Remote Australia Online

Access to effective services and programs is necessary to improve wellbeing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in remote Australia. Without genuine participation of Aboriginal community members in the design, governance, and delivery of services, desired service delivery outcomes are rarely achieved. Using a "shared space" model, Aboriginal communities, governments, and scientists came together to design and develop the Interplay Wellbeing Framework. This Framework brings together stories and numbers (or qualitative and quantitative data) to represent community values for the purpose of informing program and policy agendas. This article unpacks what community members saw as making a service work well and why. The domains of empowerment and community functioning are discussed and their relationship to effective service delivery demonstrated.

This study is aimed at improving the safety, comfort, productivity and energy efficiency of enterprise buildings in remote communities. Two building types, besser block and steel frame, were investigated in both hot arid and hot humid climate zones of northern Australia. Adaptation to climate change and the increasing cost of electricity are key drivers for improving the thermal efficiency of the built environment. The need is particularly acute in remote regions of Australia where temperatures and energy costs are rising. Additionally, building construction for new enterprises is largely reliant on building energy efficiency codes developed in the major cities where the climates are temperate or cool.1 Remote community buildings in Far North Queensland (FNQ) and Central Australia (CA) have unique requirements. Electricity and transport are expensive, incomes are relatively low and maintenance services are almost non-existent. At the same time, enterprise buildings have to provide an environment that is safe and productive while coping with climate extremes that are rarely encountered in Australian cities. The case studies reported here quantify the impact of climate extremes on enterprise buildings in remote Australia. The report will describe the current usage and performance of eight buildings, including their design, function, electricity consumption and thermal response to climate variables. It will provide assessments of the thermal and energy efficiencies of these buildings using AccuRate, a standard tool used throughout Australia to assess the thermal efficiency of buildings. The assessments are intended to inform guidelines for designing remote community enterprise buildings for improved comfort and energy efficiency. They will also demonstrate how the standard building energy efficiency model AccuRate can be adapted for use in remote Australia. Key outcomes and recommendations 1. Electricity consumption savings of up to 40% are achievable if out-of-hours consumption is reduced by: - assessing if appliances and equipment need to run or operate in standby mode 24 hours a day - use of automated controllers to switch off appliances when and where appropriate. 2. Electricity can be saved and comfort improved in buildings with air conditioning by upgrading building design so that air conditioners do not need to run 24 hours a day. Upgrades include: - insulating the walls and ceilings and reducing uncontrolled draughts - using controlled forced ventilation at night in buildings with high thermal mass. 3. The buildings without air conditioning were typically unoccupied for most of the day from late spring to early autumn due to excessive heat. The temperature can be reduced by as much as 5−10 °C and the number of available working days increased by upgrading building design using: - low thermal emissivity foil insulation on the underside of roofs - trees and shrubs to provide shade and transpiration cooling - replacing uninsulated skylights with high insulation translucent honeycomb units - forced ventilation. 4. Evaporative coolers, although very efficient, are too hazardous for use in remote locations due to lack of maintenance resources. The key risks are scaling blockages in sprinklers, leading to fires, and health issues associated with warm stagnant water. 5. The house energy efficiency design and NatHERS rating tool AccuRate could be made suitable for designing thermally efficient enterprise buildings in remote Australia by allowing: - users to input thermal load parameters to account for occupancy and equipment - users to input external environment temperature - calculation of the benefit of low thermal emissivity foil insulation - calculation of the benefit of forced ventilation at different times of day.

Directory of Grants and Initiatives for Desert Businesses

Indigenous language endangerment is critical in Australia, with only 120 of 250 known languages remaining, and only 13 considered strong. A related issue is the gap in formal education outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people compared with other Australians, with the gap wider in remote regions. Little empirical research exists in Australia to explore the role of developing Aboriginal literacy through bilingual education to address these combined issues. As a ‘shared space’ collaboration between remote communities, government, and scientists, the Interplay Wellbeing Framework and associated Survey were designed to represent community values and priorities in a quantifiable system to inform policy and practice. A cohort of 842 Aboriginal people aged 15–34 years from four remote communities completed individual surveys designed and administered by Aboriginal community researchers. We applied structural equation modelling to this data to understand the role of cultural indicators on education outcomes. Results confirmed the importance of strong relationships between community and schools. Furthermore, learning about culture and learning literacy in ones first language in schools to develop Aboriginal literacy, is established as a necessary step to improve English literacy in remote schools. This suggests bilingual education and strengthening culture and community involvement in schools are necessary to improve both education outcomes and language preservation.

