Northern Rivers Social Profile
PROJECT PARTNER
Level 3 Rous Water Building 218 Molesworth St PO Box 146 LISMORE NSW 2480
tel: 02 6622 4011 fax: 02 6621 4609 email: [email protected] web: www.rdanorthernrivers.org.au
Chief Executive Officer: Katrina Luckie
This paper was prepared by Jamie Seaton, Geof Webb and Katrina Luckie of RDA – Northern Rivers with input and support from staff of RDA-NR and the Northern Rivers Social Development Council, particularly Trish Evans and Meaghan Vosz. RDA-NR acknowledges and appreciates the efforts made by stakeholders across our region to contribute to the development of the Social Profile.
Cover photo Liina Flynn © NRSDC 2013
We respectfully acknowledge the Aboriginal peoples of the Northern Rivers – including the peoples of the Bundjalung, Yaegl and Gumbainggirr nations – as the traditional custodians and guardians of these lands and waters now known as the Northern Rivers and we pay our respects to their Elders past and present.
Disclaimer This material is made available by RDA – Northern Rivers on the understanding that users exercise their own skill and care with respect to its use. Any representation, statement, opinion or advice expressed or implied in this publication is made in good faith. RDA – Northern Rivers is not liable to any person or entity taking or not taking action in respect of any representation, statement, opinion or advice referred to above. This report was produced by RDA – Northern Rivers and does not necessarily represent the views of the Australian or New South Wales Governments, their officers, employees or agents.
Regional Development Australia Committees are:
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ...... 1
OVERVIEW OF THE REGION ...... 3
THE PROFILE COMPONENTS ...... 6
1. HEALTHY, SAFE AND INCLUSIVE COMMUNITIES ...... 6 1.1 PERSONAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING ...... 6 1.2 COMMUNITY CONNECTEDNESS ...... 12 1.3 PERSONAL AND COMMUNITY SAFETY ...... 12 1.4 EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT ...... 15 1.5 LIFELONG LEARNING ...... 16 1.6 RACISM ...... 18 1.7 ACCESS TO HEALTH SERVICES ...... 19
2. DYNAMIC AND RESILIENT LOCAL COMMUNITIES ...... 21 2.1 ECONOMIC ACTIVITY ...... 21 2.2 EMPLOYMENT ...... 23 2.3 UNEMPLOYMENT RATES ...... 25 2.4 PARTICIPATION RATES ...... 25 2.5 INCOME ...... 26 2.6 EDUCATION AND SKILLS ...... 33
3. SUSTAINABLE BUILT AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS ...... 37 3.1 HOUSING ...... 37 3.2 TRANSPORT ...... 41
4. DEMOCRATIC AND ENGAGED COMMUNITIES ...... 46 4.1 LOCAL ELECTIONS PARTICIPATION RATE ...... 46 4.2 CIVIC PARTICIPATION...... 46
5. CULTURALLY RICH AND DIVERSE COMMUNITIES ...... 48 5.1 PARTICIPATION IN ARTS, CULTURAL AND SPORTING ACTIVITIES ...... 48 5.2 WELCOMING DIFFERENCE AND DIVERSITY ...... 50
APPENDIX: COMMUNITY WELLBEING SURVEY ...... 52
REFERENCES ...... 55
ACRONYMS ...... 58
Northern Rivers Social Profile May 2013 i List of Tables
TABLE 1 CHARACTERISTICS OF OUR REGION COMPARED TO NSW 3 TABLE 2 COMPARING LIFESTYLE REGIONS 4 TABLE 3 SELF-RATED HEALTH (EXCELLENT, VERY GOOD, OR GOOD) 6 TABLE 4 BURDEN OF DISEASE 10 TABLE 5 HEALTH INEQUALITIES 11 TABLE 6 SEIFA SCORES AND RANKS 11 TABLE 7 NAPLAN ABSENTEE DATA 18 TABLE 8 OLDER PEOPLE AS A PROPORTION OF THE POPULATION 20 TABLE 9 EMPLOYMENT BY OCCUPATION 22 TABLE 10 DOMESTIC OVERNIGHT TRAVEL STATISTICS 22 TABLE 11 EMPLOYMENT OF WORKING POPULATION – SELECTED SECTORS 23 TABLE 12 LABOUR FORCE DATA 26 TABLE 13 WEEKLY PERSONAL INCOME 28 TABLE 14 CENTRELINK PAYMENTS 32 TABLE 15 HIGHEST EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT 34 TABLE 16 MOST POPULAR TAFE COURSES BY LGA 36 TABLE 17 HOUSING TENURE BY LOCATION 38 TABLE 18 MEDIAN HOUSING COSTS BY LGA, DEC’12 38 TABLE 19 HOUSEHOLDS EXPERIENCING MORTGAGE AND RENT STRESS 40 TABLE 20 NUMBER OF HOMELESS PERSONS 40 TABLE 21 PASSENGER VEHICLES, BUSES AND MOTORCYCLES 43 TABLE 22 BUS FARE STRUCTURES 45 TABLE 23 EXAMPLE FARES IN NORTHERN RIVERS AND SYDNEY 45 TABLE 24 PARTICIPATION IN CIVIC ACTIVITIES 47
TABLE A1 WEIGHTING FACTORS FOR AGE AND GENDER FOR RANDOM SURVEY SAMPLE 52 TABLE A2 RESPONDENTS LOCATION BY LGA 53 TABLE A3 AGE OF SURVEY RESPONDENTS 53 TABLE A4 GENDER OF SURVEY RESPONDENTS 54 TABLE A4 CURRENT EMPLOYMENT STATUS OF SURVEY RESPONDENTS 54 TABLE A5 HOUSEHOLD INCOME OF SURVEY RESPONDENTS 54
ii Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers List of Figures
FIGURE 1 FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CONSUMPTION 7 FIGURE 2 ALCOHOL ATTRIBUTABLE HOSPITALISATIONS 7 FIGURE 3 PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVELS 8 FIGURE 4 PHYSICAL ACTIVITY UNDERTAKEN IN THE PAST MONTH 8 FIGURE 5 SMOKING PREVALENCE 9 FIGURE 6 OVERWEIGHT OR OBESE PERSONS 9 FIGURE 7 INFLUENZA AND PNEUMOCOCCAL IMMUNISATION 10 FIGURE 8 VOLUNTEERING RATES 12 FIGURE 9 ASSAULT, ROBBERY, OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE AND SEXUAL OFFENCES RATES 14 FIGURE 10 PROPORTION OF CHILDREN ‘ON TRACK’ 15 FIGURE 11 PROPORTION OF CHILDREN ‘DEVELOPMENTALLY VULNERABLE’ 16 FIGURE 12 INTERNET CONNECTIVITY 17 FIGURE 13 SCHOOL LEAVERS PROGRESSING FROM YEAR 12 TO UNIVERSITY 17 FIGURE 14 EXPERIENCE OF RACISM 18 FIGURE 15 PATIENTS TREATED VS TOTAL BED NUMBERS 19 FIGURE 16 AGED CARE RESIDENTIAL PLACES 20 FIGURE 17 BUSINESSES BY NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES 21 FIGURE 18 EMPLOYMENT OF WORKING POPULATION – SELECTED SECTORS 24 FIGURE 19 UNEMPLOYMENT RATES 25 FIGURE 20 WEEKLY HOUSEHOLD INCOME 27 FIGURE 21 AGE PENSIONS 29 FIGURE 22 CARERS PAYMENTS 30 FIGURE 23 DISABILITY SUPPORT PENSION RECIPIENTS 30 FIGURE 24 YOUTH ALLOWANCE PAYMENTS 31 FIGURE 25 NEWSTART ALLOWANCE RECIPIENTS 32 FIGURE 26 EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AND LABOUR MARKET OUTCOMES 35 FIGURE 27 TAFE COURSE COMPLETIONS 2012 35 FIGURE 28 WEEKLY RENTAL PAYMENTS 39 FIGURE 29 DURATION OF HOMELESSNESS IN THE NORTHERN RIVERS 41 FIGURE 30 REGISTERED MOTOR VEHICLES PER 1,000 PEOPLE (MARCH 2010) 42 FIGURE 31 LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTION PARTICIPATION 2012 46 FIGURE 32 OPPORTUNITIES TO HAVE A REAL SAY ON ISSUES 47 FIGURE 33 PARTICIPATION IN CULTURAL ACTIVITIES 48 FIGURE 34 PARTICIPATION IN PUBLIC ACTIVITIES 49 FIGURE 35 OPPORTUNITIES TO PARTICIPATE IN ARTS AND RELATED ACTIVITIES 49 FIGURE 36 INDIGENOUS VS. NON-INDIGENOUS POPULATION AGE COHORTS 50
Northern Rivers Social Profile May 2013 iii
This page is intentionally blank
iv Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers INTRODUCTION
Understanding the social wellbeing of our region requires an examination of current conditions both in the context of living and working in the region and in relation to these conditions at a State and National level. While knowledge of our economic conditions in continues to develop, much less is known about the social conditions of the Northern Rivers. However, measuring and reporting these social conditions is critical to regional planning and local and State policy development. Better information about living conditions in the region will improve our capacity to plan for the future, capitalise on our strengths, build resilience and respond more effectively to those issues that cause disadvantage or exclusion for members of our population. This Northern Rivers Social Profile (the Profile) has been developed for these reasons.
Purpose Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers (RDA–NR) and the Northern Rivers Social Development Council (NRSDC) are working together to broaden our knowledge base and develop a ‘social plan’ for our region. The objectives of the Northern Rivers Social Plan are to:
1. create a community-owned and evidence-based regional social plan that: includes the voices of the community; identifies regional community development priorities; and starts key actions to address identified priorities; 2. document a knowledge base that: highlights current social conditions; provides a baseline that can be monitored over time; and is freely and publicly available to all; 3. support community development and capacity building through community engagement processes; and 4. develop a framework to inform policy and program development, advocacy and investment.
To assist in pursuing objective 2 above, the purpose of the Social Profile is to: build a baseline understanding of current social conditions; and provide a valuable planning and investment resource for all community service providers and community-based groups in our region; and all levels of government.
Background The Profile is the outcome of a collaborative process undertaken by RDA–NR, NRSDC and a cross section of stakeholders in our region including emergency services, health, transport, social welfare, community development, education, local and state government representatives. The process included the following components: the development of the Social Data Consultation Paper in early 2013 to stimulate discussion regarding social conditions in our region; a review of the consultation paper (undertaken by a range of stakeholders) at a Social Indicators Data Workshop in February 2013; a community wellbeing telephone survey1, designed to respond to data gaps identified by workshop participants;
1 The Appendix documents the methodology for the survey including a random sample conducted by telephone interviews and a volunteer sample completed through online/hard copy wellbeing surveys and key demographic characteristics of the two samples.
Northern Rivers Social Profile May 2013 1
a supplementary online/hard copy community wellbeing survey2, designed to capture data from people who may not be accessed through the telephone survey (completed volunteer sample of 240); the collection of additional data identified and made available by the workshop participants; a short review period of the draft profile by workshop participants; and the analysis and collation (into this document) of primary research and additional data collected, both from the survey and workshop participants.
Therefore, in respect to social conditions in our region, the Profile reflects the data deemed by stakeholders to be the most valuable and the data that is readily available at present.
Structure The Profile is organised into the following five component sections derived from the nationally and internationally recognised social indicator measures (domains) developed by Community Indicators Victoria (CIV) (Cox, Frere, West & Wiseman 2010):
1. Healthy, Safe and Inclusive Communities 2. Dynamic, Resilient Local Communities 3. Sustainable Built and Natural Environments 4. Democratic and Engaged Communities 5. Culturally rich and diverse communities
Due to the way different bodies collect data, the figures presented do not always represent the same geographical areas, however care has been taken to obtain data which best represents the NSW Northern Rivers region. It has not always been possible to include data for all the CIV indicators, and some of the CIV indicators have been excluded due to limited relevance to social conditions in the region (e.g. water quality).
A brief overview of our region is included to provide a context for the social indicators.
2 As for footnote 1.
2 Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers OVERVIEW OF THE REGION
The Northern Rivers region of NSW is situated in the far north east of the State and covers approximately 20,706 square kilometres (ABS 2012).
Traditional ownership of our region rests with the Bundjalung, Gumbainggirr and Yaegl Indigenous nation groups (NSW Government 2009) who maintain important custodial links to the region.
Seven Local Government Areas (LGAs) – Ballina Shire, Byron Shire, Clarence Valley, Kyogle, Lismore City Council, Richmond Valley and Tweed Shire – have been established on the lands of the traditional owner groups and play an important role in the development of the Northern Rivers region.
