New England, Australia: New England Australia Demography - Stocktake of posts as at 28 September 2007

Friday, September 28, 2007

New England Australia Demography - Stocktake of posts as at 28 September 2007

Now that the results of the latest Australian census are out and I want to write some more on New England's demography, it seems sensible to do a stocktake of previous posts linked in some way to that demography.

A list follows in more or less chronological order.

Friday 7 July 2006. The past is always present - the Country Party discusses the enduring influence of different European settlement patterns on politics in different parts of NSW.

On 14 November 2006 I began a series of posts examining the NSW State Government's new ten year plan from a New England perspective. Assumptions about demography are central to the plan.

In NSW Ten Year Plan - New England's Needs I set out my perceptions of the needs the plan might meet. This post includes supporting demographic data. My next post, Does the NSW Ten Year Plan Meet New England's Needs?, looked at the structure and objectives of the plan against the needs as I saw them. My conclusions were not positive. This was followed by a concluding post, NSW Ten Year Plan and New England - Conclusions, drawing the analysis together.

On 18 January 2007 in Sydney Government releases draft Mid-North Coast strategy I reported the release of the the Government's strategy for this area as defined by them. Assumptions about population growth are central to this strategy.

I followed this with a post on 23 January, Sydney Government's Coastal Planning Strategies, looking at the coastal strategies as a whole. I was again very critical of the demographic assumptions.

On 5 August 2007 in Sydney's Sluggish Population Growth, I commented on Sydney's growth compared to the other capital cities, querying again the Sydney Government's planning assumptions.

New England's indigenous people spread across many posts.

New England's indigenous population is significantly higher than the national average, with the distribution of the population affected not just by natural increase, but by migration within and beyond New England. All this makes, or should make, issues relating to Aboriginal economic and social development a key policy concern.

In Australia's Aborigines - a Note on Demography (21 December 2006) I looked in a preliminary way at migration patterns. On 7 March 2007 in NSW's Aboriginal Population I provided some data on the regional distribution of Aboriginal people.

One of the points that I made in my analysis of the NSW Government's Ten Year Plan was the need for economic development if New England's problems, including those of its Aboriginal people, were to be properly addressed.

On 4 March 2007 in New England's Poor Towns - a failure in public policy I commented on work done by Professor Vinson that nearly all the poorest and most socially disadvantaged towns and villages in NSW could be found in New England. I followed this in quick succession a second post on the same day - New England and the Immiseration of Public Policy - that extended my argument in a somewhat angry fashion.

On 31 July, in Rental Stress in New England I reported that the top three, and four of the top ten, electorates in NSW suffering rental stress were in New England. The census data provides an opportunity to extend my economic and social analysis in a more rigorous fashion.

Finally, I have yet too look properly at the various ethnic and national groups that have contributed to New England's evolution, although I have referred to it in passing in various posts. However, I have made an in initial foray here with New England's Chinese - Introductory Post (26 February 2007).

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