Indigenous people in the Alice Springs town camps: the 2001 census data

Abstract

This paper analyses 2001 Census data relating to Indigenous people living in the Alice Springs town camps as compared to three other population groups: Indigenous people in the rest of Alice Springs, non-Indigenous people in Alice Springs and Indigenous people living in the outlying communities of the region around Alice Springs. The paper builds on earlier work which observed and reported on the collection of the 2001 Census in the Alice Springs town camps. The paper finds expected similarities between Indigenous town camp residents and Indigenous people in outlying communities. It also finds expected socio-economic differences between town camp residents and Indigenous people living in the rest of Alice Springs, and even greater differences in comparison with the non-Indigenous residents of Alice Springs. The paper identifies a number of shortcomings and inadequacies in the 2001 Census data used, but argues that these do not nullify the usefulness of the larger exercise. Rather they point the way to improvements in census collection procedures which may hopefully be implemented in 2006.