27/11/14: published

Productivity, income and gender: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists

This article reports on a study of the specificities of transport costs supplying remote Australian communities and enterprises. The author reminds readers that many Australian population centers are small and scattered over both great distances and in extreme climatic conditions. In addition, the country faces high supply chain costs and low median incomes, particularly in remote areas where a large number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people live. The author develops a methodological framework specific to the remote Australian context that includes a comprehensive evaluation of transport externalities. The sampling includes eight sites across remote Australia reflecting a wide range of communities in terms of population sizes and geographic conditions. Transport costs are then evaluated for different transportation modes. The author identifies a critical aspect of transport systems characterizing remote Australia: not having access to effective transport magnifies externalities. The author concludes that studying externalities can successfully provide some quantitative indication of accessibility costs. The author proposes the use of monetized indications to determine remoteness level as opposed to some of the stereotyping linear formulas currently used derived that are from distances or population center size.

A theory of enhancement of professional learning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander pre-service teachers in very remote communities through mobile learning

This paper takes a socio-historical perspective to a range of issues arising at the cultural interface within one western desert Aboriginal community (X). The authors reflect upon how these issues have impacted upon teaching and learning in a context that is highly politicised. The study on which this paper is based goes beyond those causes typically identified as underlying the profound disadvantages affecting the education of Aboriginal people i.e. geographical isolation, minimal use or knowledge of Standard Australian English (which accounts for significant proportions of Aboriginal children who begin school in remote parts of Western Australia); and a high degree of chronic health conditions. It explores how power, knowledge and Aboriginal-state relations have conspired to create a perfect storm between school and Council such that students have at times not been permitted to attend and Aboriginal education officers often fear reprisals. In this context arbitrary school closure and Aboriginal customary law have occasionally taken precedence over human rights and exercise of state law. This paper examines perceptions about Aboriginal self-government and the limits of authority through the lens of performance/performativity theory.

This report assesses transport costs in remote Australia at a community level and is aimed at community stakeholders and people involved in planning and operational community development activities. Travellers themselves do not have always clear knowledge of transport costs and may find useful information to better understand some of the main economic parameters of transport activities. How are transport systems in remote Australia? In remote Australia overall, transport systems are less safe, less efficient and less reliable than in non-remote Australia. There is a shortage of transport infrastructures and services. These shortages are likely to be increasing in the context of demographic, economic and climate changes. How much does transport cost in Australia? Annual transport costs range from $8,000 to $18,000/person in Australia. In Australia, people pay $600–$7,500 per year as personal transport expenses. These expenses are on average two to three times higher in non-remote Australia than in remote Australia. The externalities associated with ineffective transport activities range between $6,500 and $17,000 per person per year. These costs are much higher (average of two times higher) in remote Australia than in non-remote Australia. What are the cost differences between transport modes in remote and non-remote Australia? For people who have access to a car, combined annual transport costs are relatively comparable between non-remote and remote Australia. For people who regularly use public transport, combined annual costs (personal expenses and externalities) are around $3,000 higher in remote Australia. For people who do not have access to public or private motorised vehicles, combined annual costs are $4,000–$7,000 higher for people living in remote Australia than for people living in non-remote Australia. Ineffective public transport and a lack of appropriate motorised vehicles increase socio-economic exclusion. This is particularly a concern for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in very remote communities. What do transport costs represent compared to median incomes? Total transport costs as a proportion of the median income are 20–40% higher in remote Australia. One factor is the lower median incomes; however, transport access is the primary factor, with combined costs of personal expenses and externalities representing 60–80% of the median annual income of people living in very remote communities, who are more susceptible to being left without regular access to motorised transport. How transport costs could be decreased? Providing multimodal infrastructure; more affordable, more appropriate and more efficient motorised vehicles, with maintenance facilities; more affordable and regular public transport services; and more affordable and regular community transport services could help to decrease transport personal expenses and transport externalities. In the long term, the use of alternative fuels could enhance the resilience of remote communities and enterprises. Synthesis of key issues: The tyranny of distance is an everyday reality in remote Australia, where transport systems have been continuously improving over the last century through great achievements. Remote Australia has a small population increase, high living costs, high unemployment rates, low incomes, high inequalities in terms of access and an ageing population. In remote Australia, at a community level, transport costs vary considerably from one person to another and from one community to another. However, several trends can be identified: the fact that people travel more is compensated by the fact that people pay less of their personal money per kilometre to travel around than in non-remote Australia. Non-business trips tend to be undertaken by sharing and more use of the vehicles that are accessible and more reliance on non-motorised transport, which is considerably slower. Furthermore, there are fewer transport services available, and the people who are financially disadvantaged invest less in vehicles and equipment, insurance and administration, operating costs and public transport. Critically low private spending and public investment in terms of the size of the areas covered by the public transport network create in turn significant health, social, productivity and wellbeing externalities. This situation is exacerbated by the facts that transport needs are generally greater in remote Australia, that transport activities have to be regularly undertaken in hazardous conditions, and that there is a larger proportion of people with reduced mobility than in non-remote Australia. Employment opportunities are also restricted by high transport costs. As a result, the most disadvantaged communities in terms of transport costs are the most disadvantaged communities in terms of remoteness, income and living costs. For people who are the most underprivileged, which include a higher proportion of women, elderly, disabled, ethnic minorities and low-income people (Dodson et al. 2004b),transport restrictions result in more intense socio-economic forms of exclusion with adverse effects for the communities and the remote Australia economy in general. In a context of population growth and climate change, developing the access to appropriate private motorised transport and efficient public transport as well as opportune policies would help to achieve substantial results.

