1380.0.55.005 - Perspectives on Regional Australia: Population Turnover, 2006  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 30/09/2008  First Issue
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TASMANIA


AN ANALYSIS OF SELECTED CHARACTERISTICS OF WARATAH/WYNYARD (M) - PT B - A HIGH POPULATION TURNOVER STATISTICAL LOCAL AREA

On this page:

Introduction

Waratah/Wynyard (M) - Pt B: Characteristics of the area and usual residents

People who arrived in, departed or did not move from Waratah/Wynyard (M) - Pt B


Introduction

In Tasmania, the five Statistical Local Areas (SLAs) with the greatest population turnover were generally in rural areas. This chapter presents some data for these five SLAs (see Table 7.1), then discusses the characteristics of one SLA as an example. In Tasmania, Waratah/Wynyard (M) - Pt B was chosen as an example of an agricultural region with high population turnover.

To view an image of this SLA via Google Maps Australia please click on the following link: Waratah/Wynyard (M) - Pt B.

TABLE 7.1. HIGH POPULATION TURNOVER SLAs - Tasmania

2001 Census count(a)
2006 Census count
Census count change
Arrivals(b)
Departures(c)
Net migration(c)
Population flow(c)
Population turnover(c)
SLA(d)
psns
psns
psns
psns
psns
psns
psns
%

Waratah/Wynyard (M) - Pt B
2 512
2 510
-2
732
748
-16
1 480
65.5
Meander Valley (M) - Pt A
7 595
8 231
636
2 491
2 151
340
4 642
62.9
West Coast (M)
5 284
5 003
-281
1 098
1 531
-433
2 629
60.0
Kingborough (M) - Pt B
2 443
2 617
174
770
627
143
1 397
59.8
West Tamar (M) - Pt B
1 739
1 900
161
497
483
14
980
59.1

(a) Based on 2006 Census boundaries
(b) Excludes people aged 0-4 years and those who did not state where they lived 5 years ago
(c) Excludes people aged 0-4 years, those who did not state where they lived 5 years ago, and overseas departures, meaning these data are estimated on a different basis than the 2006 Census count (for further information about how Population turnover is calculated, refer to Explanatory Note 14)
(d) Excludes unincorporated areas and SLAs with a population of less than 500 people
Source: Census of Population and Housing, 2006 and Census of Population and Housing, 2001
Note: This table is based on place of usual residence. Cells in this table have been randomly adjusted to avoid the release of confidential data.



Waratah/Wynyard (M) - Pt B: Characteristics of the area and usual residents

This SLA was selected for discussion as it recorded the highest population turnover of all SLAs in Tasmania (65.5%), yet this turnover was comparatively low when compared to the turnover for the top five SLAs in all other states and territories.

Waratah/Wynyard (M) - Pt B is in the north-west of Tasmania and is inland from the towns Wynyard and Burnie. A small part of this SLA is covered by the Savage River National Park. This SLA is known for its farming and agricultural land. Estimates obtained from Agricultural Commodities: Small Area Data, Australia, 2005-06 (cat. no. 7125.0) indicated that the agricultural land holding of this SLA was 14,118 hectares with 130 establishments. The majority of this land (estimated at 10,229 hectares) was used for grazing, a large proportion of which was for cattle.

Employment and age

At the 2006 Census 20% (or 202) of the employed people living in Waratah/Wynyard (M) - Pt B worked in the Agriculture, forestry and fishing industry division (using the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), 2006), which was the highest proportions of all industries. Most residents employed in this industry worked in the ANZSIC subdivision Agriculture (171 or 84.7%) and only a small number were employed in Forestry and logging (15 or 7.4%). By way of comparison, only 3.2% of employed residents of Australia were employed in the Agriculture, forestry and fishing industry.

The remainder of employed residents of Waratah/Wynyard (M) - Pt B worked in a variety of industries with the second and third largest proportions being recorded in Manufacturing (10.6%) and Health care and social assistance (10.5%). Similar proportions were recorded for Australia (10.7% and 10.8% respectively).

Other key characteristics of the area and its residents were:
  • An unemployment rate of 8.9% at the 2006 Census, compared with an unemployment rate of 5.2% for Australia for the same time period.
  • A median age of 38 years, compared with 39 years for Tasmania and 37 years for Australia.


People who arrived in, departed or did not move from Waratah/Wynyard (M) - Pt B

Following is a discussion of the characteristics of three populations relating to Waratah/Wynyard (M) - Pt B: arrivals to the SLA within the five years to the 2006 Census; departures from the SLA within the same time period; and those who did not move SLA.

