North Australia Research: some past themes and new directions

Abstract

NARU’s research brief is defined as the study of socio-economic problems associated with the consequences of development now taking place in north Australia. The geographical area of interest remains the whole of northern Australia, broadly defined as that part of the continent north of the Tropic of Capricorn, although this was not to be seen as a rigid boundary. The primary area of interest at NARU is in the social sciences, although work into the natural sciences is not excluded. At least six broad areas of study have been undertaken in the past decade, 1981-1991 (cf Apprndix I). These include research into politics with reference to elections, institutions and local government; economic development of the North including land tenure problems, mineral extraction and the use of the ORANI-NT economic model; studies into Aboriginal society and its reactions to non-traditional ways of life; population and migration in north Australia; research into small towns including service provision; and an extensive multidisciplinary study of the coastal wetlands in the Top End. Many of these areas of study are reflected in the essays in this volume.