Some characteristics of our region (in comparison to NSW) are presented in Table 1. Our region is distinguished by: a slightly higher population growth rate of 33% than for Sydney (31%) by 2036; a large migration away from the region for those aged 20 to 34; a higher proportion of older people compared with NSW and Australia; lower median household incomes compared with NSW; and low labour force participation rates compared with the rest of NSW and Australia (DEEWR 2012a).
Table 1 Characteristics of our region compared to NSW Northern Rivers All NSW (LGAs or RT & CV statistical areas) Factor Total Indigenous Total Indigenous Population Population Population Population
Current population 250,861 11,372 6,917,658 172,621
Projected Population (2036) 376,837 n/a 9,195,966 n/a
Median Age 44 (RT); 46 (CV) 20 38 21
Private dwellings 115,307 4,813 2,864,531 73,910
Average people 2.4 3.2 2.6 3.1 per household
Median weekly $865 (RT); $875 (RT) $1,237 $941 household income* $769 (CV) $774 (CV)
Median monthly $1,600 (RT); $1,676 (RT); $1,993 $1,673 mortgage repayments* $1,300 (CV) $1,400 (CV)
$270 (RT); $240 (RT); Median weekly rent $300 $200 $210 (CV) $200 (CV)
Percentage of labour force 49.6% (RT); 23.3% 60.20% 17.98% working full-time 50% (CV) RT = Richmond-Tweed statistical area, CV = Clarence Valley statistical area (source: ABS 2012 and PHIDU 2012) * More recent housing data than the census is provided later in Section 3.1
Northern Rivers Social Profile May 2013 3 A comparison to other Australian ‘lifestyle regions’ (Table 2) that have some commonality with the Northern Rivers, provides a means to benchmark our region with similar areas. Lifestyle regions that are deemed to be comparable are based on the following criteria: the region is anchored by a large activity centre (or centres); has strong lifestyle attributes/is considered a 'lifestyle' region; is within commuting distance of a major urban centre or capital city and/or has good physical and functional links to the capital city/metro area; has a healthy rate of population growth; has a strong industry base; and is home to a University and/or related tertiary education and research organisations.
On the basis of these criteria, the Northern Rivers region has been compared with the following Significant Urban Areas as defined by the ABS (2012): Sunshine Coast (Qld); Central Coast (NSW); and Wollongong (NSW).
Table 2 Comparing lifestyle regions Sunshine Coast Central Coast Wollongong Northern Factor (Significant (Significant (Significant Rivers Urban Area) Urban Area) Urban Area)
Population
Estimated Resident 270,770 304,753 268,944 277,284 Population 2011
Average Population Change -2.2%* 2.3%* 4.6%* 3.7% 2006-11
Median Age 42 41 38 44**
Proportion of Population 18.3% 19.1% 16.3% 19.7% over 65 years
Indigenous Peoples 1.5% 2.9% 2.3% 4.1% (proportion of population)
Employment
Employed total 2011 160,300 144,600 125,300 107,957
Labour Force Participation 62.4% 58.2% 55.2% 55.3% Rate 2011 (Dec Qtr)
Unemployment Rate 2011 5.8% 6.7% 6.9% 6.3% (Dec Qtr)
Worked less than 15 hrs/week (%) 13.2% 12.0% 11.8% 14.0%
Economy
Median Weekly Household $1,011 $997 $1,113 $834** Income 2011
4 Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers Sunshine Coast Central Coast Wollongong Northern Factor (Significant (Significant (Significant Rivers Urban Area) Urban Area) Urban Area)
Health
Daily Patients/Total Not available 80% 87% 78% Beds-Treatment Spaces (%)
Housing
Median Monthly $1,900 $1,820 $1,950 $1,475** Mortgage Payments
Median Weekly Rent $330 $270 $250 $250**
Education
Technical or further 5.8% 7.5% 8.1% 8.0% education institution
University or tertiary institution 11.6% 9.8% 16.3% 8.6% * Note due to changes in geographical data collection areas between 2006 and 2011 these figures are an estimate and may not be measuring change for same geography ** Estimate based on average of the seven LGAs in the Northern Rivers region (sources: ABS 2012; NSW Health 2012)
By comparison with other lifestyle regions, the Northern Rivers is characterised by a higher ageing population, higher Indigenous population, lower participation rate, significantly lower median household incomes (but also lower mortgage and rental payments), lower levels of university education and higher levels of technical education. Consequently, it could be argued that the Northern Rivers faces much greater social and community development challenges than the other lifestyle regions shown here.
The Socio Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) is a summary measure created from Census data which further highlights the disadvantage faced within the Northern Rivers region. There are four indexes that rank geographic areas across Australia in terms of their relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage3. Three LGAs within the region rank in the bottom 20 scores for NSW on the Indexes of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage; and Relative Socio-Economic Advantage and Disadvantage; (Richmond Valley ranked 7 and 7, Kyogle ranked 11 for both indexes and Clarence Valley ranked 18 and 13 respectively). Cabbage Tree Island is the lowest ranking suburb on both indexes in NSW and Muli Muli second and third lowest on each index respectively (ABS 2012).
3 For more information see http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/Lookup/by%20Subject/2033.0.55.001~2011~Main%20Features~What%20is%20SEIFA%3f~4
Northern Rivers Social Profile May 2013 5 THE PROFILE COMPONENTS
1. Healthy, safe and inclusive communities
1.1 Personal health and wellbeing The health and wellbeing (both physical and mental) of our population is influenced by many factors that cannot be comprehensively documented herein. The indicators used to assess health include self- rated health and health-related behaviours.
1.1.1. Self-reported health Self-reported health data indicates the health status of an individual as reported by that individual. Table 3 represents the proportion of the population in the Northern NSW Health District (NHD) who rated their own health as excellent, very good, or good. Similar proportions (approximately 80%) of the Northern Rivers and NSW populations self-reported positive health in 2011.
Table 3 Self-rated health (excellent, very good, or good) Year 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
NHD* 80.1 79.7 79.4 79.1 79 78.9 79 79.3 79.6 80.1
NSW 80.8 80.5 80.3 80.3 80.3 80.3 80.4 80.4 80.3 80.2 As reported by proportions of Northern Rivers and NSW populations, persons aged 16 years and older *Northern Health District (source: CEE 2012)
1.1.2. Health-related behaviours Dietary (e.g. consumption of fruit, vegetables and alcohol) and exercise behaviours are widely accepted as the basis of healthy populations (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare [AIHW] 2011).
In terms of diet, the population in our health district is comparatively better placed than NSW as a whole. Figure 1 illustrates a larger proportion of the Northern Rivers population consumes the recommended daily intake of two servings of fruit and five of vegetables, than the NSW average. There was a decrease from 2009 in the proportions of both populations that consumed the recommended foodstuff amounts. It is difficult to speculate on the reasons for this pattern however increased production values and reduced supplies of fruit and vegetables during the 2004-2010 period (Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry 2011) could be contributing factors.
6 Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers Figure 1 Fruit and vegetable consumption
70
60 Northern NSW (fruit) 50
40 NSW (fruit)
30 Northern Population (%) Population 20 NSW (veg)
10 NSW (veg)
0 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Year
Northern Rivers and NSW populations, 16 years and older (source: CEE 2012)
The Northern Rivers performs relatively poorly when compared to the rest of NSW in terms of alcohol consumption. For instance between 2006-07 and 2010-11, the rate of alcohol attributable hospitalisations (Figure 2) among the Northern Rivers population was approximately 1% higher in comparison to the broader NSW population. This trend is much higher for Indigenous Australians. Indigenous people in the Northern Rivers have 2,376 alcohol attributable hospitalisations per 100,000 in 2010-11 compared to 650 per 100,000 for the average state population. Note that this is an increase from a decreasing trend in previous years.
Figure 2 Alcohol attributable hospitalisations 3,000 Total Pop 2,500 Northern NSW 2,000 Total Pop NSW 1,500
1,000 Indig Pop Northern Rate (per100,000) 500 NSW Indig Pop 0 NSW 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 Year
Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations, Northern Rivers vs. NSW (source: CEE 2012)
Physical activity is significant in terms of health-related behaviours. The NSW Government routinely collects data on ‘adequate physical activity’ (i.e. at least 30 minutes of moderate activity on most, and preferably all, days of the week) for the NSW population aged 16 years and older. Figure 3 indicates that, during each year between 2007 and 2011, a larger proportion of the Northern Rivers population undertook adequate physical activity than the proportion State wide. This is a positive comparative
Northern Rivers Social Profile May 2013 7 measurement for our region. It is noted however that the proportion of the population for our region and NSW decreased by approximately 2% between 2009 and 2011, indicating a reduction in physical activity overall.
Figure 3 Physical activity levels
70
60
50 Northern 40 NSW % 30 NSW 20
10
0 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Year Proportions of people aged 16 years and older that undertook adequate physical activity, Northern Rivers Health District vs NSW (source: Centre for Epidemiology and Evidence [CEE] 2012)
The community wellbeing survey also collected data on involvement in physical activity (Figure 4). A range of 9.3% to 75.8% of the random sample respondents participated in some form of physical activity in the past month. In general, the random sample surveyed had higher levels of physical activity than the volunteer sample, although the pattern of involvement in all activity types is fairly similar for both samples. Jogging or walking is the physical activity for most respondents (75.8% random sample; 64.2% of volunteer sample), with swimming (37.9% random sample) as the next most frequent form of physical activity.
Figure 4 Physical activity undertaken in the past month
Jogging or walking
Swimming
Yoga, meditation, spiritual relaxation
Cycling Volunteer Sample Gym session Random Sample Physical Physical Activity Organised team sports
Surfing
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Proportion of Respondents (%)
(Source: RDA-NR and NRSDC in prep)
8 Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers
Despite having a higher proportion of cigarette smokers than the State average, the proportion of smokers is decreasing in our region. Figure 5 illustrates that in 2011, 16.6% of our population were smokers compared to 14.8% State wide.
Figure 5 Smoking prevalence
20
15 Northern NSW
10 NSW Proportionof People 5
0 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Year Proportions of Northern Rivers and NSW populations that smoked cigarettes, persons aged 16 years and older (source: CEE 2012)
1.1.3. Other health indicators Obesity is influenced by physical activity, and diet and related statistics provide an indication of population health status. In comparison to the NSW population, slightly larger proportions of the Northern Rivers population were classified as obese or overweight throughout the period 2007-2011 (Figure 6), which does not appear consistent with the physical activity and diet statistics. Both populations have reflected a slight reduction in obesity levels from 2010 to 2011.
Figure 6 Overweight or obese persons
60
50
40 Northern % 30 NSW
20 NSW
10
0 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Year
Proportions of Northern Rivers and NSW populations classified as overweight or obese, persons aged 16 years and older (source: CEE 2012)
Northern Rivers Social Profile May 2013 9 Influenza and pneumococcal disease immunisation rates also differ between the Northern Rivers and NSW populations aged 65 years and older. Figure 7 shows a smaller proportion of the Northern Rivers population was immunised against influenza in comparison to the NSW population (2007-2011), yet the converse relationship existed in relation to pneumococcal disease4 immunisation. There was a decrease of influenza immunisations in the Northern Rivers population since 2009, which is dissimilar to State wide measurements.
Figure 7 Influenza and pneumococcal immunisation
80 70 Northern NSW (influ.)
60 NSW (influ) 50
40 Northern 30 NSW (Pneu) % of People 20 NSW (Pneu) 10 0 Year 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Proportions of Northern Rivers and NSW populations immunised against influenza and pneumococcal disease, persons aged 65 years and older (source: CEE 2012)
Of the social determinants of health listed in Table 4, at 65 years of age both males and females are expected to live slightly longer than the equivalent population cohort across NSW. There are comparatively fewer hospitalisations in our region, and ‘life expectancy at birth’ rates are lower for males in Northern NSW than the State average, but higher for females.
Table 4 Burden of disease Northern Social Determinants of Health Period Group NSW NSW
2006-7 Males 728.8 765 Deaths – all causes* 2006-7 Females 490.3 493.9 2006-7 Males 197 210.4 Deaths – potentially avoidable* 2006-7 Females 113 128.3 2010-11 Males 35,048 33,732 Hospitalisations* 2010-11 Females 36,350 35,215 2003-7 Males 79.2 78.6 Life expectancy at birth (yrs) 2003-7 Females 84 83.9 2003-7 Males 83.5 83.8 Life expectancy at 65 yrs (yrs) 2003-7 Females 86.9 87.3 Suicide 2007 Persons 7.8 8.3 Social determinants of health, NSW Northern Rivers vs NSW population, males and females *Rates measured per 100,000 population (source: CEE 2012)
4 Pneumococcal disease is an umbrella term for a range of illnesses caused by infection with the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae. The illnesses can be fatal and include meningitis, pneumonia and bacteraemia.
