Stats show rise and fall in Indigenous employment
03 September 2018
A CDU analysis of data gathered 30 years apart shows Indigenous employment has risen in Alice Springs but fallen elsewhere in the Red Centre.
Peter Strachan has been comparing data gathered at the Australian Bureau of Statistics Census in 1986 with that taken in 2016 as part of a Masters research project into Indigenous employment in Central Australia.
“The status of Aboriginal employment in Alice was about 31 per cent in 1986 and almost 36 per cent in 2016,” Mr Strachan said. Read more.....
Waste project boosted by funding
03 September 2018
Alice Springs researcher Dr Deepika Mathur has won a $50,000 grant for a project to tackle the mounting challenge of construction industry waste in Australia and India.
The Northern Institute Research Fellow said the project would allow her to deliver workshops in New Delhi and Darwin next year that focus on an issue critical to both nations.
“We will work with colleagues from the University of Melbourne to present the workshops that address crucial construction and demolition waste management issues and bring stakeholders together to learn from each other’s experiences," Dr Mathur said. Full story here
Population expert to brief United Nations
03 September 2018
One of the Territory’s own was given the distinction of presenting new population research to the United Nations this month.
Charles Darwin University Principal Research Fellow Dr Tom Wilson will address the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs at its New York headquarters.
Dr Wilson said the United Nations was keen to hear his findings about whether users wanted to know about uncertainty in subnational population forecasts. It has been a high priority of the division tasked with estimating and projecting levels and trends of populations for every country. Read more.....
Indigenous people are ‘critical to conservation’
07 August 2018
Indigenous people own or manage at least one-quarter of the world’s land surface, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Sustainability. Professor of Conservation and Sustainable Livelihoods Stephen Garnett, who led the international consortium that developed the maps, said that understanding the extent of lands over which indigenous peoples retained traditional connection was critical for several conservation and climate agreements.
Professor Cathy Robinson, of both Charles Darwin University and the CSIRO, said some countries stood out as having significant levels of indigenous engagement with conservation.
“In Australia, nearly half of all protected areas were owned and managed by Indigenous peoples,” she said. “The coincidence between the interests of Indigenous peoples and conservation is a cornerstone of Australia’s conservation policy.” Full story here
Researchers probe mystery of dying turtles
07 August 2018
Environmental researchers are investigating an increase in malnourished and perished long neck turtles at Finniss River, two hours south-west of Darwin.
Research Fellow Dr Carla Eisemberg said CDU was working with Territory Natural Resource Management on the project.
Dr Linda Ford is also involved in the project as she is a Rak Mak Mak Marranunggu a traditional landowner of Twin Hill Station located on the Wagait Aboriginal Land Trust. Read more....
Aussie cities on track for 8 million people
07 August 2018
Australia’s population is on track to reach “somewhere in the high 30 millions” by the middle of the century with Sydney and Melbourne to top over eight million people each, a leading demographer reported to a national conference in Darwin recently. Charles Darwin University Northern Institute Principal Research Fellow Dr Tom Wilson said Sydney and Melbourne would be similar in population by mid-century, and about the size that London is today.
“We expect to see some growth in regional Australia but stronger growth in the capital cities. The percentage of people living in metropolitan areas will increase from about 67 per cent today to about 73 per cent by mid-century,” Dr Wilson said. Full story
Alice counts on migrants to boost population
07 August 2018
One of the keys to increasing Alice Springs’ population could rest with the town’s burgeoning migrant community, Charles Darwin University researchers said at a forum in the Red Centre recently.
CDU Northern Institute Research Fellow Fiona Shalley said that while the town’s population dropped by two per cent in the five years to the 2016 Census, there was a “strong growth potential”, particularly among the Sri Lankan, Taiwanese, Indian and Filipina populations, all of which experienced substantial increases.
“Alice Springs has always had a strong multicultural mix, but this is now more-so than ever with several new migrant communities growing strongly and an increase in the diversity of the overseas-born population,” Ms Shalley said. Read more...
Air-con not the cool option in high density cities
19 July 2018
A new Charles Darwin University study has found that air-conditioners are starting to lose their effectiveness in combatting heat stress in high density population areas.
The study, led by CDU Northern Institute Senior Research Fellow Dr Kerstin Zander, focussed on urban Philippines and investigated perceptions that heat stress increased with population density.
Published online recently in Environmental Research Letters the study found that more than 90 per cent of those surveyed had experienced heat stress and the level of heat stress correlated with population density. Dr Zander said heat stress could harm people’s health, impair well-being and reduce productivity. Read more.....