The present research models Indigenist research methodology, embedded within the marketing discipline, to investigate barriers to Australians participating in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tourism. Interviews with operators showed that they are keen to attract more Australian consumers, and almost half of Australians surveyed online reported they have some probability of participating in the next five years, yet Australian participation is still low. Foundational to the present research is enacting an Indigenist research methodology (Rigney, L-I 1999), through application of mixed-methods research design, a circular stakeholder engagement approach is achieved through continual operator engagement to ensure that operators are fully represented throughout the research process. Nine operators from six remote Aboriginal tourism businesses that reflected industry variance, including operational models, job descriptions and region/climate types, were interviewed to develop an understanding of the marketing issues affecting them, and what they believe to be the barriers to Australian participation. These interviews informed the development of a survey, administered online, designed to reveal what potential Australian customers associate with remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tourism and their probability of participation. Interview results suggest that operators are keen to understand how to market to domestic consumers, yet remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tourism held very low recall as a form of tourism available in remote areas among the 947 survey respondents. This extends knowledge that Mental Availability is an indicator of brand share (Sharp, B 2010) and that brands with lower market share are bought less often by fewer people (Uncles, Ehrenberg & Hammond 1995) to this context and explains why this low recall may contribute to low participation by Australians. However, survey results suggest that rejection levels for remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tourism are much higher than expected, which refutes previous findings regarding expected levels of rejection (Bogomolova & Romaniuk 2009), and suggests that this may also contribute to low participation by Australians and provide insight into the compounding factors that affect participation in this industry.

There is a need for beef businesses to regularly collect and analyse data about cattle and pasture performance, to benchmark and improve business performance, to set and adjust stocking rates, to implement supplementation programs and to plan long-term carrying capacities. High costs of mustering; weather conditions; and lack of labour, infrastructure and on-farm skills can prevent timely weighing of cattle or measurements of pasture. The Precision Pastoral Management System (PPMS) seeks to automate these tasks and deliver the results to the manager’s computer. Industry consultation revealed support for the concept, and development began in 2011 by the CRC for Remote Economic Participation. To minimise adoption barriers, beef producers are engaged in development and trialling. While commercialisation of the PPMS is still some years away, the project team’s experiences may assist other researchers to develop technology products for beef producers in remote Australia.