10 Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers Table 5 illustrates health inequalities relating to Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations in our region and NSW. The prevalence both of premature babies and low birth weight babies is comparatively higher for Indigenous people however, these rates have decreased since 2004-8. The percentage of low birth weight babies in the region’s Indigenous population was 12.4% and premature babies was 11.9%.
Table 5 Health inequalities Social Determinants of Health Period Group NSW Northern NSW
2009-10 Indigenous 11.1% 9.4% Premature babies 2009-10 Non-Indigenous 7.2% 6.1%
2009-10 Indigenous 11.0% 8.2% Low birth weight babies 2009-10 Non-Indigenous 5.9% 5.0%
Teenage births 2004-8 Females 1.5% 2.2%
Immunisation coverage 2009 Indigenous 87.2% 89.9% (12-15 months) 2009 Non-Indigenous 91.9% 85.3%
Social determinants of health, NSW Northern Rivers vs NSW population, males and females (source: CEE 2012)
One of the SEIFA indexes – the Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage – summarises information about the economic and social conditions of people and households within an area, including both relative advantage and disadvantage measures. A low score and low ranking indicates relatively greater disadvantage and a lack of advantage in general. For example, an area could have a low score if there are (among other things) many households with low incomes and few households with high incomes. Conversely, a high score indicates a relative lack of disadvantage and greater advantage in general. For example, an area may have a high score if there are (among other things) many people in skilled occupations and few people in unskilled occupations.
Table 6 has ranked the LGAs in our region according to their SEIFA score within the region5. There are a number of LGAs in the region that are particularly disadvantaged, with the Richmond Valley, Kyogle and Clarence Valley being amongst the 20 lowest rankings in NSW.
Table 6 SEIFA scores and ranks LGA SEIFA Score Rank in NR Rank in NSW
Ballina 980 7 99 Byron 979 6 98 Clarence Valley 907 3 13 Kyogle 902 2 11 Lismore 946 4 66 Richmond Valley 888 1 7 Tweed 949 5 68
NSW Northern Rivers vs NSW population (source: ABS 2012)
5 The area with the lowest score is given a rank of 1, the area with the second lowest score is given a rank of 2 and so on.
Northern Rivers Social Profile May 2013 11 1.2 Community connectedness Volunteering statistics provide one indicator of community connectedness in our region. In 2011 each LGA in our region had a higher proportion of people engaged in volunteering than the corresponding State wide number. All LGAs, excluding Tweed Shire and Richmond Valley, had more than 20% of their population engaged in volunteer activities. The community wellbeing survey also identified that 53.3% of respondents help out a local group as a volunteer. While this shows a high level of engagement in supporting community activities in our region, there is insufficient information to determine whether this may also reflect our ageing population and other factors such as under-employment (i.e. whether people volunteer as a pathway to finding employment).
Figure 8 Volunteering rates
30
25
20
15
% of People 10
5
0 Ballina Byron Clarence Kyogle Lismore Richmond Tweed Northern New South Valley Valley Rivers Wales LGA
Proportions of the Northern Rivers and NSW populations who undertook voluntary work for an organisation or group in 2011, persons aged 15 years and older (source: PHIDU 2012)
1.3 Personal and community safety Figure 9 illustrates safety-related crime statistics associated for the period 2008-2012, which highlight the following trends:
of all Northern Rivers LGAs, Kyogle, Lismore and Richmond Valley had the highest rates of domestic violence. Rates in these LGAs have improved markedly during the period and rates in the other LGAs were below the State wide measurement; robbery rates in the Northern Rivers have been consistently lower than the NSW rate (note: robbery data for Kyogle is skewed due to the small population); apart from Tweed and Ballina, offensive language rates have been higher than the state rate in all our LGAs, despite reductions in recent years; and sexual offence rates have been higher in our LGAs compared to the NSW rate, and increased in most Northern Rivers LGAs in 2011.
12 Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers
Furthermore, recent survey results (RDA-NR and NRSDC in prep) indicate that residents in the Northern Rivers generally feel safe in our communities. For example, more than 90% of the community wellbeing survey respondents report feeling ‘very safe’ or ‘safe’:
at home by themselves during the day; at home by themselves after dark; and walking in their local area alone during the day.
Feelings of safety while walking after dark were slightly less positive with respondents feeling ‘safe’ (26.8% of respondents), ‘unsafe’ (23.5%) and ‘very unsafe’ (10.1%). Of those who felt unsafe walking alone after dark, the highest proportion lived in Lismore (18.6%) followed by Ballina (16.9%), Clarence and Tweed (both 14.8%), with the lowest proportion in Byron (10.4%).
Northern Rivers Social Profile May 2013 13 14 Figure 9 Assault, robbery, offensive language and sexual offences rates
ASSAULT (DOMESTIC VIOLENCE) RATES ROBBERY RATES 950 120 850 100 750
650 80
550 60 450 40 Rate perRate 100,000 Rate perRate 100,000 350 20 250 0 150 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Year Year
OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE OFFENCE RATES SEXUAL OFFENCE RATES 400 400
350 350
Regional Development Australia Regional 300
300 250
200 250 150 Rate perRate 100,000
Rate perRate 100,000 200 100
50 150
0 – 100
Northern RiverNorthern 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Year Year Northern Rivers LGAs and NSW (source: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics 2011) note: each Northern Rivers series depicted above represents the average of the respective LGAS s
14 Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers 1.4 Early Childhood Development The Australian Government has established the Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) to examine early childhood development of children as they enter school across Australia. The AEDI examines the domains of: physical health and wellbeing; social competence; emotional maturity; language and cognitive skills (school-based); and communication skills and general knowledge.
The AEDI identifies the proportion of children in an area who are on track or developmentally vulnerable against each of these domains (see Australian Government 2013). The data is not reported at the scale for the Northern Rivers, so the results of each of the LGAs have been used to calculate an estimate for the regional population.
Overall the proportion of ‘children on track’ across the region is reasonably consistent with the NSW and Australian results (Figure 10), and we generally have lower rates of children who are developmentally vulnerable (Figure 11). However, there is a higher rate of developmental vulnerability for the physical health and wellbeing domain (estimate 9.6% for the Northern Rivers) than for NSW (8.3%) and Australia (9.3%). This is highest in the Lismore LGA (13.5%), where there are also the highest vulnerability rates for social competence (12.1%) and communication skills and general knowledge (10.7%). It is also interesting to note (see Figure 11) that – in terms of the social competence measure – there are no children developmentally vulnerable in the Kyogle LGA.
Figure 10 Proportion of children ‘on track’ 100% Ballina 90% Byron 80%
70% Clarence Valley
60% Kyogle
50% Lismore 40% Richmond Valley 30% Tweed 20%
10% Northern Rivers (estimate) 0% NSW Physical Health Social Emotional Language and Communication and Wellbeing Competence Maturity Cognitive Skills Skills and General Australia (school-based) Knowledge
(source: AEDI, 2013)
Northern Rivers Social Profile 2013 15
Figure 11 Proportion of children ‘developmentally vulnerable’ 16% Ballina 14% Byron 12% Clarence Valley 10% Kyogle 8% Lismore 6% Richmond Valley 4% Tweed
2% Northern Rivers (estimate) 0% NSW Physical Health and Social Competence Emotional Maturity Language and Communication Wellbeing Cognitive Skills Skills and General Australia (school-based) Knowledge
(source: AEDI, 2013)
1.5 Lifelong learning
1.5.1 Broadband internet access The Australian Government’s National Broadband Network (NBN) project is designed to deliver high- speed broadband to Australian households. Increased educational opportunity is broadcast as one important benefit of the project; ‘the NBN will extend the reach, availability and quality of education services, no matter where students live’ (DBCDE, 2012). Consequently, internet connectivity provides an indicator of lifelong learning opportunities.
Figure 12 illustrates that the proportion of household dwellings with broadband access across the Northern Rivers is similar to the proportion State wide. Exceptions to this observation are the Clarence Valley, Kyogle and Richmond Valley LGAs where broadband access is lower at 60.2%, 57.2% and 55.3% of dwellings respectively (note these three LGAs also have the highest proportions of dwellings with no internet access). In comparison to the NSW average, 6.1% fewer households in our region have a broadband internet connection.
16 Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers Figure 12 Internet connectivity
80 No Internet 70 connection
60 50 Broadband Internet 40
% Dwellings of 30 Dial-up Internet 20 10 0 Other Internet connections
Location
Northern Rivers LGAs vs NSW 2011 (source: PHIDU 2012)
1.5.2 Engagement in education Figure 13 indicates the proportions of school leavers who progressed directly to university from high school in 2011. In the Northern Rivers LGAs, those proportions were markedly lower (and in some instances such as Tweed Shire, almost six times lower) than the proportion State wide. Ballina Shire (14% of school leavers) and Kyogle (12%) had the largest proportions of the population progressing directly to university, while fewer (approximately 10%) progressed in the remaining LGAs. In our region approximately 17% fewer progressed directly to university compared to the broader NSW population.
Figure 13 School leavers progressing from year 12 to University
30
25
20
15
10
5 ProportionofLeavers School (%) 0 Ballina Byron Clarence Kyogle Lismore Richmond Tweed Northern New South Valley Valley Rivers Wales LGAs and NSW
(source: ABS 2012)
Northern Rivers Social Profile 2013 17 In terms of school students, absentee rates derived from the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) provides an opportunity to understand a lack of engagement in education across the region. The NAPLAN is an annual assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. NAPLAN ‘tests the sorts of skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life, such as reading, writing, spelling and numeracy’ (ACARA 2013).
NAPLAN is made up of tests in the four areas (or ‘domains’) of:
reading; writing; language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation); and numeracy.
Table 7 displays NAPLAN absentee data and indicates that the Northern Rivers had larger proportions of students absent from each NAPLAN exam component compared to students across NSW schools.
Table 7 NAPLAN absentee data
Absent from Grammar and Reading Writing Spelling Numeracy [NAPLAN tests] Punctuation
Schools in 3.1% 3.5% 3.1% 3.1% 3.5% Northern Rivers
Schools in NSW 2.7% 2.7% 2.5% 2.5% 3.1% NAPLAN absentee results presented comprise the average of data from Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 across the region and NSW respectively (source: ACARA 2013)
1.6 Racism Racism locks people out of social and economic opportunities, and undermines the development of fair, inclusive communities (Australian Human Rights Commission 2013).
Although data regarding the prevalence of racism in Australia is scarce, the community wellbeing survey (RDA-NR and NRSDC in prep) provides an insight into racial discrimination in our region. Figure 14 illustrates that 64.9% of respondents had witnessed racism at some stage while a smaller proportion (31.8%) had experienced racism. The survey also identified that 50% of Indigenous respondents to the survey and 21.9% of people with a disability had experienced racism while living in the region. Figure 14 Experience of racism 80
60
40 Yes No
respondents 20 Proportionof
0 Ever experienced racism? Ever witnessed racism?
NB: a small proportion of people that answered ‘I don’t know’ are excluded from the graph (source: RDA-NR and NRSDC in prep)
18 Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers 1.7 Access to health services A comparison of daily patient numbers and beds (or treatment spaces) in the respective Local Health Areas in NSW provides a perspective of health service availability. In the Northern NSW Local Health District the number of daily patients as a proportion of available beds/treatment spaces was 78% (see Figure 15). The Central Coast, Sydney, Mid-North Coast and Illawarra Shoalhaven LHDs had larger proportions, each measuring at least 80%.
Focussing specifically on health services for older people in the region, 2010 statistics indicate that the Byron Shire had the highest number of residential care places per 1,000 people (Figure 16) yet it contained relatively smaller proportions of older people than other LGAs (see Table 8). There was larger variation between the LGAs with respect to high care residential places, and the number of residential care places in the Lismore LGA was 10% higher than those in the Tweed.
