The Governor-General, Bill Hayden, dabbled in some more sociology yesterday, this time with a little help from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Mr Hayden set out to lay to rest yesterday the myth that Canberra workers had high levels of earnings.
He did this in three ways. He compared Canberra to other capital cities (as distinct from whole states or territories). He standardised the Canberra figures making allowances for Canberra’s higher education. And he compared Canberra with other similar-sized urban statistical areas in Sydney, and found they were better off.
It appears that the myth of Canberra as a city of high-earners comes about because when statistics are published they put average earnings into categories of state or territory. Canberra comprises nearly the whole of the ACT’s population, so the ACT’s figure (for which everyone reads “”Canberra”) is a high-earning urban one. This figure is compared (with jealousy) to the figures of other states, which have low-earning hinterlands.
Mr Hayden said, “”Because average earnings in the ACT are somewhat higher than in NSW as a whole it does not follow that earnings in Canberra are higher than in Sydney.”
In fact, Sydney’s average income was $31,720 compared to Canberra’s $31,450.
Mr Hayden was speaking at a “”Canberra _ Face of the Nation?” seminar in Brisbane. It is one of a series in the lead up to a conference in Canberra in September. The series is sponsored by the National Capital Planning Authority, the Canberra Business Council, the University of Canberra and the ACT Government.
Mr Hayden said that when earnings were put into educational and gender categories, Canberra did not fare well.
“”I was surprised to discover that for the group in the community that earns the highest incomes _ that is men with degrees _ the highest mean gross earned was in Perth: $53,470. In Canberra, the average was $45,480 _ lower that the national capital-city average and ranking only above Hobart,” he said.
Perth led women with degrees, followed by Sydney, Canberra and Adelaide. Men without degrees was led by Sydney and Melbourne. Canberra was below the national capital-city average.
Canberra, however, led the women without degrees. Mr Hayden suggested that “”reflects the greater career and personal development opportunities now available for keyboard operators and clerical staff within the Public Service”.
A week ago Mr Hayden’s speech to a conference on violence in Canberra drew some sharp criticism from some women’s groups but some praise for its courage and thoughtfulness from other commentators and editorialists.
Mr Hayden pointed out Canberra had the highest proportion of people with university degrees, but once the earnings were standardised for education, Canberra’s earnings came behind Sydney and Melbourne and was only a few dollars above Perth.
Mr Hayden said Canberra was relatively well-off, but there were “”some other parts of Australia which enjoy higher levels of socio-economic advantage _ and I do not mean just the best streets of Toorak and Vaucluse”.
Canberra was behind the statistical divisions of Hornsby-Ku-ring-gai.
Mr Hayden said that when people in the rest of Australia discussed the role of Canberra, “”it is wise to remember that those who live and work in Canberra are not divorced from the Australian experience. They, too, are part of it. They share national advantages as well as disadvantages.”
Canberra showed the face of future Australia _ a better education one. Future prospects would not come with smokestacks, but from hi-tech industries which required higher education.
Mr Hayden praised Sir Robert Menzies for his vision in promoting the growth of Canberra. He also praised the simplicity of Burley Griffin’s plan.
He quoted Griffin emphasis on the need for “”rigid adherence to the principles of honest direct solution of the building problems in a civilisation of aspiring ideals”.
Mr Hayden said, “”in this, I suggest, Griffin gave us the fundamental simplicity that conceals its complexity _ the almost inevitable logic _ the enduring beauty of all great and human achievement. If you doubt this, have a look at the muddle of some of the other entries sq(in the competition to design Canberra) or some of the subsequent attempts by the bureaucracy to improve upon Griffin’s basic design.”