Thursday, 20 November 2008
New snapshot on Australian population launched
If you want to know how diverse Australia is, how many Australians speak Cantonese or how many Indigenous Australians there are, you’ll find your answer in a newly updated, fact-filled resource being released today by the Australian Human Rights Commission.
Race Discrimination Commissioner Tom Calma, who is launching the 2008 edition of the Commission’s Face the Facts resource in Melbourne today, said it is full of factual information about the social make-up of Australia today.
“Face the Facts continues to be the Commission’s most requested resource and I know it is used extensively by school students, educators and a wider number of professionals for reliable and up-to-date information about our society,” Mr Calma said.
“Like its previous editions, 2008’s Face the Facts is a user-friendly resource written in a plain English style that provides a snapshot of social, demographic and population data relating to Indigenous Australians, migrants, asylum seekers and refugees.
“Face the Facts draws on federal laws, government policies, academic research and Australian Bureau of Statistics data to bring the current make up of Australia within easy reach.”
Mr Calma said key statistics featured in this latest edition included a recorded increase in the Indigenous population of 11 per cent between the Census of 2001 and 2006. Other statistics include:
- England, New Zealand, China, Italy and Vietnam were the top five countries of birth other than Australia in the 2006 Census;
- the three top groups in the 2006 Census for religious affiliation were Catholic (25.8%), Anglican (18.7%) and No Religion (18.7%). People of Islamic faith comprised around 1.7%;
- Western Australia had the highest proportion of residents born overseas (27.14%) in the 2006 Census; and
- the top five languages spoken at home other than English include: Italian, Greek, Cantonese, Arabic and Mandarin.
Commissioner Calma will be launching Face the Facts at 2 pm today at the Melbourne Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) Burnley complex where he will also launch the MFB’s Reconciliation Action Plan. The Plan, amongst other things, commits the MFB to initiatives that increase employment opportunities for Aboriginal people.
Face the Facts can be downloaded from the Australian Human Rights Commission website after 2 pm today at www.humanrights.gov.au/racial_discrimination/face_facts/
Media contact: Louise McDermott (02) 9284 9851 or 0419 258 597.