Figure 15 Patients treated vs total bed numbers
Total NSW Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health… Far West LHD Western NSW LHD Murrumbidgee LHD
Southern NSW LHD Mid North Coast LHD Northern NSW LHD Hunter New England LHD Central Coast LHD Northern Sydney LHD Nepean Blue Mountains LHD Western Sydney LHD LHD/Specialty LHD/Specialty Health Network Illawarra Shoalhaven LHD South Eastern Sydney LHD South Western Sydney LHD Sydney LHD St Vincent's Health Network Sydney Children's Hospitals Network
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Daily Patients/Total Beds-Treatment Spaces (%)
Northern NSW LHD compared to all NSW June 2012 (source: NSW Health 2012)
Northern Rivers Social Profile 2013 19 Figure 16 Aged care residential places 70
60 50 40 High Level Care 30 20 Low Level Places per1,000 People 10 Care 0
LGA/NSW Northern Rivers LGAs and NSW 2010 (source: PHIDU 2012)
Table 8 Older people as a proportion of the population LGA Number % of Pop
Ballina 8,444 21.5%
Byron 3,888 13.3%
Clarence Valley 10,563 21.3%
Kyogle 1,596 17.3%
Lismore 6,273 14.7%
Richmond Valley 4,327 19.6%
Tweed 19,464 22.9%
Northern Rivers 54,555 19.7%
NSW 1,018,180 14.7% People aged 65yrs+ as a proportion of the total population of Northern Rivers LGAs (source: ABS 2012)
20 Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers 2. Dynamic and resilient local communities
2.1 Economic activity Indicators of economic activity include business size and employment. Figure 17 shows there are smaller proportions of people working in medium sized (1-19 employees) businesses (45.7% NR; 55.8% NSW) and large (20 or more employees) businesses (2.3% NR; 4.0% NSW) in the Northern Rivers, compared with NSW as a whole. In the region, Lismore has the largest proportion of the working population (3.2%) engaged by larger businesses. 52% of the working population are employed as sole traders (i.e. non-employing businesses), compared to 40.2% for NSW, with the highest proportion of 62.5% in Kyogle. Figure 17 Businesses by number of employees 70
60
50
40
Nil employees 30 1-19 employees
Working population (%) 20 20 or more employees
10
0
Northern Rivers LGAs and NSW 2011 (source: ABS 2012) Note: significant proportions that stated ‘not applicable’ or didn’t answer have been excluded from this figure
In terms of employment by occupation (Table 9), the Northern Rivers has higher proportions employed as technicians and in trades (14.6% NR; 13.5% NSW); community and personal services (12.2% NR; 9.7% NSW); sales workers (11.3% NR; 9.4% NSW) and labourers (12.7% NR; 8.9% NSW). We have lower proportions of people employed in professional (18.0% NR; 23.2% NSW) and clerical occupations (12.3% NR; 15.4% NSW). Employment in the professional occupation category accounts for less than 15% in three of our LGAs (Richmond Valley, Kyogle and Clarence Valley).
Northern Rivers Social Profile 2013 21 Northern RiversNorthern Profile Social 2013 Table 9 Employment by occupation Technicians and Community and Clerical and Machinery Managers Professionals Sales Workers Labourers LGA/Region Trades Workers Personal Service Administrative Operators/Drivers % % % % % Workers % Workers % % Ballina 13.9 20.7 14.0 11.5 12.9 11.4 4.9 10.7
Byron 15.1 23.9 14.3 11.7 10.3 10.4 3.8 10.6
Clarence Valley 12.5 14.7 14.4 13.5 12.2 11.6 7.4 13.8
Kyogle 21.5 14.8 12.2 11.1 9.9 8.1 7.7 14.6
Lismore 12.5 20.1 13.6 11.5 13.4 11.3 5.4 12.3
Richmond Valley 12.7 12.1 14.1 11.7 11.6 10.1 8.5 19.2
Tweed 11.4 16.9 16.0 12.6 12.8 12.0 6.1 12.3 Northern Rivers 13.0 18.0 14.6 12.2 12.3 11.3 6.0 12.7 NSW 13.6 23.2 13.5 9.7 15.4 9.4 6.5 8.9 Percentage of employees in Northern Rivers LGAs and NSW in 2011 (source ABS 2012)
2.1.1. Tourism Tourism has been a key economic driver for this region. Table 10 highlights a decline in our region in respect to the total number of visitors (7.5% annual decrease in 2012) and visitor expenditure (0.8% decrease) in 2012, compared to increases in the adjacent Mid North Coast region. Restaurants, visiting friends and relatives and our beach destinations are prominent attractions for visitors. Table 10 Domestic overnight travel statistics Statistic NSW Northern Rivers Region NSW Mid North Coast Region Total Visitors (and annual increase/decrease) 1.9 million (7.5% decrease) 3.1 Million (1.6% increase) Regional NSW market share of visitors 10.7% 17.8% Major source of visitors Queensland (44.5%) Regional NSW (48.5%) Expenditure (and annual increase/decrease) $1 billion (0.8% decrease) $1.7 billion (2.6% increase) Eat out at restaurants (57.0%) Eat out at restaurants (56.9%) Top 3 major activities for visitors Visit friends and relatives (50.6%) Go to the beach (45.4%)
Go to the beach (43.9%) Visit friends and relatives (42.9%)
for year ending December 2012 – NSW Northern Rivers vs NSW Mid North Coast (source: Destination NSW 2013)
22
22 Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers
23
2.2 Employment On the 2011 Census enumeration evening there were 107,957 individuals Agriculture, forestry and fishing provides the main employment to 18.0% of (38.9% of the total Northern Rivers population) comprising the workforce in the working population in Kyogle; with manufacturing employing 16.2% in the Northern Rivers (ABS 2012). In our region the health care and social Richmond Valley. There are lower rates of employment in the financial and assistance (particularly in Lismore and Ballina), and retail trade industries were insurance services (1.9% NR; 5.4% NSW) and the professional, scientific and the top employing industries (see Table 11 and Figure 18). The arts and technical service sector (4.7% NR; 8.4% NSW). recreation sector employed the smallest proportions of those listed.
Table 11 Employment of working population – selected sectors Accommodation Transport, Public Health Care Arts and Wholesale Education Agriculture, LGA/ Manufacturing Construction Retail and Food Postal and Administration and Social Recreation Trade and Forestry and Area % % Trade % Services Warehousing and Safety Assistance Services % Training % Fishing % % % % % %
Ballina 6.1 9.6 2.9 13.7 9.5 3.1 6.0 11.1 16.3 1.4 4.5
Byron 5.9 9.0 3.8 12.7 13.5 2.9 3.5 10.6 13.7 2.4 3.8 Clarence 8.4 8.2 3.0 14.1 9.3 4.5 8.8 8.4 14.8 1.2 6.5 Valley Kyogle 10.4 7.9 4.1 10.6 4.7 4.1 4.7 9.9 14.7 1.2 18.0 Regional Development Australia Regional Lismore 7.5 7.2 2.9 14.6 7.2 3.4 5.4 11.9 18.6 1.4 5.5 Richmond 16.2 6.9 3.7 12.6 7.1 5.2 4.8 8.5 14.4 1.3 8.0 Valley Tweed 6.1 12.0 2.9 13.6 11.1 4.2 5.9 8.5 15.8 1.7 2.7 Northern 7.5 9.4 3.1 13.6 9.7 3.9 5.9 9.7 15.8 1.6 5.1 Rivers NSW 9.0 7.8 4.7 11.0 7.1 5.3 6.5 8.5 12.4 1.6 2.4 –
Northern Rivers Northern Percentage of employees in Northern Rivers LGAs and NSW 2011 (source: ABS 2012)
NB: Due to low levels of employment in some of the core industry classifications, the following categories are not included in the table above: mining; electricity, gas, waste and water services; information, media and telecommunications; financial and insurance services; rental, hiring and real estate services; professional, scientific and technical services; and administrative and support services.
Northern Rivers Social Profile 2013 23
24
Figure 18 Employment of working population – selected sectors
18 16
14 12 NR 10 8
6 NSW
% of working Population 4 2 0
Regional Development Australia
Percentage of people employed in selected sectors for Northern Rivers and NSW 2011 (source: ABS 2012)
–
Northern Rivers Northern
24 Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers 2.3 Unemployment rates In July 2012, the Northern Rivers labour market was characterised by a casualisation of the workforce, under-employment, insecure work and long term unemployment (DEEWR 2012).
Figure 19 displays recent unemployment6 rates in the region, and indicates that the unemployment rate for Ballina was consistently lower than all other LGAs in the region and lower (excluding the March 2009 measurement) than the rate for NSW as a whole. All other LGAs in the region have higher unemployment rates compared with NSW. Byron has endured the highest unemployment rate since March 2009, followed by Kyogle and Clarence Valley.
Figure 19 Unemployment rates 10.0
9.0 Ballina 8.0 Byron Clarence Valley 7.0 Kyogle
% Unemployed 6.0 Lismore Richmond Valley 5.0 Tweed
4.0 Northern Rivers New South Wales Jun-09 Jun-10 Jun-11 Sep-08 Sep-09 Sep-10 Sep-11 Dec-08 Dec-09 Dec-10 Dec-11 Mar-09 Mar-10 Mar-11 Mar-12 Year
Northern Rivers LGAs 2008–2012 (source: ABS 2012)
2.4 Participation rates Participation rates7 offer more sensitive depictions of our region’s workforce. Table 12 compares the most current participation rates (in addition to other unemployment and employment data) in our region against NSW. The unemployment rate was higher in the Northern Rivers than in NSW (6.1% to 5.0% respectively) and furthermore, the participation rate was lower than the NSW equivalent (54.1% compared to 63.5%). In our region the unemployment rate improved marginally in the year prior to December 2012, however a converse scenario was evident in the participation rate. Unemployment rates are approximately three times higher for the Indigenous populations both in the Northern Rivers (20.4%) and NSW (16.9%), although the regional unemployment rates are almost 4% higher than the state average.
6 ABS defines a person as employed if they are aged 15 or older and worked one hour or more during the week prior to answering the labour force survey question. A person is defined unemployed if they are 15 or older and not employed (as defined above) looking for work and available to start work immediately. 7 Workforce participation is a measure of the proportion of economically active individuals within an economy. It is defined as the ratio of the employed and unemployed (or the workforce) to the working age population, i.e. those aged 15 years and older (Abhayaratna and Lattimore 2006, p.7).
Northern Rivers Social Profile 2013 25 Table 12 Labour force data Labour Force Unemployment Unemployment Rate Participation Rate Region (000s) (000s) (%) (%)
2011 2012 2011 2012 2011 2012 2011 2012
E I E I
Northern 137.3 135.4 8.4 8.1 6.3 20.4 6.1 55.3 47.8 54.1 Rivers
NSW 3,613.6 3,670.4 209.1 191.3 5.5 16.9 5.0 63.6 51.2 63.5 E = entire population; I = indigenous (only available for 2011) NB: measurements displayed above relate to the December quarter in the respective year (source ABS 2012, ABS 2012b and DEEWR 2013)
2.5 Income Income is an important indicator of economic wellbeing. Across the Nation in 2010, 19% of adults reported their household had one or more cash flow problems (ABS 2011). These problems resulted in households being unable to pay bills such as electricity, gas, telephone or car registration, on time.
Local professionals report similar observations in our region. For example, Jenni Beetson-Mortimer (CEO Lismore Neighbourhood Centre [LNC]) reports that there are significant issues with families and individuals being unable to purchase essential items such as fridges and washing machines. The LNC microfinance program has loaned $1.8 million (from Grafton to Tweed) since the beginning of 2010 to low income families and individuals. The organisation has also seen significant numbers of families and individuals on a weekly basis who are unable to purchase food.
2.5.1. Personal and household income by LGA Incomes in Australia’s regional areas are generally lower than those in Australian metropolitan centres as noted by Lismore City Council (2011) when comparing the 2008/09 average personal incomes in the region ($35,822) with the broader NSW population ($48,793). Similar patterns emerge from the current, actual weekly household earnings reported by residents in the 2011 census (Figure 20). The proportion of households in the Northern Rivers earning incomes in the higher earnings categories (i.e. $1,500 to more than $5,000 per week) was smaller than the proportion across broader NSW. Median household incomes in our region are 68.7% of the median household incomes for NSW; and 53% of our households earn less than $1,000 per week compared to 38% for the whole of NSW.
26 Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers Figure 20 Weekly household income
14
12
10
NSW 8
6
Households (%) Households 4 Northern Rivers 2
0
Income
Northern Rivers vs NSW (source: ABS 2012)
Table 13 identifies that smaller proportions of people in our LGAs had earnings in the upper categories (e.g. $1,500 or more) in comparison to NSW, yet larger proportions had earnings in the small to moderate income categories (e.g. $1-$999). Tweed, Byron and Ballina Shires had the largest proportions amongst the Northern Rivers LGAs of those earning $2,000 or more per week.
Table 13 also illustrates dissimilar income personal patterns associated with our Indigenous and non- Indigenous residents. In the Northern Rivers region a larger proportion of Indigenous people (41.0%) earn less than $300. This compares with 28.4% of the broader population across the region reporting with similar earnings.
