Blak | Jotup

Eight charts on how Australia’s population is growing – and changing

Retrieved on:

星期二, 四月 9, 2024

And population characteristics can tell us much about how the inhabitants of a place have changed over time and where the population might be headed in the future.

Key Points:

And population characteristics can tell us much about how the inhabitants of a place have changed over time and where the population might be headed in the future.
Unpacking Australia’s population composition reveals the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead.

Living longer and with fewer children

Our increased longevity, alongside below-replacement fertility, means Australia’s population is structurally ageing.
The challenges of an ageing population include greater aged care needs, amid a relative shrinking workforce.
In other words, populations like Australia need to work out how to fund more with fewer financial resources or risk declining living standards.
The shape of population age distribution matters more than ever, especially with evidence indicating children in Australia will be outnumbered by people aged 65 and over in the coming ten years.

High short-term growth, potential for population decline

Australia’s population has grown at a historically high rate since the reopening of international borders during COVID-19.
Most of Australia’s population growth is from overseas migration, as has been the case since 2005 (except during COVID border closures).
Natural population increase – the number of births versus deaths – also contributes to Australia’s rising population.

More diverse than ever

Half the world has below-replacement fertility, and the average number of births per woman is set to decline even further. Australia is competing with the likes of Germany, Canada, the United States, New Zealand and the United Kingdom to attract suitable people to migrate.

From a Blak country to a European colonial settlement, Australia now relies heavily on people migrating from India and China.
First Nations people, for example, have a much younger age profile and higher growth rate than the non-Indigenous people.

City living

Australia’s population is also highly urbanised, with a high concentration of people living along the southeastern coastline from southeast Queensland to Victoria.
By 2036, Melbourne is projected to be Australia’s largest capital city, not surprising give Sydney has a considerable surplus of people moving to live in other places in Australia.
More people are living alone, and the number of people in each household on average is declining.

Liz Allen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

'Reflect, listen and learn': Melissa Lucashenko busts colonial myths and highlights Indigenous heroes

Retrieved on:

星期三, 十月 18, 2023

Melissa Lucashenko’s latest novel, Edenglassie, takes the reader on a journey through magnificent and heartbreaking dual narratives set five generations apart.

Key Points:

Melissa Lucashenko’s latest novel, Edenglassie, takes the reader on a journey through magnificent and heartbreaking dual narratives set five generations apart.
Review: Edenglassie – Melissa Lucashenko (UQP) Lucashenko gifts us with characters impossible to not to invest in.
Read more:
With wit and tenderness, Miles Franklin winner Melissa Lucashenko writes back to the 'whiteman's world'

It’s Granny Eddie’s world

The first character we meet is Granny Eddie, who has been hospitalised after a fall.
Winona laments not seeing her Granny Eddie enough, while also trying to find a job, disrupt the colony and make sure her granny is safe and cared for.
Respectful, kind and considerate, he is trying his best to care for Granny Eddie – and finds himself pushing professional boundaries as he falls head over heels for fiery Winona.
She and Dr Johnny have much to learn from each other as they bond over their care for Granny Eddie.

Shifting time

Lucashenko transports you, shifting through time.
In 1844, we meet Mulanyin, saltwater man, whose inner complexities are explored in depth as he learns the Law and lessons from Country and Ancestors.
With that thought, the boy had the electric realisation that all his life he had been eating the decisions of his Ancestors.
With that thought, the boy had the electric realisation that all his life he had been eating the decisions of his Ancestors.
I am reminded of the poem, The Past, by the late Oodgeroo Noonuccal:
Let no one say the past is dead.
Haunted by tribal memories, I know
This little now, this accidental present
Is not the all of me, whose long making
Is so much of the past.

‘Your body is not your own’

In the present, Winona and Granny Eddie interact and relate with Māori mob, through shared understandings of birthing practices and opposition to white cultural appropriation.
I found myself laughing, crying and fighting off goosebumps as I read.
There were moments when I had to put the book down, to sit with what I was reading.
It is clear Lucashenko has done extensive research to position this historical fiction through past and present Magandjin localities.
This is further evidenced by Lucashenko’s extensive acknowledgments and thanks to contributors and knowledge holders in the book’s author notes.

Ned Kelly's descendants claim cultural heritage rights over the site of his last stand. The Supreme Court disagrees

Retrieved on:

星期一, 七月 31, 2023

The Victorian Supreme Court has determined the descendants of Ned Kelly’s family are not a distinctive cultural group with the right to protections of their “intangible cultural heritage”.

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The Victorian Supreme Court has determined the descendants of Ned Kelly’s family are not a distinctive cultural group with the right to protections of their “intangible cultural heritage”.
The new centre will look at the story of the Kelly gang in the context of Glenrowan’s broader history.
Kelly’s grand-niece, Joanne Griffiths, argues the new structure and landscaping will “disrespect” her family’s “human rights” as cultural “custodians”.

What is White cultural history?

But by invoking their cultural heritage they tasked themselves with the same burden of proof required of First Nations people in fighting for land rights.
Luke Stegemann’s Amnesia Road investigates the entanglement of Stegemann’s life and work in the colonial histories of Queensland and Andalusia.
Tell me what it means to be a white person […] beyond a notion of racial superiority.
White cultural heritage in Australia is made of many memories and histories that intersect with one another, with settlers of colour and with First Nations people.

How we commemorate colonial history

If the Kelly family took a more nuanced position, they could have opened a public conversation about how we commemorate colonial history, the nuances of historical Irish-Blak solidarities, and a deeper sense of White allyship to First Nations people’s human rights.
In Australia, the development of monuments to colonial history continues to be a work in progress.
The proposed development is a chance for a more complex presentation of colonial heritage.

What is NAIDOC week? How did it start and what does it celebrate?

Retrieved on:

星期三, 七月 5, 2023

NAIDOC week is a big celebration for Indigenous people and a highlight on the Blak calendar - it is our Blak Christmas.

Key Points:

NAIDOC week is a big celebration for Indigenous people and a highlight on the Blak calendar - it is our Blak Christmas.
While reconciliation week focuses on relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, NAIDOC week is purely to celebrate our culture and achievements.

A brief history of NAIDOC

Held in the first week of July, NAIDOC has a long history of activism and celebration.
Over the years the event shifted to become one of celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, culture, and history, our survival and our resistance.

This year’s theme: ‘For our Elders’

NAIDOC awards

An event that is very popular is the National NAIDOC awards which acknowledge the contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to our communities.
The “male” and “female” categories unfortunately miss a valuable opportunity to celebrate our leaders who are beyond the gender binary.

The NAIDOC ball

The annual NAIDOC balls held across most states and territories are also a highlight of the week.
It’s also important to consider the accessibility of the key NAIDOC events, such as the awards and balls.
Given NAIDOC is a national celebration, more funding is needed from government and local councils to fund mob to host celebrations.

What does NAIDOC week mean for non-Indigenous people?

Unfortunately NAIDOC week often leads to unpaid labour for many Indigenous people in workplaces, as they are expected to organise NAIDOC events and celebrations.
During NAIDOC week, non-Indigenous people can show their support by not putting extra pressure on Indigenous staff and being involved in the organising of NAIDOC events.
Employers could also include a day off for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff so they can participate in cultural celebrations.