The limited empirical evidence available in Australia points to beneficial effects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ identification with their culture across a range of outcome domains. Living in remote communities, with limited mainstream economic opportunity, services and infrastructure – notably inadequate housing – and the associated mobility that maintains connection to country and kinship networks have been highlighted as cultural aspects that contribute to lower outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, relative to other Australians, on many mainstream indicators of socioeconomic wellbeing. This paper uses data from Waves 1–7 of the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (LSIC) to explore the interrelationships between families’ housing, culture and remoteness and their children’s outcomes across domains covering physical health, social and emotional wellbeing and cognitive development. Exploratory factor analysis of parents’ responses to questions on culture in Waves 1–4 of the LSIC identifies three key elements of parental attitudes and practices with respect to passing on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture to their child: Connection to Country, Connection to Kin and Traditional Knowledge. The Connection to Country and Kin factors are interpreted as reflecting parental aspirations to promote the child’s sense of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identity. The paper addresses an important weakness in the existing empirical literature, since the research design eliminates the possibility of (the child’s) outcomes ‘causing’ greater cultural identity or engagement. Parents fostering a strong kinship connection is found to contribute to positive child development across the domains investigated. Desire to pass on traditional knowledge appears to be complementary to better cognitive outcomes, but it is correlated with lower school attendance. These findings support arguments that schooling in remote areas should be more culturally appropriate. Greater remoteness is associated with inferior aspects of housing, notably more crowding and a high incidence of government and community housing, but there is little evidence that this has a substantial impact on child outcomes. Parental education, having at least one parent in work and adequate family financial resources are found to be associated with positive child development.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art is a distinctive feature of Australia’s cultural and creative landscape and a sizeable component of Australian identity. While the political dimensions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art remain much contested, the aesthetic and economic aspects are better established. Reflecting the prominent place of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art in Australian society, there have been – for over 40 years – numerous attempts to place Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art into the global art market, as both a cultural experience and a commercial opportunity. This paper surveys the uneven history of these attempts and the often contradictory motivations at work. These attempts are given some context through statistical information, and the paper concludes with a summary of the current challenges and opportunities.

BACKGROUND: International studies of the health of Indigenous and tribal peoples provide important public health insights. Reliable data are required for the development of policy and health services. Previous studies document poorer outcomes for Indigenous peoples compared with benchmark populations, but have been restricted in their coverage of countries or the range of health indicators. Our objective is to describe the health and social status of Indigenous and tribal peoples relative to benchmark populations from a sample of countries. METHODS: Collaborators with expertise in Indigenous health data systems were identified for each country. Data were obtained for population, life expectancy at birth, infant mortality, low and high birthweight, maternal mortality, nutritional status, educational attainment, and economic status. Data sources consisted of governmental data, data from non-governmental organisations such as UNICEF, and other research. Absolute and relative differences were calculated. FINDINGS: Our data (23 countries, 28 populations) provide evidence of poorer health and social outcomes for Indigenous peoples than for non-Indigenous populations. However, this is not uniformly the case, and the size of the rate difference varies. We document poorer outcomes for Indigenous populations for: life expectancy at birth for 16 of 18 populations with a difference greater than 1 year in 15 populations; infant mortality rate for 18 of 19 populations with a rate difference greater than one per 1000 livebirths in 16 populations; maternal mortality in ten populations; low birthweight with the rate difference greater than 2% in three populations; high birthweight with the rate difference greater than 2% in one population; child malnutrition for ten of 16 populations with a difference greater than 10% in five populations; child obesity for eight of 12 populations with a difference greater than 5% in four populations; adult obesity for seven of 13 populations with a difference greater than 10% in four populations; educational attainment for 26 of 27 populations with a difference greater than 1% in 24 populations; and economic status for 15 of 18 populations with a difference greater than 1% in 14 populations. INTERPRETATION: We systematically collated data across a broader sample of countries and indicators than done in previous studies. Taking into account the UN Sustainable Development Goals, we recommend that national governments develop targeted policy responses to Indigenous health, improving access to health services, and Indigenous data within national surveillance systems.

Interplay Wellbeing Framework: The role of education in the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from remote communities (Review)

Limitations of vegetation surveys: characterising plant species richness

BACKGROUND to research: On track is an interdisciplinary research project, with partners from Desert Knowledge CRC, CSIRO, Charles Darwin, Murdoch, JCU and Curtin Universities, aims to improve the capacity of desert settlements to provide viable 4WD tourism products while protecting cultural, social and natural values. AIMS of research: An exploratory study to understand club members 4WD drive experiences, motivations, activities, trip planning,best & worst experiences & trip improvements, and some general socio-demographic information METHODOLOGY: STAGE 1: Focus group with 15 4WD Victoria club members in February 2006. The results were used to develop a 4 page self-administered survey. STAGE 2: Data collected between July and September 2006. Surveys were distributed with the help of 4WD Victoria to their club members. 190 completed surveys were returned, representing a 33% response rate.