Northern Rivers Social Profile 2013 27 28 Table 13 Weekly personal income
$1,000- $1,250- $1,500- $2,000 or LGA/Region No income $1-$199 $200-$299 $300-$399 $400-$599 $600-$799 $800-$999 $1,249 $1,499 $1,999 more
E (%) I (%) E (%) I (%) E (%) I (%) E (%) I (%) E (%) I (%) E (%) I (%) E (%) I (%) E (%) I (%) E (%) I (%) E (%) I (%) E (%) I (%)
Ballina 5.5 7.5 7.9 12.4 13.3 18.9 14.6 16.6 17.4 17.5 13.1 9.9 8.6 6.2 6.6 5.1 4.2 2.3 5.3 2.6 3.5 0.8
Byron 6.6 8.7 7.8 12.9 13.6 15.8 14.7 19.4 17.9 13.2 12.8 11.3 8.3 8.1 6.4 4.5 3.7 1.9 4.4 3.2 3.8 1.0
Clarence 5.8 7.5 9.0 14.7 18.7 21.8 16.6 19.0 17.5 14.1 11.7 8.0 7.0 6.2 5.3 3.5 3.1 2.4 3.5 2.1 1.8 0.7 Valley
Kyogle 6.9 8.4 9.5 15.3 19.9 24.4 17.2 17.1 16.9 10.8 11.2 15.3 6.9 2.4 4.3 3.1 2.7 2.1 2.7 1.0 1.7 0.0
Lismore 5.8 6.5 8.8 15.2 14.7 19.8 14.6 16.9 16.6 14.3 13.7 9.9 9.0 6.3 6.4 4.5 3.8 2.5 4.1 2.2 2.4 1.9
Richmond 5.8 9.2 9.0 14.5 18.1 20.2 16.1 16.9 16.3 14.2 13.4 12.5 8.7 5.2 5.8 4.6 2.6 0.9 2.8 1.9 1.3 0.0 Valley
Tweed 6.2 9.4 8.0 12.4 16.1 15.5 15.9 14.9 16.6 16.0 12.0 11.6 8.0 6.6 6.5 5.9 3.9 3.2 4.3 3.5 2.6 1.0
Northern 6.0 8.1 8.4 13.8 16.0 19.1 15.6 17.0 17.0 14.9 12.5 10.5 8.1 6.1 6.2 4.7 3.6 2.4 4.1 2.5 2.6 0.9 Rivers
NSW 8.8 9.1 7.9 12.3 11.6 16.9 11.1 14.7 12.5 14.4 11.1 11.1 8.7 7.0 8.2 5.7 5.8 3.3 7.1 3.4 7.2 2.0 Regional Development Australia E = entire population, I = Indigenous population; Percentage of population by LGA and NSW (source: ABS 2012)
–
Northern Rivers Northern
28 Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers 2.5.2. Income from pensions and allowances Income received by residents in the Northern Rivers can be further analysed from the perspective of pensions and allowances disbursed by the Australian Government. Such payments are vital to the socio-economic wellbeing of the payment recipients and include Age Pensions, Carers Payments, Disability Support Pensions, Youth Allowance Payments and the Newstart Allowance. There is a higher proportion of the population receiving all of these payments in the Northern Rivers than there is in NSW, as shown in Figures 21-25.
Figure 21 shows that Tweed, Clarence Valley and Richmond Valley contain high proportions of people receiving Age Pension payments. This is true for every year from 2005-2010 and subsequently one might assume that there is a comparatively larger demand for specialised services for older people (i.e. transport, medical, social) in these LGAs. Interestingly, three of the LGAs (Tweed, Richmond Valley and Kyogle) experienced a decline in the proportion of people receiving an Age Pension payment from 2009-2010.
Carers Payments are another form of financial assistance provided by the Government. Recipients of these payments are those who are unable to work in substantial paid employment because they are providing full-time daily care to someone with a severe disability or medical condition, or to someone who is frail aged. Figure 22 shows small proportions (0.4% - 1.7%) of the population across the region receive this payment. The figure below indicates that from 2006-2010 the Clarence Valley had the largest proportion of Carers Payment recipients followed by Richmond Valley and Kyogle. Lismore, Ballina and Byron had relatively smaller proportions of Carers Payment recipients from 2005-2010.
Figure 21 Age Pensions
18
16 Ballina
14 Byron
12 Clarence Valley
10 Kyogle
8 Lismore
6 Richmond Valley
4 Tweed
Persons receivnig ofpension(% pop). 2 Northern Rivers
0 NSW 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Year
(source ASB 2011a)
Northern Rivers Social Profile 2013 29 Figure 22 Carers Payments 2
1.8
1.6 Ballina 1.4 Byron 1.2 Clarence Valley 1 Kyogle
0.8 Lismore Richmond Valley 0.6 Tweed 0.4 Persons receivnig pension pop). of (% pension receivnig Persons Northern Rivers 0.2 NSW 0 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Year
(source ABS 2011a)
The Disability Support Pension provides financial support to people who have a physical, intellectual or psychiatric condition that prevents them working, or who are permanently blind. Data relating to disability payments is illustrated in Figure 23. As with the Aged Pension data (Figure 21), Richmond Valley was again associated with a large proportion of Disability Support Pension recipients. Kyogle had the largest proportion between 2006-2010.
Figure 23 Disability support pension recipients 8
7
6 Ballina Byron 5 Clarence Valley 4 Kyogle Lismore 3 Richmond Valley Tweed
Persons receivnig pension pop). of (% pension Persons receivnig 2 Northern Rivers 1 NSW
0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Year
(source ABS 2011a)
30 Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers
In contrast to the pensions and allowances presented above, an analysis of Youth Allowance8 data indicates an increase in 2008 (see Figure 24) in the proportion of people who were receiving this payment (except for Lismore and Kyogle). This may be due to 2008 legislative changes regarding eligibility for youth allowance.
From 2005-2010 larger proportions of people were receiving the allowance in Lismore than in the other LGAs. Conversely, Tweed Shire had the smallest proportion of Youth Allowance recipients during the same period. Kyogle has experienced a steady decline (since 2006) in the proportion of residents receiving Youth Allowance.
Figure 24 Youth Allowance payments 4
3.5
3 Ballina Byron 2.5 Clarence Valley 2 Kyogle Lismore 1.5 Richmond Valley 1 Tweed
Persons receivnig pension pop). of (% pension Persons receivnig 0.5 Northern Rivers NSW 0 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Year
(source ASB 2011a)
The Newstart Allowance provides financial help to those people 22 years or older, who are looking for work, but not yet eligible for the Aged Pension. It supports people while they undertake activities that may increase their chances of finding a job, such as studying or training.
Figure 25 shows an increase from 2008 across all LGAs in the proportions of people receiving Newstart Allowance and legislative changes could contribute to this. Byron had the largest proportion of Newstart Allowance recipients in the period 2005-2010, with lower proportions in the Tweed and Ballina Shires.
8 Youth Allowance is payable to eligible people aged 16-21 years who are studying full time, training or actively looking for work, and eligible people aged 18-24 years studying full time.
Northern Rivers Social Profile 2013 31 Figure 25 Newstart Allowance recipients
7 Ballina 6 Byron 5 Clarence Valley 4 Kyogle 3 Lismore 2 Richmond Valley 1 Tweed
Persons receivnig pension pop). of (% pension Persons receivnig 0 Northern Rivers 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 NSW Year
(source ABS 2011a)
Table 14 identifies the comparative proportions of working-aged populations (WAPs) receiving support in the State. The Richmond-Tweed and Clarence ‘Priority Employment Area’ (PEA) as defined by DEEWR has significantly higher proportions receiving each benefit than the rest of NSW and indeed the country as a whole.
Table 14 Centrelink payments
Proportion of WAP Annual change Proportion of WAP on Proportion of WAP on on Disability of Centrelink LGA/Region Centrelink Benefits Unemployment Benefits Benefits benefits (%) (%) (%) (%)
Byron 33 11 10 -2
Clarence Valley 34 9 12 -4
Coffs Harbour 30 9 10 -1
Glenn Innes Severn 32 9 13 -2
Kyogle 36 11 14 -5
Lismore 31 9 10 -4
Richmond Valley 33 9 13 -4
Tenterfield 28 8 11 -6
Tweed 28 8 10 -3
Richmond-Tweed and 31 9 11 -3 Clarence Valley PEA
NSW 18 5 6 -3
Australia 17 5 6 -3 Working aged people by LGA (source: DEEWR 2012a)
32 Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers 2.6 Education and skills 2.6.1. Non-School Education Qualifications Tertiary education qualification figures (Table 15) highlight the structure of educational attainment in our region, which is generally lower than that of the State’s population. Across our population, Certificate III was the level of education most commonly attained for more than two-fifths (42.3%) of the people who attained a post-secondary qualification. In contrast, across NSW Advanced Diplomas were the most common, with 36.4% of all students reaching this level compared to 26.2% for the Northern Rivers.
NSW and the Northern Rivers were more comparable in respect to Indigenous people. Certificate III was the most commonly completed qualification in both cases with 47.2% and 44.3% of students respectively attaining this grade. Indigenous people in the region have higher rates of educational attainment for all certificate level qualifications and for Bachelor degrees than the rest of our region’s population. Yet, as noted earlier, this population group does not experience employment outcomes commensurate with this attainment.
Northern Rivers Social Profile 2013 33 3 4
Table 15 Highest educational attainment
Doctoral Grad Diploma Advanced Bachelor Degree Diploma Certificate IV Certificate III Certificate II Certificate I Location/LGA Degree and Grad Diploma % % % % % % % Certificate % %
Population E I E I E I E I E I E I E I E I E I group:
Ballina 1.2 0.0 0.2 0.0 10.6 21.8 30.4 8.4 9.9 10.4 6.8 11.4 37.5 42.6 3.3 5.4 0.1 0.0
Byron 1.4 0.0 0.3 0.0 12.3 21.7 36.3 10.4 10.1 9.4 5.6 11.3 31.4 42.5 2.4 4.7 0.1 0.0
Clarence Valley 0.4 1.1 0.1 0.0 8.7 12.0 19.5 6.7 8.3 13.3 8.5 8.0 49.5 48.5 4.8 9.3 0.2 1.1
Kyogle 0.9 9.3 0.2 0.0 10.6 7.4 24.1 14.8 9.3 7.4 7.4 5.6 43.5 50.0 3.7 0.0 0.4 5.6
Lismore 1.5 1.4 0.2 0.0 9.1 21.2 29.7 4.6 9.2 12.5 7.9 9.3 37.8 38.6 4.3 11.6 0.2 0.9
Richmond Valley 0.3 0.0 0.1 0.0 7.7 10.0 17.6 5.6 7.7 10.6 8.3 8.9 52.8 43.9 5.1 18.3 0.5 2.8
Tweed 0.6 0.0 0.2 0.0 9.7 16.9 23.5 5.3 10.6 12.4 6.3 10.0 45.6 45.7 3.3 8.7 0.2 1.0
Northern Rivers 0.9 0.8 0.2 0.0 9.8 16.5 26.2 6.4 9.6 11.9 7.1 9.4 42.3 44.3 3.7 9.5 0.2 1.1
NSW 1.4 0.4 0.3 0.1 10.1 15.9 36.4 6.1 10.9 10.7 6.0 10.7 31.9 47.2 2.9 8.3 0.2 0.6 Regional Development Australia Percentage of graduates as a proportion of total population; Northern Rivers LGAs and NSW E = entire population, I = Indigenous population (source: ABS 2012)
DEEWR (2012a) identified a significant relationship between the educational attainment (Table 15) and labour market outcomes. Figure 26 shows the employment participation rate in our region increases to 86% for people with a Certificate III qualification (as opposed to a rate of 67.1% for the lower certificate levels). A clear incentive exists to encourage students in our region to attain at least Certificate III qualifications. –
Northern Rivers Northern
34 Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers Figure 26 Educational attainment and labour market outcomes 100% 25%
90% 20.5% 84.0% 86.0% 80% 79.2% 20% 74.3% 17.6% 70% 67.1% 64.8% 60% 15%
50% Unemployment Rate 40% 9.3% 10%
30% 6.4% 6.1% participation 4.6% 20% 5% rate
10%
0% 0% Bachelor or Advanced Certificate Yr 12 or Certificate Below Yr higher Diploma 111 and IV equivalent 1 & 11 12 and and Level Level Certificate Diploma Level Level
Richmond-Tweed and Clarence Valley PEA, persons aged 25-34 years (source: DEEWR 2012a)
Statistics relating to TAFE course completions are more positive in our region compared with the broader population. Figure 27 illustrates that between 2008-2012 larger proportions of Northern Rivers students completed their TAFE courses than students across NSW as a whole. In 2012 Kyogle had the largest proportion (50.1%) of students complete their courses, where the State average was 38.6%. Richmond Valley students were less likely to complete.
Figure 27 TAFE course completions 2012
55 Ballina
Byron 50
Clarence Valley 45 Kyogle
Lismore 40 Richmond Valley Proportionof students Tweed 35 Northern Rivers 30 NSW 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Proportion of enrolled students that completed their TAFE course (source: this data was supplied by TAFE NSW and is not publicly available)
Northern Rivers Social Profile 2013 35 Not surprisingly, the most popular TAFE courses pursued by our residents closely reflects the employment by sector data (refer Table 11) for our region. Accordingly, TAFE courses focussed on social welfare, community development and education feature prominently in Table 16.
