NatStats08 Conference

John Lenders MPTreasurer of Victoria20th November 2008

Early Data

+ “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed ….. And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city”

+ Luke 2, 1:3

OVERVIEW

+ Importance of statistics+ Facts on the Victorian economy+ The measurable concept of Liveability+ State and Commonwealth alliance

Importance of Statistics

+ Statistics are important for the formulation of Victorian economic policy– Greater certainty and evidence base

+ Statistics are also important for evaluating the outcomes of government economic policies– Output measures

+ Official statistics are also very important for macro policy makers, helping us gauge the state of the economy– Cause & effect of policy decisions

Growing Victoria Together

+ The Victorian Government's vision is that by 2010 Victoria will be a state with:– A thriving economy – Quality health and education – A healthy environment – Caring communities – A vibrant democracy

+ An annual progress report is produced outlining achievements

The Annual GVT Report

+ 88 indicators+ 36 indicators use ABS statistics

– Crime will be reduced by 5 per cent from 2003 to 2008, and Victorians will feel safer

– Greenhouse gas emissions from the production and use of energy will be reduced

– The proportion of Victorian primary students achieving the national benchmark levels for reading, writing and numeracy will be at or above the national average.

+ ABS data critical to monitoring achievement of the Growing Victoria Together goals

Triple bottom line

Apart from the per capita items the main categories that data are used for are:

+ Economic – – employment, productivity, earnings, competitiveness-

innovation, exports

+ Social wellbeing – – average life expectancy, housing affordability,

kindergarten participation

+ Environmental – – greenhouse gas emissions

Victoria’s economic fundamentals sound

+ Solid labour market– Unemployment rate 4.4%– 32,900 jobs created in the year to the end of October

+ Record levels of investment– Private capital expenditure– Building approvals

+ Strong Government budget position– AAA rating maintained since 1999– Nine consecutive years of budget surpluses

+ High population growth

Highest value of total building approvals in the nation

21.0

17.3

21.4

16

18

20

22

Victoria Queensland NSW

$ b

Source: Australian Bureau Statistics

12 months to September 2008

Global financial market developments

+ Governments world-wide have taken action…– Central banks have cut target rates– Governments have guaranteed bank deposits and

have injected capital into the banking sector– Some large financial institutions bailed-out

+ … but, global financial markets remain stressed– Equity and commodity markets weak and volatile– Credit remains restricted– Borrowing costs high

Victorian infrastructure investment

0

1

2

3

4

5

1999-00 2002-03 2005-06 2008-09 2011-12

$ billion

Liveability

Definition:

“Liveability reflects the wellbeing of a community and comprises the many characteristics that make a location a place where people want to live.”

Source: VCEC draft report

Key themes of VCEC draft report

+ Enhancing information provision to better inform decision making

+ Best practice regulation to ensure only appropriate and necessary government intervention

+ Effective integration of government efforts – across all levels of government with appropriate community consultation

Key components of liveability

+ Liveability and strong communities

+ Provincial Victoria

+ Urban planning and design

+ Transport

+ Environmental quality

State alliance with Commonwealth

+ Strong links to Commonwealth Treasury and Finance departments

+ Victorian departments work closely with ABS

+ CoAG November

Questions?