Indigenous mobility in rural and remote Australia: final report

  Paul Memmott, Stephen Long and Linda Thomson find that the people of Dajarra, Alpurrurulam and Mt Isa, although exceptionally mobile by Australian mainstream standards are, for the most, relatively stable in their customary attachment to their home community, country and their cultural region. This is despite the hardships of living in remote semi-arid locations, despite the past eras of forced migration that have displaced people to some extent from their traditional countries, and despite the contemporary opportunities for migration to coastal and capital cities. There appears to be no reason to expect that these attachments will change in the foreseeable future. Nevertheless Indigenous people will continue to travel to participate in such mainstream services as shopping, sporting events, education, health services, and employment. The policy challenge is to balance these forces for continuity and change in social and policy planning. A mutual accommodation is required from within both the community and the policy-making centres