Table 16 Most popular TAFE courses by LGA Top three (most popular) TAFE courses Residents by home LGA (ranked from most to least popular)
Employment & education skills Ballina Social Welfare & community development Literacy and numeracy
Social Welfare & community development Byron Learner support Building finishes
Learner support Clarence Valley Social Welfare & community development Employment & education skills
Employment & education skills Kyogle General Education Travel and tourism
Social Welfare & community development Lismore Literacy and numeracy Business management
Employment & education skills Richmond Valley Literacy and numeracy Administration clerical and office
Learner support Tweed Hospitality General Education (source: TAFE NSW – not publicly available)
36 Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers 3. Sustainable built and natural environments
3.1 Housing High housing costs can have a severe impact on the wellbeing of individuals and families. ‘Housing affordability’ refers to the relationship between housing costs and household income. The higher the housing cost faced by a household, the less income available for other expenses such as food, clothing, education, transport and health care. Mortgage and rental payments that exceed 30% of household income cause ‘housing stress’ as they reduce a household’s ability to meet other essential costs. In this situation, residents ‘may lack purchasing power for obtaining other essentials such as food, clothing, education, transport and health care’ (Kelly, Croft et al. 2005).
Median household incomes in the Northern Rivers are well below the NSW average, yet housing costs in many locations within the region are as high as those in the rest of State, resulting in high levels of housing stress for many households in the region.
The key cause of decreasing affordability is that housing supply does not meet demand and is exacerbated by high population growth and reducing household size. Affordability is also affected by the type of housing stock available. Almost three-quarters (74.5%) of the region’s housing stock is separate dwellings as opposed to smaller attached houses and apartments (ABS 2012). As a consequence, many smaller households currently reside in housing designed for larger ones.
A further feature of housing stock in the region is the high incidence of dwellings in the coastal areas that do not fit specific housing types and are classified by ABS as ‘other’. These dwellings include mobile homes, caravans, houseboats and tents. The Northern Rivers has 3.8% of housing stock classified in this way compared to 0.9% for the State as a whole.
3.1.1. Tenure Housing tenure data provides an indicator of housing security. Those people in owner-occupied dwellings (especially those who own their home outright) generally enjoy a greater degree of financial security and experience less housing stress than those who are renting.
Tenure data in Table 17 illustrates that more people in the Northern Rivers own their properties outright in comparison to the broader NSW population. Home ownership (with a mortgage) is also slightly lower for the region compared to the State, with the exception of Lismore.
Notable features of the tenure data are the comparatively lower proportions of Clarence Valley and Kyogle residents who rent their housing; and the higher proportion of renters in Byron, which likely reflects the cost of home purchase in these areas. The proportion of people in the region renting social housing, which includes public and community housing, is significantly below the proportion for the State. This indicates the lower stock levels in the region and is highlighted in the social housing waiting list data provided by Housing NSW on its Housing Pathways website. Waiting times for two and three bedroom housing is 10+ years in the coastal areas of the region and between two and 10 years in the rest of the region.
Northern Rivers Social Profile 2013 37 Table 17 Housing tenure by location Owned outright Owned with Private Rental Social Housing LGA/Region % a mortgage % % Rental %
Ballina 42.1 27.4 29.2 4.8
Byron 36.3 29.5 32.3 2.2
Clarence Valley 45.5 28.3 24.8 3.2
Kyogle 48.4 28.7 20.2 2.8
Lismore 37.1 33.2 28.4 4.2
Richmond Valley 40.8 29.5 28.1 4.6
Tweed 42.1 28.5 28.4 3.3
Northern Rivers 41.5 29.2 28.0 3.6
NSW 34.2 33.9 30.2 5.0 Percentage of households (source: ABS 2012)
Housing costs vary across the Northern Rivers. Table 18 indicates that residents in the Ballina, Byron and Tweed LGAs pay the highest rents and face the highest costs of properties for sale. Most significantly, Byron housing costs exceed those of the rest of NSW. A useful comparison is drawn from examining ‘Rest of NSW’ figures which excludes the impact of Sydney housing costs and high proportion of non-detached housing stock reflected in State figures.
Table 18 Median housing costs by LGA, Dec’12 Sale Price - Rent for 2BR Rent for 3BR Locality all properties ($, median) ($, median) ($’000, median)
Ballina 280 380 430
Byron 380 475 541
Clarence Valley 230 280 299
Kyogle 215 250 -
Lismore 230 300 310
Richmond Valley 195 270 330
Tweed 290 360 383 Northern Rivers 260 330 382
Rest of NSW 235 300 315 (excludes Sydney)
NSW 395 390 460 NB the Northern Rivers measurement is an average of the associated LGAs. Kyogle data not available due to small numbers. (source: Housing NSW 2013)
The data in Figure 28 draws from a different and older data set than Table 18; again indicating that residents in our region generally pay higher weekly rent compared to the NSW population. They also
38 Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers illustrate that larger proportions of our Indigenous residents pay higher rents than Indigenous residents in other parts of NSW.
Figure 28 Weekly rental payments 12 NR total population 10
8 NR indigenous population
6 NSW total population 4 Proportionof people
2 NSW indigenous population
0
All households vs household with one or more Indigenous person, NR and NSW (source: ABS 2012)
3.1.2. Mortgage and rent stress The level of stress experienced by an individual can be significantly influenced by their housing costs and tenure circumstances. Mortgage and rent stress are two housing-related stress measures calculated on a per household basis. Research published by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute classifies a household to be in housing stress if its housing costs exceed 30% of income and the household income is in the bottom 40% of income distribution (Rowley and Ong 2012).
Table 19 illustrates the proportion of lower income households in mortgage and rent stress in the Northern Rivers and NSW populations. The table shows greater proportions of households in all the Northern Rivers LGAs are experiencing either rent or mortgage stress compared with the NSW figures. These figures also indicate that the proportion of households experiencing rent stress in our region is more than double the proportion experiencing mortgage stress.
Given the high variation in housing costs across the region, it is clear that the 30% benchmark is masking the proportion of households paying in more than this proportion of their income on housing. This point is highlighted in a recently published report of an annual study conducted by Anglicare Australia (2013) which surveys the affordability of rental properties for people living on government benefits and the minimum wage across a number of regions. The study found no affordable rental properties for this population in the LGAs of Ballina, Byron, Lismore or Tweed9.
9 Note the study did not include all Northern Rivers LGAs
Northern Rivers Social Profile 2013 39 Table 13 Households experiencing mortgage and rent stress LGA/Region Households with rent stress (%) Households with mortgage stress (%)
Ballina 33.8 12.8
Byron 41.3 20.6
Clarence 39.3 16.4
Kyogle 33.1 18.6
Lismore 38.4 15.0
Richmond 36.0 15.7
Tweed 39.1 16.0
Northern Rivers 38.1 16.0
NSW (includes Sydney) 26.3 11.1
Rest of NSW 29.4 11.0 2011 data for low income earners only (source: PHIDU 2012)
3.1.3. Homelessness An estimate of Australia’s homeless population was made by the ABS (2013) based on the 2011 Census. ‘Homelessness' is not a characteristic that is directly measured in the Census. Instead, estimates of the homeless population are derived from the Census using analytical techniques based both on the characteristics observed by Census collectors, and assumptions about the way people may respond to Census questions (ABS 2013).
Table 20 provides the number of homelessness persons counted as homeless in the 2011 Census for the Northern NSW Local Health District and for the State. The category ‘persons who are in improvised dwellings, tents or sleeping out’ is often referred to as rough sleeping and is typically what people think of as homeless. Estimates drawn from the data in Table 20 indicate that 0.5% of the Northern Rivers population was counted as homeless in the 2011 Census compared to 0.4% for the State. Furthermore, ‘rough sleepers’ in the region made up 19.8% of the State’s rough sleeping homeless population.
Table 20 Number of homeless persons Homelessness category Northern NSW NSW
Persons who are in improvised dwellings, tents or sleeping out 342 1,726
Persons in supported accommodation for the homeless 271 4,460
Persons staying temporarily with other households 325 4,574
Persons staying in boarding houses 234 5,921
Persons in other temporary lodging 25 147
Persons living in 'severely' crowded dwellings 188 9,293
Total Homeless population 1,385 28,209
Total population 277,283 6,917,656 Northern NSW Local Health District and NSW (Source: ABS 2013)
40 Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers Results from the community wellbeing survey (RDA-NR and NRSDC in prep) provided further insight into homelessness in the region. Of the random sample, 13.5% declared they had at some stage experienced homelessness10 or had stayed with friends or relatives because they had nowhere else to go, with higher rates reported by the volunteer sample of 19.3%11. The duration of homelessness experienced by the respondents (Figure 29) varied. Almost a third of the random sample (30.5%) had been homeless for more than three months, although among the volunteer sample, two fifths (41.3%) reported the duration of their homelessness as one to three months.
Figure 29 Duration of homelessness in the Northern Rivers 45
40
35
30
25 Random Sample (n=105) 20 Volunteer Sample 15 (n=46)
Proportionof Respondents 10
5 (whohad experienced homelessness) (%) 0 I night to 1 1 week to 1 1 to 3 months More than 3 week month months
(source: RDA-NR and NRSDC in prep)
Further anecdotal evidence offered by local youth homelessness specialist Clare Kable (Early Intervention Intake and Assessment Coordinator, Youth Connections North Coast) described an acute shortage of options for young people experiencing homelessness in the Northern Rivers, and a long waiting list for homelessness support. Moreover, Clare believed that the official estimates of homeless youth do not concur with the current experience of service providers.
3.2 Transport In Australia’s metropolitan centres, transport services are generally measured in terms of cost and time. In ‘addition to the cost of transport, the time spent travelling can have an impact on quality of life. Time spent commuting takes away from time spent with family and friends or participating in community, cultural and recreational activities’ (Department of Infrastructure and Transport 2010).
In Australia’s regional areas, the availability of transport services is a third significant dimension that confronts the population. Transport availability data for our region is poor, however the Sustain Northern Rivers Transport Survey was conducted to improve this situation (RDA-NR and NRSDC in prep). Notwithstanding the data issues, registered vehicle statistics are available and arguably provide
10 In this survey ‘homelessness’ was self-defined. 11 One of the key reasons for using two sampling techniques was that the research team recognised that a random telephone survey would be unlikely to be answered by people experiencing homelessness who would not have access to a landline.
Northern Rivers Social Profile 2013 41 an insight into the population’s reliance on motor vehicles. These statistics are presented below in addition to the results of local transport studies, which provide some observations associated with transport-related opportunities and issues.
3.2.1. Road transport Figure 30 illustrates that the Northern Rivers has higher proportions of motor vehicle registrations per capita than in other LGAs across the State. The Tweed is an exception, and advice from transport industry representatives suggests that this is due to Tweed residents registering their vehicles in Queensland, where fees and processes are more favourable. Therefore it is likely that the Tweed measurement is under-reported.
Figure 30 Registered Motor Vehicles per 1,000 people (March 2010) 800 700
600 500 400 300
Numberof Vehicles 200 100 0
LGA (and NSW as a whole)
NB: the Northern Rivers measurement is an average of the respective LGA measurements (source: ABS 2011a)
From 2004-2010 the total number of registered passenger vehicles (Table 21) in the region has increased. With the capacity to carry multiple people, a large increase in registered bus numbers would offset the impacts of car and motorbike increases and provide a more sustainable option. Although registered bus numbers have increased at almost three times the rate of cars (19% compared to 6.5%) the increase in their total passenger carrying capacity is still less than that of cars. It is interesting to note that bus numbers did not increase at all from 2004-2008.
42 Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers
Table 21 Passenger vehicles, buses and motorcycles Year Passenger vehicles Buses Motorcycles
2004 3,255 26 131
2005 3,320 26 139
2006 3,363 25 148
2007 3,410 25 154
2008 3,472 26 166
2009 3,447 27 178
2010 3,465 31 180 Number per 7,000 people registered in the NSW Northern Rivers (source ABS 2011a)
3.2.2. Local Transport Studies A range of local transport studies shed some light on transport in our region. These include surveys conducted across the Northern Rivers, within LGAs only and with key user groups (such as youth and community transport clients).
The Sustain Northern Rivers (SNR) Regional Transport Survey (RDA-NR and NRSDC in prep) highlighted the dependency of our region’s residents on cars, with 70.8% of respondents driving a car as their main mode of transport. A further 29.8% are car passengers, with 15.5% using a bus and only 1.2% using a train for their most frequent trip. Respondents identified service provision as the main barrier to using public transport, with frequency of service (42.8%), service unavailability (36.1%), timetabling constraints (32.0%), inconvenience (29.9%), long waiting times (25.6%), cost (23.5%), speed (22.4%) and lack of information/timetables (19.7%) identified by many respondents.
