His Excellency Major-General Michael Jeffery, the Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia, Her Excellency Mrs Jeffery, Dennis Trewin, former Australian Statisticians Bill McLennan and Ian Castles, ladies and gentlemen,
I am very pleased to once again have the opportunity to speak in support of the Census.
It seems such a short time ago that I launched the recruitment stage of the Census campaign. But that was back in February.
Now, in early August, not only have the 30,000 Collectors and supervisors been recruited, they are out in field as we speak - delivering Census forms.
It has been almost five years since the last national census. On that occasion, in August 2001, I had just entered the Australian Parliament as the newly elected Member for Aston.
With all that has happened since then I can certainly attest to the fact that the years are quickly passing by.
As our personal clocks tick away, nationally we should also be focusing on a number of key statistical clocks.
We often hear talk of the so-called biological clock.
Then you have the population clock. You can see that on the website of the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and on the plasma screen behind me.
The ABS clock ticks over as Australia's population fluctuates.
But how is that fluctuation determined?
Do we have someone at hospitals around the country counting as every child is born?
Of course not.
The ticking of that clock is based on calculations involving estimated births, deaths, immigrant arrivals and departures.
And the bedrock information on which population calculations are based comes from the national Census of Population and Housing which the ABS conducts every five years.
Australia's population estimates start with Census figures. On that basis alone you can see the importance of the Census.
But the Census helps us work out not only how many Australians there are, but what we are like.
It gives us information about the biological clock. We know we are having children later in life and less children are being born. We are an ageing population. But the Census will give new insights particularly on fertility where it appears that fertility rates may have stabilised or even increased.
This is very important for our country. Population matters as the Treasurer emphasised when launching the 2006 Census last week.
Census information is vital in making planning decisions for Australia's future at the local, state and national level.
It is because time changes everything, and Australians are relatively mobile, that we must conduct Censuses on a regular basis - by law every five years.
An interesting feature of the Census is the Census Time Capsule. This option was also offered in the 2001 Census. I urge people to be involved as I think it is a great initiative.
If people answer “yes” to the Time Capsule question on the Census the personal information on their form will be microfilmed and kept securely for 99 years by the National Archives of Australia. In August 2105 this information will be publicly released.
It will then be available for study. Descendants will be able to see how their forebears lived at the start of the 21st Century.
With the Census only five days away, it is fair to say the clock is ticking for the ABS!
I wish everyone involved in this great undertaking all the best. I am sure it will be a great success as a lot of thought and effort has gone into the planning.
It is now my pleasure to introduce His Excellency the Governor General of Australia, Major-General Michael Jeffery.