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INTRODUCTION NT ADMINISTRATIVE REGIONS 1.1 NORTHERN TERRITORY BY REGIONS, SUMMARY
(a) Average annual growth rate. (b) See Glossary. (c) Components may not add to totals due to rounding. POPULATION ESTIMATED RESIDENT POPULATION The estimated resident population in the Northern Territory at June 2003 was 198,351 with an average annual growth rate of 0.9% for the five years to June 2003. Population growth over the five years to June 2003 was unevenly spread across the NT, with a decrease in the populations of the Katherine and Barkly regions offsetting the increase in the populations of the other four regions. At 30 June 2003 more than half of the NT population lived in Darwin SD and Environs (55.4%) with 34.5% of the total NT population residing in Darwin City SSD. Darwin SD and Environs had an average annual growth rate of 1.3% for the five years to June 2003, with Palmerston-East Arm SSD contributing significantly with an average annual growth rate of 6.4% over this period. The major regional centres of Alice Springs, Katherine and Tennant Creek accounted for 19.1% of the NT population at June 2003. ESTIMATED RESIDENT INDIGENOUS POPULATION The experimental estimated resident Indigenous population in the NT at June 2001 was 56,875, representing around 29% of the NT population, compared with around 2% nationally. Darwin Region Balance was estimated to have the highest proportion of Indigenous persons at 30 June 2001 (77.8%), while Darwin SD and Environs had the lowest (10.5%). More than nine out of every 10 people were estimated to be Indigenous in the SLAs of Bathurst-Melville, West Arnhem, East Arnhem - Bal and Tennant Creek - Bal. In contrast, more than nine out of every 10 people in Litchfield Shire SSD and Nhulunbuy SLA were estimated to be non-Indigenous. AGE AND SEX STRUCTURE Males continued to significantly outnumber females in the NT, with 111 males for every 100 females at 30 June 2003, compared to 99 males for every 100 females nationally. At 30 June 2002 males outnumbered females in every region, ranging from 112 males per 100 females in Darwin SD and Environs to 105 males per 100 females in Central Region. Females outnumbered males only in the 5-14 year age group in Barkly Region (50.8% female) and in the 65 years and over age group in Darwin Region Balance (55.5% female), East Arnhem Region (54.0% female) and Central Region (52.3% female). EMPLOYMENT CDEP The Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) scheme, which until 2004 was administered by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Services (ATSIS), provides much of the Indigenous employment in the Territory. Under the scheme, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people voluntarily forego their individual entitlement to unemployment benefits and take part in community development initiatives in return for wages equivalent to their foregone benefit. Participants are considered to be employed and so the program has a significant influence on NT labour force estimates. At December 2003 there were 7,859 CDEP participants in the NT, a similar number to that at the same time a year before (7,801). Katherine Region and Darwin Region Balance had the highest numbers of participants employed under the CDEP scheme at December 2003 (1,962 and 1,897 respectively) while Darwin SD and Environs had the smallest number of participants (314). CDEP Participants—December 2003 PRICES, INCOME AND EXPENDITURE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX Between March quarter 2003 and March quarter 2004 the Consumer Price Index for Darwin rose 1.1% compared to a rise of 2.0% for the weighted average of the eight capital cities. The greatest increases for Darwin were recorded for health (up 7.2%), alcohol and tobacco (up 4.2%) and education (up 3.5%). The indexes for transportation and recreation decreased over the same period by 3.2% and 4.1% respectively. INCOME In 2000-01 the average net tax paid by individual taxpayers in the NT was $8,254. East Arnhem Region recorded both the highest average taxable income ($47,081) and average net tax paid by individual taxpayers ($11,438). Barkly Region had both the lowest average taxable income ($36,437) and the lowest average net tax paid by individual taxpayers ($7,247). The SLA of Groote Eylandt had the highest average taxable income at $54,815 (44.7% higher than the average for the NT as a whole), largely as a result of mining activities in this area. INCOME SUPPORT Selected