The SNR survey identified that about half the respondents would like to make trips but can’t because of a lack of transport (50.1%). For those who make their main regular trip as the driver of a car (70.8% of all respondents), 41.7% identified there were other trips they would like to make but can’t; whereas for those whose main trips are as passengers in cars (29.8% of all respondents), this is 54.5%. People who identified public bus as their main form of transport (15.5% of the total) are more likely to be restricted, with 80.9% unable to make trips they would like to due to lack of transport. There are also a higher proportion of respondents unable to make trips due to lack of transport who:
live in Byron Bay (64.0%); are under 18 years of age (70.4%) or between 18-24 (63.6%); have low incomes of $0-$399 per week (6%-65.8%); and are not employed (68.5%) or are students (63.5%).
A study conducted by Byron Shire Council (2012) reported findings regarding residents’ transport behaviours and transport demand in the LGA. With respect to behaviours, the study found that more than half of the survey respondents did not use either a bus (58% of respondents, n=180), bike (55%, n=145) or walk to the local shop (54% n=144) during their typical week. In regard to demand, it found there was a strong demand for respondents to move within Ocean Shores, followed by regular trips to Mullumbimby, Byron Bay and Brunswick Heads in a typical week. There was also a strong demand for services from the Byron Shire to northern destinations in the Tweed Shire. Importantly, the Council’s
Northern Rivers Social Profile 2013 43 report states that current public transport services do not adequately cater to these destinations, and as with the regional survey, it highlighted high car dependency in the Shire.
Another transport study involving younger Byron Shire residents was conducted by STEER (2013). The group conducted forums to initiate conversations with secondary students about safe transport in our region. Among the major findings, the project found that: 20% of youth felt unsafe as a passenger in the car of their own parent/carer; 67% of those referred to above felt unsafe as a passenger in the car of a trusted family friend; 48% of youth were not confident enough to speak up when feeling unsafe in a vehicle; 48% of youth had hitchhiked; and young people reported a strong need for an ‘out of hours’ bus service.
In keeping with other surveys, results from the Northern Rivers Youth Census (NRSDC 2012) indicated strong car dependency among young people, with 40.1% indicating they drove their own car and/or were a passenger in a car with friends or family (79.1%). The majority indicated they got to school (51.7%) and/or work (62%) in a car. While 57.6% said they get to school by bus, only 13.3% used buses at the weekends. Just over one in 20 (5.7%) of respondents hitch hiked and even fewer (4.2%) used community transport services.
Finally, results from the Northern Rivers Community Transport Disability Transport Task Force study (NRCT 2010) identified a range of issues regarding transport options for people using mobility aids/devices. The study found that a lack of transport options not only prevented people with mobility impairments undertaking activities they wished to do, it also reduced the frequency of them doing so. Respondents reported that they considered taxis too expensive, community transport unavailable and buses practically unusable. Respondents from the Lismore LGA in particular commonly reported that there were insufficient wheelchair accessible taxis available. There was a range of difficulties experienced across all modes and across the region. The authors concluded that these issues impact directly on social equity, opportunity and social inclusion in our region.
In spite of these challenges, the NSW Government figures show that in 2011-12 approximately 2.2 million trips were provided to transport-disadvantaged people through the Home and Community Care and Community Transport Programs across NSW. In our region 91,007 trips were provided by the three Community Transport operators (4.1% of trips across the state). The Government agrees that these organisations offer essential services to their communities and highlighted that in February 2012 almost $500,000 of additional funds were allocated to Community Transport groups across NSW.
3.2.3. Comparing Regional/Rural and Metropolitan Fares in NSW The following information was collated by NRSDC (2012a) using data from service provider websites, the Transport for NSW website and NSW Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) website.
Table 22 shows comparison bus fares per section and Table 23 shows example fares in terms of duration of journey, rather than by distance travelled. These are maximum set fares as set by IPART12. Bus companies have the discretion to set lower fares and sometimes do. Regional/rural fares are considerably higher than their metropolitan equivalents. This is of particular concern because residents in some of our smaller towns have no choice but to travel for employment or training and
12 See www.ipart.nsw.gov.au/
44 Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers high fares may make travel inaccessible, especially for some groups, such as part-time students who are not eligible for student concession cards.
Table 22 Bus fare structures NSW Rural/Regional bus fare structure 2013 Sydney bus fare structure 2013
Sections Adult Child/Concession Sections Adult Child/Concession
1 $2.10 $1.05 1-2 $2.20 $1.10 2 $3.30 $1.65
3 $4.10 $2.05
4 $4.70 $2.35 3-5 $3.60 $1.80
5 $5.30 $2.65
6 $5.90 $2.95
7 $6.40 $3.20 6+ $4.60 $2.30
20 $11.50 $5.75
30 $14.40 $7.20
40 $16.90 $8.45 1 section = 1.6km
Table 23 Example fares in Northern Rivers and Sydney Northern Rivers From To Duration Adult Child/Concession
Goonellabah Lismore 10 mins $5.50 $2.75
Wollongbar Lismore 23 mins $8.50 $4.25
Lennox Head Ballina 20 mins $6.40 $3.20
Coraki or Casino Lismore 30 mins $9.70 $4.85
Ballina Lismore 45 mins $9.70 $4.85
Byron Bay Ballina 50 mins $9.60 $4.80
Kyogle Lismore 65 mins $9.70 $4.85
Sydney From To Duration Adult Child/Concession
Glebe City 10 mins $2.20 $1.10
Edgecliff City 20 mins $3.60 $1.80
Coogee City 30 mins $3.60 $1.80
Parramatta City 55mins $4.60 $2.30
Strathfield City 60 mins $4.60 $2.30
Northern Rivers Social Profile 2013 45 4. Democratic and engaged communities Civil society is ‘the non-government and not-for-profit groups and organisations that have a presence in public life, expressing the interests of their members and others in society’ (World Bank 2006). If people participate in such arenas, their ‘concerns, needs and values can be incorporated into government decision making’ (ABS 2010). In a fully engaged civil society, the overall goal is to arrive at better collective decisions that are supported by the population, and to foster population wellbeing (World Bank 2002).
4.1 Local elections participation rate Participation in local elections is an indicator of civic participation for which regional data is available. The 2012 Local Government election participation rates (Figure 31) varied across the region. The data appears positive as more than 80% of voters enrolled in the Ballina, Clarence Valley, Kyogle, Lismore and Richmond Valley LGAs participated in the elections. Participation in Tweed (78.2%) and Byron Shires (76.4%) was lower and this rate – particularly for Byron – is surprising given that community activism on a range of issues is regularly manifested in and around the Shire.
Figure 31 Local government election participation 2012
88
86 84 82 80 78 76 Participation (%) Rate Participation 74 72 70 Ballina Byron Clarence Kyogle Lismore Richmond Tweed LGAs Valley
(source: NSW Electoral Commission 2012)
4.2 Civic participation The RDA-NR/NRSDC community wellbeing survey asked respondents whether they feel there are opportunities to have a real say on issues that are important to them. In general 65.8% felt that they definitely or sometimes had opportunities to have a say. This trend was much stronger in Ballina where 46.8% said they definitely felt they had an opportunity, than the 27% who did so in Tweed. Approximately a quarter of respondents from the Richmond Valley (28.5%), Kyogle (27.2%), Tweed (26%) and Lismore (23.5%) LGAs did not feel as though they had opportunities to have a say (i.e. answered ‘no’ or ‘not at all’). It is interesting that it is some of these LGAs that have the highest local government election participation rates.
46 Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers Figure 32 Opportunities to have a real say on issues 50 45
40 35 30 25 20 15 10 Proportionof Respondents(%) 5 0 Yes, definitely Sometimes Not often No Not at all Don't know Opportunities to have a say…
Ballina Byron Clarence Kyogle Lismore Richmond Valley Tweed Northern Rivers
(source: RDA-NR and NRSDC in prep)
The survey also examined levels of involvement in community groups, local events and activism and Table 24 indicates moderate levels of participation in community groups, with those involved in groups likely to have been involved in local action in the last two years (59.7% for the random sample respondents). There are also reasonable levels of participation on decision-making bodies, although this is higher for the volunteer sample (32.9%) than for the random sample (18.3%). Most respondents both samples reported attending a local community event in the previous six months.
Table 24 Participation in civic activities Random Volunteer Civic activity participation Sample (%) Sample (%)
Are you a member of a sports group, a church group, a school group, a 57.3 62.1 professional group or academic society or any other community or action group?
Have any of these groups you are involved with taken any local action on 59.7 36.7 behalf of the community in the last 2 years? (n = 444) (n = 149)
Are you on a decision-making board or committee such as a school council, 18.3 32.9 sports club committee or resident action group?
Have you attended a local community event in the past 6 months? 80.0 82.9 (source: RDA-NR and NRSDC in prep)
Northern Rivers Social Profile 2013 47 5. Culturally rich and diverse communities
5.1 Participation in arts, cultural and sporting activities In his paper for Victoria’s Community Development Network The fourth pillar of sustainability: culture's essential role in public planning, Jon Hawkes (2001) says of leisure and recreation: ‘what we do in the breaks between the struggle to survive is profoundly important to our wellbeing, our sense of belonging and connectedness, our culture’. RDA-NR and NRSDC (in prep) investigated these important aspects of social life in the community wellbeing survey.
As shown in Figures 33 and 34, the community wellbeing survey found that similar proportions (approximately 20%) of respondents participated in arts and cultural activities including painting, drawing, singing or playing a musical instrument. Performing arts were less commonly undertaken than other forms and while a high proportion (48%) had not participated in any of the activities listed in Figure 35, those who had tended to participate in more than one.
Figure 33 Participation in cultural activities
Other types of performing ( e.g. acting or dancing) Creative writing
Played a musical instrument
Singing Volunteer Sample Painting or drawing activities Random Sample
Other art or craft activities
None of the above
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Proportion of Respondents (%)
(source: RDA-NR and NRSDC in prep)
In general, the volunteer sample had higher levels of participation or attendance at music festivals, gallery exhibitions and theatre performances in the month prior to the survey than did the random sample, who had higher levels of attendance at sporting events.
48 Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers Figure 34 Participation in public activities 35
30
25
20
15 Random Sample Volunteer Sample 10
5
Proportionof Respondents(%) 0 Local festivals Plays, dance or Gallery Attended a other forms of exhibitions sporting event theatre
(source: RDA-NR and NRSDC in prep)
Figure 35 illustrates that a large majority (70.7%) of the random sample respondents either ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ that there were sufficient opportunities in their local area to participate in arts and related activities. More than half (55.8%) of the volunteer sample (who had higher levels of participation in arts and cultural activities) agreed or strongly agreed about having adequate opportunities to participate.
Figure 35 Opportunities to participate in arts and related activities 50 45
40 35 30 25 20 15 10 Proportionof Respondents(%) 5 0 Strongly agree Agree Neither agree Disagree Strongly Don't know/not nor disagree disagree sure/N/A/don't participate
Random Sample Volunteer Sample
(source: RDA-NR and NRSDC in prep) NB: there is no data for the ‘agree’ or ‘disagree’ category for the volunteer sample
Northern Rivers Social Profile 2013 49 5.2 Welcoming difference and diversity There is a paucity of data collected in any systematic way that reflects our experiences of and attitudes to living and working in communities that are diverse in terms of individuals’ thinking, lifestyles, sexuality and ethnicity – all of which have the power to enrich our communities and make them strong. The community wellbeing survey, however, identified that approximately 70% (69.7% random sample; 72.1% volunteer sample) of respondents think multiculturalism makes life better.
5.2.1. Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders Altogether on the census enumeration night 11,38513 Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders were present in the region, which accounted for 4.1% of the total Northern Rivers population. This is much higher than the State average of 2.5% (ABS 2012). Figure 36 illustrates that the age cohort structure of our Indigenous population is quite different to our non-Indigenous population. In keeping with the national trend, the proportion of younger Aboriginal people (i.e. 0-19 years) is a larger proportion of the total and those who are older (i.e. 45-69) is a smaller proportion than is true for the non-Indigenous population.
Figure 36 Indigenous vs. non-Indigenous population age cohorts
65 to 69 60 to 64 55 to 59 50 to 54 Male Female 45 to 49 Non- 40 to 44 Indigenous 35 to 39 30 to 34
Age Age Class 25 to 29 Indigenous 20 to 24 15 to 19 10 to 14 5 to 9 0 to 4
15 10 5 0 5 10 15 Proportion of Population
Northern Rivers (source: ABS 2012)
5.2.2. The GLBTI community According to ACON, New South Wales’ leading community health organisation for people living with HIV and the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex (GLBTI) community, it is ‘received wisdom’ that the Northern Rivers has the highest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender population outside of any capital city in Australia. However, there does not seem to be any data to support this notion.