Livelihoods and sustainability: local to global parallels

The desert regions of the world comprise about 25% of the world's land surface and are home to 500 million people, yet are often portrayed as extreme places with resident communities marginalised from mainstream development. Australia has a relatively vast desert region, covering about 70% of the continent and home to about 200,000 people. As in most desert regions around the world, perceptions of hardship and isolation are enduring images with communities seen to be stoic yet in need of subsidies from the 'mainstream' economy. The multi-dimensional nature of the debate about the future of Australia's desert region often leaves policy makers with little overarching synthesis to guide public policy. This article draws together research on climate change, energy, housing and transport to provide a transdisciplinary analysis of how the desert region could become a highly liveable and prosperous area for existing and new residents.

Grazing management in the Western Australian rangelands is very challenging due to highly variable climate, land systems and vegetation combined with expansive paddocks. There is a debate about which of the two grazing management strategies -Continuous: livestock graze one paddock throughout the year -Rotational: livestock rotate through paddocks monthly is better in terms of animal production, conservation and profit. Comparisons have been studied previously, however this project will be one of few that has occurred in a commercial environment. The management systems are compared by analysing sheep live weights, body condition scores, wool profiles and diet. These parameters will reflect the nutritional value of feed available, which will be influenced bythe management systems. Additionally in this project, nutritional value of apparently palatable rangeland plants will be collected. This will be invaluable information for pastoralists and rangeland scientists.

The Australian Bush Tomato (Solanum centrale J.M. Black) has long been a part of the tradition of the Indigenous people of Australia. It is being used as food and recently has found additional use in the food industry as a condiment. However, one of the concerns for its potential commercialisation is the suspected presence of poisonous alkaloids, solanidine and its glycosides. The toxicity associated with these alkaloids could severely compromise its food safety and thus, there is an urgent need to develop methods to confirm unequivocally the presence or absence of the solanidines in the Australian Bush Tomato.

This chapter reports results from one of several ongoing avenues of investigation into the relationship between Indigenous Australians’ attachment to traditional culture and their socioeconomic outcomes and wellbeing. In an analysis of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2002 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS), Dockery (2010a) presented evidence that Indigenous people with stronger attachment to their culture fare better on a range of outcomes: self-assessed health, substance abuse, incidence of arrest, employment and educational attainment. Motivating this analysis was an attempt to reconsider the enduring debate between the two predominant and opposing schools of thought on how best to address relations between the Indigenous Australian peoples and what has become ‘mainstream’ society: self-determination versus assimilation. This has been fought out primarily as a normative debate, with different camps offering their views on what should improve the wellbeing of Indigenous Australians. It is also a debate that has been largely premised on the assumption that elements of traditional Indigenous culture are incompatible with the achievement of socioeconomic outcomes valued in mainstream society. Even those who argue for the right of Indigenous people to maintain traditional culture and lifestyles often present this choice as a trade-off with socioeconomic outcomes valued in the mainstream, but as a legitimate choice for Indigenous people to make.

The Pathways Project was one of 12 research projects of the Cooperative Research Centre for Remote Economic Participation (CRC-REP), which is managed by Ninti One Limited. The project began in 2012 and was completed in June 2016. The research project was guided by the following questions: - How do Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people who reside in (very) remote communities navigate their way into meaningful livelihoods? - What kinds of work might help to support sustainable livelihood outcomes? - What kinds of learning could support meaningful livelihood agendas, aspirations and pathways? This working paper summarises a two-day workshop held at Katherine, Northern Territory, 23–24 February 2016, which brought together 28 key stakeholders committed to contributing to a thriving economic ecosystem in the Roper-Gulf Region with direct benefit for local Aboriginal peoples. The workshop aimed to map out a supportive environment for enterprising pathways and identify key practical steps for its growth.

Local housing strategies: responding to the affordability crisis