housing, etc. It does not include any question on what problem ordinary Australian is facing, the changes he wants in the government, his view on carbon tax and global warming, his needs, etc. ABS could have included these questions to save money and address the issue. Maybe, ABS tackle social issues in another survey.