Ben Fordham:
The Federal Government is hoping that today’s Census is going to be as smooth as silk. Otherwise the Assistant Treasurer, Michael Sukkar, is going to be in big, big trouble and he is on the line right now. Michael Sukkar, good morning to you.
Minister Sukkar:
Good morning, Ben. You’ve set the scene up very well.
Ben Fordham:
Have you double checked the computer? Everything’s working okay?
Minister Sukkar:
Well, Ben, this year there’s been a few changes. We’ve completely rebuilt the digital capability. We’ve worked very closely with the Australian Cyber Security Centre and this year – with our online capability – we actually encouraged Australians to complete their survey as soon as they received their letter. I can report to you for the first time that we’ve – as of midnight – received 3.3 million surveys back which covers about 8.5 million Australians. So we’re actually a third of the way through already and we’ll be encouraging the other two-thirds of Australians to – over the course of today and this evening – get online and complete their survey. It’s, touch wood, gone pretty well for the first third. We just need to ensure that that continues to for the remainder.
Ben Fordham:
Has it got to be done by midnight tonight?
Minister Sukkar:
No, so people will be followed up if their survey is not submitted by Thursday, 12th of August. So they’ve got a couple of days after tonight but we do really encourage Australians, if they can, to get on and do it tonight but there is some leeway for the next couple of days – Wednesday and Thursday. Only after then, if you haven’t completed it, we’ll follow you up and just check in on why you’ve been unable to complete it. It is mandatory, we do need the data from all Australians because the more data we get, the better the picture that we get and therefore the better the delivery of services.
Ben Fordham:
There is a bit going on in Sydney households at the moment. I know you’re based in the ACT but we’ve got parents working from home, teaching kids from home, so it’s very busy at the moment. How long does it take to fill this thing out?
Minister Sukkar:
It shouldn’t take you too long. I must say the average times are sort of around the 15 to 20 minute mark. I know it’s extraordinarily hard. My wife and two boys are in lockdown in Melbourne so we’ve experienced it ourselves. It’s a pretty quick process, we try to keep the Census as punchy as possible whilst getting all the data that we need but it is pretty quick, pretty straight forward. Most people have been able to get on and get it done really quickly with minimum disruption.
Ben Fordham:
Have you filled out yours?
Minister Sukkar:
Yes, I’ve done mine. I thought I would do mine early this year because I’m going to have a pretty busy day today and then tonight we’ll be watching very closely to ensure that everything runs smoothly. I thought it would be good for me to get mine done and I, touch wood, got through it pretty quickly and pretty easily.
Ben Fordham:
And when they ask who does the majority of the house work in your home?
Minister Sukkar:
Well, Ben, no doubt it was me, I mean I carry the load. No, I’m joking. That’s one area of constant discussion between my wife and I and I suppose all I can do is commit to do better next year. She certainly carries the load there.
Ben Fordham:
We appreciate your time and we encourage people to go and fill out the Census. Michael Sukkar, thank you very much.
Minister Sukkar:
Thanks so much, Ben.