Centrelink income support benefits In 2002-03 Central Region had the highest rate of persons receiving an Age Pension at 32.2 per 1,000 population, followed by Darwin SD and Environs (30.3). Darwin Region Balance recorded the highest rate of persons receiving Newstart Allowance (171.0 per 1,000 population), followed by the Katherine and East Arnhem regions with rates of 106.8 and 105.6 per 1,000 population respectively. Darwin Region Balance recorded the highest rate of persons receiving Parenting Payment Single (39.2 per 1,000 population), followed by the Katherine and Central Regions (32.6 and 31.2 per 1,000 population respectively). Darwin Region Balance also had the highest rate of persons receiving Youth Allowance (38.0 per 1,000 population), followed by Central Region and East Arnhem Region with 25.7 and 20.2 per 1,000 population respectively. Selected Veterans' pensions At June 2003 there were 1,254 pensioners in the NT receiving one or more of Disability, Veteran or Partner Service or War Widow(er) Pensions from the Department of Veterans' Affairs. Over three quarters of these pensioners resided in Darwin SD and Environs (78.9%), with Central Region (11.9%) and Katherine Region (5.3%) having the next highest proportions. Disability Pension was the most common form of payment (received by 789 pensioners in the NT) followed by Veteran Service Pension (312). LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY TRAFFIC INFRINGEMENTS In 2003 there were 40,085 traffic infringement notices issued by police in the NT, down 18.1% from 2002. Exceeding the speed limit remained the most common type of traffic infringement notice in the NT, accounting for 81.8% of all traffic infringement notices in 2003. This figure includes speed camera infringements which fall predominantly in Darwin SD and Environs and Central Region. By region, Darwin SD and Environs had the highest proportion of notices for exceeding the speed limit (85.9%) while Central Region had the highest proportion of notices for failing to comply with seatbelt laws (19.2%). DOMESTIC VIOLENCE APPLICATIONS Domestic violence applications are the initiating document in a domestic violence matter. They can be lodged by individuals or by police. In 2003 there were 1,601 domestic violence applications lodged in the Magistrates Court, up 3.6% from 2002. Between 2002 and 2003 the number of applications lodged by individuals declined by 14.2% while the number of applications lodged by police increased by 45.5%. Domestic violence applications lodged by police outnumbered applications by individuals in three of the NT's six regions - Darwin Region Balance (75.0% of all applications), East Arnhem Region (66.1%) and Barkly Region (51.5%). In 2003 Barkly Region recorded the highest rate of domestic violence applications lodged per 10,000 population (228.9), which was nearly three times more than the NT total application rate (80.7). In contrast, East Arnhem Region and Darwin SD and Environs recorded the lowest application rates (44.4 and 64.8 respectively). HEALTH CAUSES OF DEATH In 2002 the most prevalent causes of death in all regions of the NT were diseases of the circulatory system (including heart disease) and malignant neoplasms (cancer). Darwin SD and Environs had the highest prevalence of malignant neoplasms comprising 25.9% of the total deaths for that region while the East Arnhem Region had the lowest with 13.2%. Barkly Region had the highest prevalence of deaths due to diseases of the circulatory system at 32.7% while the East Arnhem Region and Darwin Region Balance had the lowest at 17.0% and 19.3% respectively. Diabetes mellitus accounted for about 8% of all deaths in the East Arnhem, Katherine, Barkly and Central Regions, more than double the proportion of deaths due to diabetes mellitus in Darwin SD and Environs (2.9%) and Darwin Region Balance (3.4%). TRANSPORT PETROL PRICES During the three years to March 2004, changes in the average price of unleaded petrol in Darwin, Alice Springs, Katherine and Tennant Creek generally reflected changes in the eight capitals average, although their average prices remained considerably higher than the eight capitals average. At March 2004 the Darwin price was 5.9 cents higher than the eight capitals average price (100.2 and 94.3 cents per litre respectively). Average Petrol Price (Unleaded), Selected Areas HOUSING AND CONSTRUCTION RESIDENTIAL BUILDING APPROVALS Building approvals data is an indicator of expected building activity. Between 2001-02 and 