Average annual afternoon wind speeds (km/h)

This FACT indicates the average annual afternoon wind speeds, in kilometres per hour, measured at 3pm in each Australian city between the years 1893 to 2010. Note that each city has various lengths of records kept. Wind speed, or wind velocity, is commonly measured with an anemometer. Wind speed measurement is important as it affects weather forecasts, outdoor work operations, maritime operations, construction projects and the growth rate of plants. The city with the highest wind speed average is Brisbane at 18.5 kilometres per hour. The city with the lowest is Canberra at 11.5 kilometres per hour, followed by Melbourne, at 14.2 kilometres per hour.

Cost of a speeding fine at exactly 5 km/h over the limit

Research shows that penalties for speeding such as demerit points or cost can often be an effective tool in reducing the number of accidents on our roads. The 'Cameras Save Lives' campaign by the Victorian Government is typical of the rationale.

However, the cost and frequency of receiving a fine can have a significant impact on a household budget. Some view speeding fines simply as a revenue raising exercise for Governments.

The cost of infringements is extremely high in most Australian cities, though some face more punitive fines than others.  This FACT indicates the cost of a speeding fine in each Australian city when the speed of the vehicle exceeds to exactly 5 km/hr over the designated speed limit. Note: the fine is for cars and not necessarily heavy vehicles.

This FACT is also ranked high to low (high is good) in the Community and Safety category.

Electricity usage for other industries per 100,000 persons (GW/hr) (Regional)

This FACT indicates the electricity usage (gigawatt/hr) for all industries other than manufacturing in each state and territory as a proportion of 100,000 people. The state/territory with the highest usage was Western Australia with 88.9 GW/hr per 100,000 people. The state with the lowest is Victoria with 638.3 GW/hr per 100,000 people.

*NOTE: Data for the Australian Capital Territory could not be obtained.

Population weighted density of cities

Because of a relatively small population and urban sprawl, city density is much lower than what is experienced in other countries. Population density is measured by the number of people per square kilometres. While many argue that low density is a positive thing, it does impact other important quality-of-living factors, such as public transport services, social services and car dependency.

There are numerous ways of calculating urban density. Open space on the edge of the metropolitan areas can often skew densities. We have therefore searched for a more suitable approach. 'Charting Transport.com' have devised an approach that only includes populated areas.  Population weighted density is a weighted average of the density of all the parcels of land in the city, with the population of each parcel of land providing the weighting. This provides a figure indicative of the residential density of the “average person”. A city where a large proportion of people live in dense areas will have a much higher weighted population density than average population density. The data is based on 2011 census data.

The measure is Pop-weighted density, persons/ hectare (all SA1s)

Rio Olympic Medallists by hometown (Regional)

Australia sent over 400 athletes to compete at the Rio Olympic Games. Australia won a total of 29 medals in Rio, of which 8 were gold, 11 silver and 10 bronze. 59 athletes returned with a medal and a total medal count of 70 medals was accrued due multiple winnings by athletes as well as group/team wininngs. But which states or territories outperformed the others? This FACT indicates the number of Rio Olympic Medalists by home state or territory. The state with the high number of medal winners was New South Wales, with 19 medals. The states with the least was the ACT, NT, and Tasmania with 0.