The Calma-Langton Report of July 2021, on page 120, quantifies the ATSI population in Remote/Very Remote areas as being 120k people meaning there were 678k ATSIs in urban environments. (Mind you, the good professors did a poor job with their maths for the stated total was incorrect but, hey, let’s not be fussy eh).
| Calma-Langton Report July 2021 |
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| Remote | % of |
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| Totals | = | & Very Remote Areas | All Remote |
| Thus |
| Page 120 |
| in each State | Oz |
| Urban |
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NT | 74,546 | 9.34 % |
| 78% | 45,432 | 37.7% |
| 29,114 |
WA | 100,512 | 12.59 % |
| 38% | 28,871 | 24.0% |
| 71,641 |
QLD | 221,276 | 27.72 % |
| 17% | 31,702 | 26.3% |
| 189,574 |
SA | 42,265 | 5.29 % |
| 15% | 5,129 | 4.3% |
| 37,136 |
NSW | 265,685 | 33.28 % |
| 4% | 8,647 | 7.2% |
| 257,038 |
TAS | 28,537 | 3.57 % |
| 3% | 707 | 0.6% |
| 27,830 |
VIC | 57,767 | 7.24 % |
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| 0.0% |
| 57,767 |
ACT | 7,513 | 0.94 % |
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| 0.0% |
| 7,513 |
Other * | 264 | 0.03 % |
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| 0.0% |
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| 798,365 |
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| 120,488 | 100.0% |
| 677,613 |
TSI | 7,407 |
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| - |
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| 7,407 |
| 805,772 |
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| 15% |
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| 85% |
| - |
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*Other = Jervis Bay, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Island territories |
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The Report cites the 2016 Census as the authority for its numbers but a visit to https://abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/search-by-area shows thenumbers total 649k but, hey, let’s not split hairs, what’s the odd 150k or so here orthere …………
https://abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/search-by-area |
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| Aboriginal | TSI | Both | Total |
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NT | 55,808 | 739 | 1,699 | 58,246 | 9.0% |
WA | 72,920 | 1,433 | 1,623 | 75,976 | 11.7% |
QLD | 148,940 | 21,053 | 16,489 | 186,482 | 28.7% |
SA | 32,617 | 941 | 634 | 34,192 | 5.3% |
NSW | 207,250 | 4,840 | 4,080 | 216,170 | 33.3% |
TAS | 21,572 | 1,118 | 890 | 23,580 | 3.6% |
VIC | 44,590 | 2,022 | 1,175 | 47,787 | 7.4% |
ACT | 6,138 | 180 | 189 | 6,507 | 1.0% |
| 589,835 | 32,326 | 26,779 | 648,940 |
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TSI | 227 | 18 | (12) | 233 | 0.0% |
| 590,062 | 32,344 | 26,767 | 649,173 |
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A goodly number of the 678k urban-ATSIs are most likely employed and Iquestion why, in principle, they should receive $$$s from the “NIAA” or somesimilar body and that instead those $$$s should be directed to the 120k ATSIs livingin Remote/Very Remote areas of Australia.
$30bn (per the Productivity Council) divided by 120k “deserving” peoplewould = $250,000 per capita, probably just a teeny-weensy bit more than shouldbe required.
And if 120k citizens choose to live in R/VR areas rather than move towhere jobs might be where they could first help themselves beforeputting their hand out to be cossetted, then maybe their situation mightimprove.
I note, too, on page 182 of the 2023 Intergenerational Report that TreasurerChalmers tabled in Parliament in August “… primary school enrolments droppedover the year …” and “… school attendance rates have been slightly butsteadily decreasing since 2015 …”.
Enrolments decreasing and of thoseenrolled their retention has been decreasing.A compound problem.
It would be interesting to learn how much of this involves ATSI people –whether urban or R/VR people.
35 years ago I participated in a RedeX Bash that travelled through FNQand we stopped in a little whistlestop where the CWA ladies had prepared lunchfor us and we asked the schoolmaster if he’d be lining his kids up along theschool fence so the “circus” could show them our ridiculous cars -always a huge hit in these small towns.
The teacher replied “there are no kids at school this week, they onlyhave to attend school 3 weeks a month for mum ‘n dad to get their $$$s and thisis the 4th week” – we were utterly gobsmacked.No wonder the ATSI education outside the urban areas is deplorable.
We have a long way to go.