At the 2006 Census 32.4% of usual residents of Waratah/Wynyard (M) - Pt B (excluding people aged 0-4 years and those who did not state where they lived five years ago) had arrived in the SLA within the last five years. Most of these arrivals were from interstate. Overseas arrivals (18) made up only 2.5% of all arrivals in Waratah/Wynyard (M) - Pt B. Most departures from Waratah/Wynyard (M) - Pt B (80.4% or 600 departures) departed to the remainder of Tasmania (this analysis excludes departures overseas, which are unable to be counted using Census data).

Age

While the most common age group for all arrivals was 30-44 years (29.5% of all arrivals - see Graph 7.1), arrivals from interstate were more likely to be aged 45-59 years (27.6% of interstate arrivals). People in these age groups may be moving to this SLA for a lifestyle change or to raise a family and some may be returning after leaving for work purposes. A high proportion of people who had not moved SLA were also aged 45-59 years (28.8%).

GRAPH 7.1. ARRIVALS (a), By age group - Waratah/Wynyard (M) - Pt B
Graph 7.1. Arrivals, By age group, WaratahWynyard (M) - Pt B


GRAPH 7.2. DEPARTURES (a), By age group - Waratah/Wynyard (M) - Pt B
Graph 7.2. Departures, By age group, WaratahWynyard (M) - Pt B


The most common age group for departures was 15-29 years, making up 32.0% of all departures (see Graph 7.2). It is possible that departures in this age group are moving for education or employment reasons, although there are a number of TAFE Tasmania campuses within daily commuting distance and a University of Tasmania campus at Burnie. The educational attendance of the three population groups of this study were relatively low compared to the rate for Australia, but departures (at 10.4%) had twice the proportion attending post secondary school education, when compared with arrivals and people who had not moved SLA (4.9% and 4.6% respectively).

Employment

Generally departures from Waratah/Wynyard (M) - Pt B did not work in the Agriculture, forestry and fishing industry, which was the primary industry of employment for residents in this SLA. Specifically, while Agriculture, forestry and fishing was the top industry of employment for employed arrivals (14.3%) and employed people who had not moved SLA (22.0%), only 5.8% of employed departures worked in Agriculture, forestry and fishing.

The unemployment rate of residents living in Waratah/Wynyard (M) - Pt B at the 2006 Census was 8.9%, compared with 6.6% for Tasmania and 5.2% for Australia. Arrivals to this SLA were more likely to be unemployed (13.0% of the labour force) than departures (8.5%) or people who had not moved SLA (6.9%). The labour force participation rates for each of these groups were similar (61.7%, 63.8% and 62.1% respectively) although they were all slightly lower than Australia (64.6%).

As noted earlier, the relatively high unemployment rate of Waratah/Wynyard (M) - Pt B was influenced by the unemployment rate of arrivals. A feature of the data are that within the arrivals population group, the unemployment rate varied depending on their different points of origin. Arrivals from within the state had an unemployment rate of 10.6%, but a high labour force participation rate (68.9%), whereas interstate arrivals had a higher unemployment rate (15.0%) and a lower labour force participation rate (52.7%). The low participation rate for interstate arrivals may be due to people moving to the area to retire or for a change of lifestyle.

The unemployment and labour force participation rates for departures also varied according to the location to which they departed. Departures who moved interstate had the lowest unemployment rate of all arrivals and departures (4.1% of the labour force) and the second highest labour force participation rate (65.5%).

Education and income

Broadly similar proportions of arrivals, departures and people who had not moved had non-school qualifications. Arrivals had the highest proportion of residents aged 15 years and over with non-school qualifications (44.4% or 240), followed by departures (37.8% or 216) and people who had not moved SLA (36.2% or 422). There was also very little difference in income across the three population groups of this study. A higher proportion of those who had not moved SLA who were aged 15 years and over earned $1,000 or more per week than arrivals and departures in the same age group (13.5%, 10.8% and 11.0% respectively). These data may indicate that in general, arrivals are unlikely to be moving to Waratah/Wynyard (M) - Pt B for highly skilled jobs that could not be filled locally.

Please note: All data presented in this publication relate to person or dwelling characteristics at the time of the 2006 Census. As arrivals and departures may have moved at any time in the five years to the 2006 Census their characteristics could have been different at the time of their migration. The data presented also only captures a person's place of usual residence at the 2006 Census and five years prior to the Census (where they have answered that question). People could have moved residence numerous times between these time periods. Arrivals estimates exclude people who did not state where they lived five years ago, and those who were under the age of 5 at the time of the 2006 Census. In addition to those exclusions, estimates of departures also exclude overseas departures (as these people were not enumerated in the Census). To be consistent with the conceptual basis of the arrivals and departures estimates, the adjusted Census count used in calculating population turnover also excludes 0-4 year olds and people who did not state where they lived five years ago.