2002–03, approvals for new houses in the NT decreased by 20.1% (from 643 to 514). Darwin SD and Environs accounted for 63.2% of all new house approvals in 2002-03, down slightly from 63.6% of all new house approvals in 2001-02, while Central Region accounted for 15.2% of all new house approvals in 2002-03, up slightly from 14.6% in 2001-02. In contrast, approvals for new other residential building (e.g. units) increased by 41.3% between 2001-02 to 2002-03 (from 303 to 428). The vast majority of new other residential approvals in 2002-03 were in Darwin SD and Environs (84.1%), up from 75.9% of all new other residential approvals in 2001-02, followed by Central Region (11.4%), down from 20.5% in 2001-02. New Residential Building Approvals PUBLIC HOUSING Of the 1,150 tenants allocated public housing in the NT during 2002-03, 56.6% had waited less than six months, 17.4% had waited six to 12 months, and 26.0% had waited more than a year. Applicants in Barkly Region and Darwin SD and Environs experienced the shortest wait times, with the majority of tenants having waited less than six months (74.5% and 61.1% respectively). In contrast, applicants in Central Region experienced the longest wait times, with almost half (49.2%) of the tenants having waited more than 12 months. MINING AND ENERGY MINERAL PRODUCTION In 2002-03 all NT manganese, bauxite and alumina was produced in the East Arnhem Region where large mines are located at Groote Eylandt and Gove. The majority of gold and silver production occurred in the Central Region (88.4% and 61.6% respectively) and all zinc/lead concentrate and diamonds were produced in the Katherine Region from deposits at McArthur River and the Borroloola area. All uranium oxide production occurred in the Darwin Region Balance from deposits at Ranger, Jabiluka and Koongara. The production of nonmetallic minerals other than diamonds increased from 2.2m tonnes in 2001-02 to 2.6m tonnes in 2002-03, an increase mainly attributable to quarry operations in Katherine and Tennant Creek areas for supply of aggregate and rail ballast for the Darwin to Alice Springs railway. TOURISM VISITORS TO THE NT Of the 1.7 million visitors to the NT in 2002-03, 44.8% visited the Top End, 43.3% visited the Central Region, 17.6% visited Katherine Region and 8.9% visited Barkly Region. On average, visitors stayed 7.0 nights in the Top End compared with 3.9 nights in the Central and Katherine Regions and 1.9 nights in Barkly Region. In the Top End 36.7% of visitors came from within the NT, 48.3% were from interstate and 15.0% were from overseas. Conversely, 43.9% of all visitors to the Central Region were from overseas, and only 19.2% were from within the NT. The Katherine and Barkly Regions both had high proportions of interstate visitors (46.8% and 58.9% respectively). Visitors to the Top End accounted for 50.4% of all visitor expenditure, followed by visitors to the Central Region (37.5%) and Katherine Region (9.5%). On average, visitors to the Top End spent more per visitor night than visitors to the other regions. NORTHERN TERRITORY ECONOMY NORTHERN TERRITORY GROSS STATE PRODUCT In 2002-03 the Northern Territory (NT) Gross State Product (GSP) (at current prices) was $9,064m, an increase of 3.1% from the previous year. NT GSP contributed 1.2% to Australia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In 2002-03 NT GSP (at current prices) was $45,870 per capita, which was $7,719 (20.2%) higher than Australia's GDP per capita. NT GSP per capita has been greater than the national average each year since the ABS began to produce GSP estimates (in 1989-90). LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE In 2002-03 the Darwin City Council recorded the highest total revenue ($47.4m) and the highest level of total expense ($44.0m) of all seven municipalities in the NT. Grants were a significant component of total revenue for the smaller municipal councils with Tennant Creek Town Council and Litchfield Shire Council receiving 39.4% and 34.4% of their budgets from grants. In contrast the larger councils such as Darwin and Palmerston City Councils received 8.6% and 12.3% respectively of their budgets from grants. Similarly, grants were a major component of total revenue for the Community Government Councils (CGCs) and Incorporated Associations (IAs), comprising half (49.8%) of the budgets of all CGCs and IAs in the NT in 2002-03. Document Selection These documents will be presented in a new window.
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