Nonetheless, there is anecdotal evidence of a thriving GLBTI community in the region, as evidenced by the Lismore-based community organisation ‘Tropical Fruits’ which has more than 800 members and organises dance parties and other social events for the GLBTI community each year, bringing some
13 This figure is potentially deflated due to a number of people providing no response to the census question associated with this data.
50 Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers 5,000 people from around the State and beyond, to the annual New Year festival at the Lismore Showgrounds.
5.2.3. New arrivals Although there has been an inflow of refugees into our region in recent years, particularly from African countries, the numbers are at present very low and there is little data available to include here.
Northern Rivers Social Profile 2013 51 APPENDIX: COMMUNITY WELLBEING SURVEY
RDA-NR and NRSDC recognised a need for a survey of community experiences of wellbeing and living in the region to supplement the data in the Regional Social Profile. RDA-NR engaged Jetty Research to assist with the development and piloting of a survey tool that was based on questions from the Victorian Community Survey developed by Community Indicators Victoria (see http://www.communityindicators.net.au/ for more information). Two methods were used to seek community views, including a random sampling approach through a telephone survey; and a volunteer sampling approach through distribution of an online and a similar version of the survey in paper form. A summary of key demographic characteristics of both samples is provided below.
Random Sample Jetty Research conducted a randomised telephone survey with the aim of stratifying equal response rates across the seven LGAs of the region between 11-22 March 2013. A 27% participation rate resulted in a total sample of 775. The data for this sample has been weighted to reflect the age and gender profile of the region. Consequently the random sample is a representative sample of the Northern Rivers population and results can be extrapolated to the whole population.
Table A1 Weighting factors for age and gender for random survey sample Age Male Female Total
18-34 3.905 2.085 2.713
35-44 1.760 0.676 0.952
45-54 0.914 0.743 0.817
55-64 1.003 0.586 0.739
65+ 1.147 0.847 0.962
Volunteer sample The volunteer sampling approach was adopted to enable community members who might be disadvantaged by the telephone survey method to participate (e.g. those without landline phones, the homeless and young people). Some questions were omitted or varied in this version of the survey to increase participation by vulnerable community members. This survey was promoted and available from 8 March to 3 April 2013.
From a review of the demographic data, the volunteer sampling approach has not achieved the aim of reaching a wide cross section of disadvantaged or vulnerable community members (for example, this sample attracted a higher proportion of higher income earners than found in the regional population). It did, however, attract 7.9% of responses from Indigenous people, indicating that this methods did to engage this population group as hoped.
The additional data set provides an opportunity to compare the results of the two methods and for many issues, there is strong consistency across both data sets. There were 240 respondents who voluntarily completed the community wellbeing survey. Due to the non-randomised data collection, the volunteer sample is not representative of the population and cannot be adjusted by a weighting factor.
52 Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers Reporting results If the samples are not identified, the results reported in the Regional Social Profile chapters preceding this appendix are from the random sample only. Where both samples are reported, both sets of results are identified. All results for the random sample have been weighted (except for core demographic data).
Demographic characteristics of sample respondents
Location of respondents by LGA While the random sample ensured reasonably equitable responses from each LGA, 38.6% of the volunteer sample resided in the Lismore LGA and only 5.4% in Kyogle and the Richmond Valley.
Table A2 Respondents location by LGA Random Volunteer LGA Sample (n) Sample (n) Byron 107 28 Ballina 107 35 Clarence Valley 116 18 Kyogle 108 13 Lismore 114 93 Richmond Valley 112 13 Tweed 110 31
Age Once adjusted by the weighting factor, the random sample provides a reasonable representation of the age profile for people aged 18 years and over, however, the volunteer sample includes a larger cohort between 35-64 years of age.
Table A3 Age of survey respondents Age Random Sample Random Sample Volunteer Sample Total Population (years) (% unweighted) (% weighted) (53%) (%) 0-17 0 0 0.8 24.3 18-24 2.2 6.5 4.2 5.2 25-34 5.3 13.8 10.8 8.9 35-44 16.8 16.0 27.1 12.3 45-54 23.7 19.4 27.1 15.0 55-64 25.5 18.9 21.3 14.6 65-74 16.9 16.4 3.8 10.1 75+ 9.5 9.0 0 9.6
Gender Once adjusted by the weighting factor, the random sample provides a reasonable representation of the gender profile for our region, however, the volunteer sample includes a larger proportion of females.
Northern Rivers Social Profile 2013 53 Table A4 Gender of survey respondents Random Sample Random Sample Volunteer Sample Total Population Gender (% unweighted) (% weighted) (%) (%) Female 63.4 52.0 76.3 51 Male 36.6 48.0 18.8 49
Current employment status Respondents from the volunteer sample report higher rates of employment than the random sample.
Table A4 Current employment status of survey respondents Employment Status Random Sample (%) Volunteer Sample (%)
Employed full time 25.3 46.7
Employed part time 20.8 33.8
Unemployed 7.4 7.1
Not presently in the labour force 38.5 7.5 (e.g. student, retired)
Household income Household incomes for the volunteer sample are higher with 36.3% earning more than $1,250 per week compared to 20.1% for the entire Northern Rivers population. Both samples had fewer respondents earning higher incomes than the total population, i.e. 45.9% of Northern Rivers households earns less than $400, but only 16.7% of the random sample and 5.0% of the volunteer sample earned incomes less than $400 per week).
Table A5 Household income of survey respondents Random Weekly Household Volunteer Sample Total Population Sample Income (%) (%) (%)
Less than $400 16.7 5.0 45.9
$400-$800 30.2 20.4 23.6
$800-$1,250 22.6 26.7 16.8
Greater than $1,250 22.6 36.3 20.1
Not answered 3.8 6.3 Don’t know 4.6 5.4
Indigenous peoples There were 28 respondents (3.6%) to the random sample; and 19 respondents (17.9%) to the volunteer sample who identified as being Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
People with a Disability There were 18.4% of respondents to the random sample; and 11.7% of respondents to the volunteer sample who identified as living with a disability.
54 Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers REFERENCES
Abhayaratna, J and Lattimore, R (2006), Workforce Participation Rates – How Does Australia Compare?, Staff Working Paper, Australian Government Productivity Commission ABS (2010), Series 1370.0 – Measures of Australia's Progress, 2010 ABS (2011), Series 4159.0 – General Social Survey: Summary Results, Australia, 2010 ABS (2011a), Series 1379.0.55.001 – National Regional Profile, 2006 to 2010 ABS (2011b), 2033.0.55.001 – Census of Population and Housing: Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), Australia, 2011 ABS (2012), 2011 Census of Population and Housing ABS (2012b), Series 6291.0.55.001 – Labour Force, Australia, Detailed – Electronic Delivery ABS (2013), 2049.0 – Census of Population and Housing: Estimating homelessness, 2011, Accessed online [12 Apr 2013]: http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[email protected]/Lookup/2049.0Explanatory%20Notes12011?OpenDocum ent ACARA (2013), NAPLAN, Accessed online [12 April 2013]: http://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/naplan.html Anglicare Australia (2013), Rental Affordability Snapshot, Canberra AEDI (2013), Accessed online [22 April 2013]: http://maps.aedi.org.au/ Australian Government (2013), A Snapshot of Early Childhood Development in Australia, 2012 – AEDI National Report, Australian Government, Canberra. AIHW (2012), Socio-economic Disadvantage and Health, Accessed online [9 Nov 2012]: http://www.aihw.gov.au/socio-economic-disadvantage-and-health/ Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2011), Young Australians: their health and wellbeing, 2011, Cat. no. PHE 140. Canberra: AIHW Australian Human Rights Commission (2013), Racism. It stops with me, Accessed online [11 April 2013]: http://itstopswithme.humanrights.gov.au/it-stops-with-me/why-racism Byron Shire Council (2012), 2011 Transport Survey Results, Accessed online [12 April 2013]: www.byron.nsw.gov.au/files/pages/transport.../results_of_survey.pdf CEE (2012), Health Statistics New South Wales, NSW Ministry of Health, Accessed online [9 Nov 2012]: www.healthstats.nsw.gov.au Cox, Frere, West, Wiseman (2010), Developing and Using Local Community Wellbeing Indicators: Learning from the Experience of Community Indicators Victoria, Australian Journal of Social Issues, Volume 45, Issue 1. DEEWR (2012), Regional Education, Skills and Jobs Plan: New South Wales Northern Rivers 2012-2014, Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
Northern Rivers Social Profile 2013 55
DEEWR (2012a), Richmond-Tweed and Clarence Valley Priority Employment Area August 2012 Presentation, Labour Market Research and Analysis Branch DEEWR (2013), Australian regional labour markets: December Quarter 2012, Accessed online [8 Apr 2013]: http://foi.deewr.gov.au/documents/australian-regional-labour-markets-december-quarter-2012 Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (2011), Australian Food Statistics 2009-10 Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (2012), More opportunities for Australian students, Accessed online [15 Nov 2012]: http://www.nbn.gov.au/nbn-benefits/education/ Department of Infrastructure and Transport (2010), State of Australian Cities 2010, Major Cities Unit Destination NSW (2013), Regional Local Government Area (LGA) Visitor Profiles, accessed online [15 Apr 2013]: http://www.destinationnsw.com.au/tourism/facts-and-figures/local-area-profiles Hawkes, J (2001) The fourth pillar of sustainability: culture's essential role in public planning, Cultural Development Network (Vic) 2001 Housing NSW http://www.housingpathways.nsw.gov.au/ Accessed online 13 May 2013 Housing NSW (2013), Rent & Sales Report Issue 102 and 103. Kelly, S J, Croft, Q, Gillett, P and Sheppard, A (2005), Housing affordability on the NSW North Coast, Southern Cross Business School, Southern Cross University Lismore City Council (2011), Economic Snapshot – November 2011 NRCT (2010), Disability Transport Task Force: Survey Data Analysis February 2010 NRSDC (2012) The Northern Rivers Youth Census – Report of Findings, accessed online [12 Apr]: http://nrsdc.org.au/publications/cat_view/924-youth.html NRSDC (2012a) Comparison between Regional/Rural and Metropolitan Fares in NSW, accessed online [1 Feb]: http://www.nrsdc.org.au/images/stories/newsletter/sept_news/Comparison_between_Regional__Me tropolitan_fares.doc NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics (2011), Recorded Crime Dataset, Accessed online [21 May 13]: http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/bocsar/ll_bocsar.nsf/pages/bocsar_research NSW Electoral Commission (2012), Local Government Elections 2012, Vote NSW online NSW Government (2009), Regional Reports 2009 – North Coast NSW Health (2012), NSW Health Annual Report 2011-2012 PHIDU (2012), Social Health Atlas of Australia: Statistical Local Area and Local Government Area, Accessed online [12 Nov 2012]: http://www.publichealth.gov.au/ RDA-NR and NRSDC (in prep), Northern Rivers Transport Survey, unpublished report being prepared for Sustain Northern Rivers RDA-NR and NRSDC (in prep), Northern Rivers Community Wellbeing Survey, unpublished
56 Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers
Rowley and Ong (2012), Housing affordability, housing stress and household wellbeing in Australia, for AHURI, Sept 12, Final Report No. 192 STEER (2013), Youth Transport Forums 2012 – Draft Report, accessed online [12 April]: http://www.youthforroadsafety.org/uploads/project_bijlagen/30jan13_youth_transport_forums_201 2_draft_report.pdf World Bank (2002), Draft Module on Civic Participation in National Governance, World Bank, Washington DC World Bank (2006), Defining Civil Society, World Bank, Washington DC
Northern Rivers Social Profile 2013 57 ACRONYMS
ABS Australian Bureau of Statistics ACARA Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority AEDI Australian Early Development Index AIHW Australian Institute of Health and Welfare CEE Centre for Epidemiology and Evidence CIV Community Indicators Victoria CV Clarence Valley [statistical area] DAFF Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry DBCDE Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy DEEWR Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations E Entire [population] GLBT Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender [community] I Indigenous [population] IPART Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal LGA Local Government Area NAPLAN National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy NHD Northern Health District NBN National Broadband Network NR Northern Rivers NRCT Northern Rivers Community Transport NRSDC Northern Rivers Social Development Council PEA Priority Employment Area PHIDU Public Health Information Development Unit RDA-NR Regional Development Australia - Northern Rivers RT Richmond-Tweed [statistical area] SEIFA Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas SNR Sustain Northern Rivers WAP Working Age Population
58 Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers