Pandemic prompts Territorians to want to stay in NT, Charles Darwin University research shows

The coronavirus pandemic has made Territorians more willing to remain in the NT for the next two years according to research by Charles Darwin University.

THE coronavirus pandemic has made Territorians more willing to remain in the NT for the next two years according to research by Charles Darwin University.

And there’s an opportunity for the government to put in place policy to positively influence population retention in the Territory once international and domestic borders open up.

Charles Darwin University Northern Institute demographers, in a new COVID-update survey, built on “Territory and Me” 2019 research to uncover why people lived in the NT and their experiences of doing so.

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Dr Andrew Taylor said the team responded to the need to track increased dynamism for migration created by the pandemic and national and international border restrictions.

“Our research is some of the first population-orientated COVID-19 research in Australia,” Dr Taylor said.

“It has enabled us to track whether people feel they are more or less likely to live in and stay living in the Territory as a result of the pandemic.”

Dr Taylor said a critical finding from the ‘COVID-Update’ survey was the increased willingness of Territory residents to stay in the NT during the next two years.

CDU demographer Dr Andrew Taylor and his team have provided a first glimpse into the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on population dynamics in the NT. Picture: Supplied

“This finding was evident across all age groups and particularly for our large ‘Early Career’ population group (18-29 years),” he said.

“Likewise, people who were residents in the Territory for less than a year were almost twice as likely to say they would be living in the Territory in two years compared to longer-term residents.”

He said that while the research showed improved sentiments for population retention, there was no evidence of an increase in new resident arrivals to the Territory.

This comes after recent Australian Bureau of Statistics data revealed Greater Darwin had a net gain of 8 people in the September quarter, which may seem paltry until viewed against the backdrop of a net loss of hundreds of people each quarter since June 2015.

Territory-wide, the data revealed the net interstate migration loss of 130 people in the September 2020 quarter was the lowest it had been since June 2013.

Dr Taylor said that ABS data for the September quarter of 2020 aligned with the research findings that fewer people were leaving the NT rather than more arriving. It also showed a net migration to Darwin from within the Territory, which helped Greater Darwin record a minor positive net migration of eight people for that quarter.

“Currently there is an opportunity to influence population growth due to the immediate effect of the pandemic through retention initiatives or policies, rather than just attraction,” he said.

“COVID-19 has shifted many people’s sentiments towards staying, or from indicating they would leave within two years.

He said the work showed a clear policy opportunity exists to positively influence population retention in the Territory, including reducing outflows once national and international border movements free-up.

“While we are not yet part of the rural migration movement that appears to be growing cities close to Australia’s major urban centres, we do see the pandemic fundamentally changing our population dynamics,” Dr Taylor said.

“We need ongoing research to monitor Territory migration sentiments to support efforts for economic recovery.”