ABS data shows more people are choosing to stay in the NT

A local expert says the NT needs to double down on retaining interstate migrators following the release of new population data.

MORE people stayed in the Northern Territory in the past year compared to 2020 according to new population data, with an expert saying the NT needs to double down on retaining those who do choose to stick around.

New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows 1097 fewer people left the NT in the year ending March 31, 2021, compared to the previous year.

Just over 14,350 southerners arrived in the NT in the year to March 31, while 15,448 left.

However, the Territory’s population rate is still declining. In the year ending March 31, 2020 a total of 3387 people left the NT for interstate, with 13,753 arriving and 17,140 leaving.

The March 2021 quarter also still recorded more interstate departures than the March 2020 quarter, with 4419 people leaving.

Charles Darwin University Northern Institute researcher Dr George Tan said the new data encompassed the first full “Covid year” of population change, with the increase in March 2021 quarter departures potentially reflecting the pandemic landscape at the time.

“The end of last year and the start of this year, things were quite stable,” he said. “Melbourne got out of lockdown, Sydney didn’t happen until June so it could be why people started to move around,” he said. Dr Tan said it was important for the Territory to focus on retaining the individuals who had decided not to migrate interstate.

“Covid has single-handedly kept more people here than anything that’s been done in the last five years,” he said.

“We need to come to an understanding of what we can do to keep them in the long term and what policies can be put in place to retain people.

“Housing and jobs are always crucial. The general trend of people coming doesn’t really change but leaving is one that’s variable and one we need to try and make a dent in.”

Survey results by CDU’s Northern Institute of people who stayed in the Howard Springs and Todd Centre quarantine facilities showed younger participants were more inclined to relocate to the NT either for the long or short term. “Covid-19 pushed people to reimagine how they wanted to live, and the general freedoms they were seeking,” CDU Northern Institute research associate Fiona Shalley said.