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Cr Debbie Blumel: Counting on Mobile Populations
Sunshine Coast Council is one of 11 Australian coastal councils
involved in a research project on the impact of non-resident
populations on coastal communities.
Division 8 Councillor Debbie Blumel said the research is being
carried out in conjunction with the National Sea Change
Taskforce.
“Collecting mobile population information is a key component of
the research that will be undertaken by a research team at the
University of Adelaide,” Cr Blumel said.
“An example of mobile populations is the thousands of people who
flock to Australia’s coastal areas over holiday periods.
“Mobile populations include tourists and holiday home owners and
are typically hard to count. As a result, the populations in
these communities tend to be significantly underestimated.
“Sunshine Coast Council has an estimated permanent population of
338,000, however, this figure increases by tens of thousands in
holiday periods.
“Most coastal areas experience similar population increases at
weekends and in holiday periods.
“The differences between these weekend and seasonal population
figures have an important bearing on the share of financial
assistance grants that councils receive.
“Council is required to plan infrastructure and services to meet
peak population demand in the community.
“Because the non-resident population is not currently counted
Sunshine Coast Council receives a smaller share of financial
assistance grants than we require to meet the infrastructure and
services needs of holiday and weekend populations.
“A recent report on population trends by the Bureau of
Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics observed that
there is a high level of internal mobility in the Australian
population and that much of this internal migration is towards
regional cities in coastal areas.
“The research work we are commissioning through the University of
Adelaide is aimed at developing a methodology to collect accurate
data on mobile populations that will help coastal councils to
better plan to meet the needs of their communities.”
Permanent Link: Cr Debbie Blumel: Counting on Mobile Populations
Publish Date: 20 Feb 12
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