Agency, contingency and census process: Observations of the 2006 Indigenous Enumeration Strategy in remote Aboriginal Australia

Agency, contingency and census process......Page 1
Contents......Page 3
Kathryn Thorburn......Page 7
Abbreviations and acronyms......Page 9
Preface......Page 11
Acknowledgements......Page 13
1. Producing powerful numbers......Page 15
Background......Page 16
The Indigenous Enumeration Strategy in 2006: structures and processes......Page 18
Introduction......Page 23
The sociopolitical context of the census......Page 24
The Community Housing and Infrastructure Needs Survey and the census......Page 25
The Discrete Indigenous Communities Database......Page 26
The value of local knowledge......Page 27
Imparting information: instruction and practical application......Page 28
9.7.3. Absent People......Page 29
Counting an occupied dwelling where no one is home......Page 30
Conclusion......Page 31
2001 remembered and developments since......Page 35
Collecting in 2006......Page 36
Reasons for improvement......Page 40
Remaining issues......Page 42
Tangentyere’s list......Page 43
Conclusion......Page 44
Introduction......Page 47
Localities......Page 48
Funerals: a major cause of mobility......Page 49
The count, phase one: 6 July to 3 August......Page 50
The burdens of literacy......Page 51
Case two......Page 53
The count, phase two: 3–7 August......Page 54
Problems of definition: ‘usual resident’ and ‘visitor’......Page 56
Case three......Page 57
Case four......Page 58
The wider political context......Page 59
The count, phase three: 8–14 August......Page 60
A Darwin interlude......Page 64
The count, phase four: 20 September......Page 65
The role of local organisations: a missed opportunity......Page 67
5. Whose census? Institutional constraints on the Indigenous Enumeration Strategy at Wadeye......Page 69
Census preparation: the relationship between the community and the Australian Bureau of Statistics......Page 71
Census preparation: engaging a local census team......Page 74
Training......Page 75
A small workforce and its consequences......Page 77
Counting a mobile population......Page 79
Persons temporarily absent......Page 81
Conclusion......Page 84
6. What sort of town is Fitzroy Crossing? Logistical and boundary problems of the 2006 enumeration in the southern Kimberley......Page 87
Getting started......Page 89
Training, planning and preparation......Page 90
Training......Page 91
Managing the paperwork......Page 93
The role of the Census Field Officer......Page 94
The count......Page 95
The ‘visitor’ question......Page 97
Issues specific to towns of the Fitzroy Crossing type......Page 98
Conclusion......Page 99
The CFO debriefing......Page 101
The post-count checking process at the Census Management Unit......Page 104
Grooming the forms......Page 105
The ‘persons temporarily absent’ problem......Page 107
Some preliminary thoughts on tracking absent persons......Page 109
Patterns of mobility and migration......Page 110
Documentation after the fact......Page 111
The Arnhem Land case-study area......Page 112
Conclusion......Page 113
Introduction......Page 115
The Indigenous Processing Team: a brief appraisal......Page 118
Some global problems......Page 120
Family coding: what is being coded, and why?......Page 121
Occupation: CDEP and the invisible economy......Page 124
Conclusion: the representation of Indigenous Australians in the census......Page 126
The Interviewer Household Form: from data collection to data coding......Page 127
The role of the Census Field Officer......Page 129
The role of the Community Coordinators and collector-interviewers......Page 131
Residents, visitors and ‘persons temporarily absent’......Page 132
Suggestions for a new manner of engagement......Page 133
The involvement of local organisations......Page 134
Harnessing local knowledge more effectively......Page 135
The mutual benefits of continual engagement......Page 137
A new way of thinking......Page 138
Postscript: the census and the construction of Indigenous identity......Page 139
Appendix A. The 2006 Interviewer Household Form......Page 141
Structure......Page 169
Sequencing......Page 170
Formulaic and standardised responses......Page 171
Content......Page 173
‘Persons temporarily absent’......Page 174
‘Household’ and ‘family’ structure......Page 176
Usual residence......Page 177
Language......Page 178
Number of babies ever born......Page 179
Education and training......Page 180
Income and employment......Page 181
The keeping of information......Page 182
References......Page 185
CAEPR Research Monograph Series......Page 191