Bill McLennan was born on 26 January 1942 in Grafton, New South Wales. He joined the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on 29 February 1960 as a statistics cadet and by 1964 had completed a degree in Statistics and Economics from the Australian National University and started working at the ABS full-time.
Australian Bureau of Statistics
McLennan spent almost all his career at the ABS. Initially, he worked on sampling and methodology, then was promoted to Assistant Statistician in 1973. He left the ABS in 1979 to become Victorian Deputy Commonwealth Statistician in Melbourne but shortly afterwards, he was promoted to First Assistant Statistician and returned to the ABS as the head of Coordination and Management Division, where he led a review of the Census and Statistics Act in the early 1980s. He oversaw the establishment of the corporate planning system and the production of the ABS's first Corporate Plan in 1987. He championed the adoption of PC and Internet technologies to reduce the cost structure in the ABS[2] and improved the readability of statistical output. In 1986, he became Deputy Australian Statistician. In 1992 McLennan was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia.[3]
Central Statistical Office, United Kingdom
In 1992, McLennan was appointed Director of the Central Statistical Office (CSO) and head of the Government Statistical Service of the United Kingdom. He was the first person from outside the UK to be appointed to that post.
During his tenure, he proposed the merger of the OPCS and the CSO in August 1994, which was subsequently announced by Prime Minister John Major in September 1995 following a consultation period and took place on 1 April 1996 when the Office for National Statistics was launched.[4] He persuaded the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Norman Lamont, to reduce ministerial access to economic statistics in advance of publication and to permit statistics to be released independently of ministers.[5][6] He produced the Official Statistics Code of Practice, first published in April 1995, which set good practice and principles for statisticians producing official statistics with the aim of promoting high standards and maintaining public confidence in official statistics.[7] He led the CSO through its early years as a 'Next Steps Agency' with demanding and quantified targets for the accuracy of statistics.[8]
McLennan became the Australian Statistician and head of the Australian Bureau of Statistics from 1995. During this period, he developed the work and direction of the ABS; placed great emphasis on the professional development of the staff; and provided a focus for the international activities of the Bureau, with a special emphasis on Asia.[10] He retired on 30 June 2000.
^The Australian Bureau of Statistics Leading Edge Project Management Practices at a Board level, a Macquarie Graduate School of Management Case Study, September 2005
^"William Patrick McLennan". Australian Honours Search Facility, Dept of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
^. Archived from the original on 23 April 2007. Retrieved 13 May 2007.
^"Ministers economical with vital statistics?", New Scientist, 20 February 1993.
^"Ministers curbed over sensitive statistics", New Scientist, 27 February 1993.
^Official Statistics Code of Practice, an abstract.
^Country Participation and Chairpersons, UN Statistical Commission
^Official Hansard 5 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine, House of Representatives, Thursday, 29 June 2000, pp 18634-18635
References
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2005), "Informing a Nation: The Evolution of the Australian Bureau of Statistics 1905–2005", ISBN0-642-47985-2.
Bill McLennan, "Privacy and the 2016 Census", Australian Privacy Foundation.
January 01, 2023
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For New Zealand rugby league international see Bill McLennan rugby league William Patrick McLennan AM CBE 26 January 1942 19 March 2022 1 was an Australian statistician who was Director of the Central Statistical Office CSO of the United Kingdom and Australian Statistician head of the Australian Bureau of Statistics Contents 1 Early years 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics 3 Central Statistical Office United Kingdom 4 United Nations Statistical Commission 5 Australian Statistician 6 Notes 7 ReferencesEarly years EditBill McLennan was born on 26 January 1942 in Grafton New South Wales He joined the Australian Bureau of Statistics ABS on 29 February 1960 as a statistics cadet and by 1964 had completed a degree in Statistics and Economics from the Australian National University and started working at the ABS full time Australian Bureau of Statistics EditMcLennan spent almost all his career at the ABS Initially he worked on sampling and methodology then was promoted to Assistant Statistician in 1973 He left the ABS in 1979 to become Victorian Deputy Commonwealth Statistician in Melbourne but shortly afterwards he was promoted to First Assistant Statistician and returned to the ABS as the head of Coordination and Management Division where he led a review of the Census and Statistics Act in the early 1980s He oversaw the establishment of the corporate planning system and the production of the ABS s first Corporate Plan in 1987 He championed the adoption of PC and Internet technologies to reduce the cost structure in the ABS 2 and improved the readability of statistical output In 1986 he became Deputy Australian Statistician In 1992 McLennan was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia 3 Central Statistical Office United Kingdom EditIn 1992 McLennan was appointed Director of the Central Statistical Office CSO and head of the Government Statistical Service of the United Kingdom He was the first person from outside the UK to be appointed to that post During his tenure he proposed the merger of the OPCS and the CSO in August 1994 which was subsequently announced by Prime Minister John Major in September 1995 following a consultation period and took place on 1 April 1996 when the Office for National Statistics was launched 4 He persuaded the Chancellor of the Exchequer Norman Lamont to reduce ministerial access to economic statistics in advance of publication and to permit statistics to be released independently of ministers 5 6 He produced the Official Statistics Code of Practice first published in April 1995 which set good practice and principles for statisticians producing official statistics with the aim of promoting high standards and maintaining public confidence in official statistics 7 He led the CSO through its early years as a Next Steps Agency with demanding and quantified targets for the accuracy of statistics 8 United Nations Statistical Commission EditMcLennan was Chairman of the United Nations Statistical Commission from 1994 to 1995 9 Australian Statistician EditMcLennan became the Australian Statistician and head of the Australian Bureau of Statistics from 1995 During this period he developed the work and direction of the ABS placed great emphasis on the professional development of the staff and provided a focus for the international activities of the Bureau with a special emphasis on Asia 10 He retired on 30 June 2000 Government officesPreceded byJack Hibbert Director of the Central Statistical Office UK1992 1994 Succeeded byTim HoltPreceded byIan Castles Australian Statistician1995 2000 Succeeded byDennis TrewinNotes Edit Trewin Dennis 5 April 2022 Obituary Bill McLennan 1942 2022 Statistical Society of Australia Retrieved 17 June 2022 The Australian Bureau of Statistics Leading Edge Project Management Practices at a Board level a Macquarie Graduate School of Management Case Study September 2005 William Patrick McLennan Australian Honours Search Facility Dept of the Prime Minister and Cabinet Retrieved 30 September 2020 The National Archives Statistical Departments Office for National Statistics Archived from the original on 23 April 2007 Retrieved 13 May 2007 Ministers economical with vital statistics New Scientist 20 February 1993 Ministers curbed over sensitive statistics New Scientist 27 February 1993 Official Statistics Code of Practice an abstract McLennan W You Can Count on Us With Confidence Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A Statistics in Society Vol 158 No 3 1995 pp 467 489 Country Participation and Chairpersons UN Statistical Commission Official Hansard Archived 5 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine House of Representatives Thursday 29 June 2000 pp 18634 18635References EditAustralian Bureau of Statistics 2005 Informing a Nation The Evolution of the Australian Bureau of Statistics 1905 2005 ISBN 0 642 47985 2 Bill McLennan Privacy and the 2016 Census Australian Privacy Foundation Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bill McLennan amp oldid 1097420623, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
