The Territory’s Population: Research insights on current and future changes

The Territory’s Population: Research insights on current and future changes

A Demography and Growth Planning 

research seminar

Wednesday 26 October
Charles Darwin Centre, Darwin

Researchers (L-R): Huw Brokensha; Andrew Taylor; Tom Wilson; Paul Peters; Dean Carson; Lisbeth Harbo

Seminar overview

The Territory’s population continues to change in a dynamic fashion with pre-election attention given to finding ways to address our volatile and spatially disparate rates of growth. After exceeding 2.5% p.a. growth in 2007-2010, growth has stagnated and we are losing national population share. Importantly, recent changes in compositions and sources of migration flows will have long-term demographic and economic implications for the Territory. In this seminar we provide research insights on the causes and consequences of current and likely future changes in the Territory’s population. This seminar draws on our national and international work program. It includes insights from three international guest speakers engaged in addressing population issues in Canada and the north of Europe through applied research. Our national work on developing robust and accurate population projection models emphasises the need to understand our future demography for planning, and equally how difficult this task is.

Presentations

1. Andrew Taylor (Northern Institute) – Introduction and three key population issues for the Territory 

2. Dean Carson (Northern Institute and international adjunct) – Population change in sparsely populated areas: International comparisons 

3. Huw Brokensha (Northern Institute) – Exploring the accuracy of sub-national population forecasts 

4. Paul Peters (University of New Brunswick, Canada) – Agent Based Demographic Modelling for Canadian populations 

5. Tom Wilson (Northern Institute) – Scenarios of the NTs future population

6. Lisbeth Harbo (Nordic Centre for Spatial Development, Sweden) – Change and challenges for small settlements in the north 

Demography North