Census puts communities in the picture

Aaron Campbell, Australian Bureau of Statistics local engagement manager for Alice Springs and APY Lands.

Aaron Campbell has returned to his hometown of Alice Springs to make sure his people are counted in the national Census.

Aaron Campbell loves the long days he spends sitting behind the wheel of his car visiting remote communities spread across Central Australia.

Born and raised in the Alice, he has returned home from interstate to let his mob know how important it is to participate in the upcoming Census.

Campbell is a local Indigenous engagement manager for the Australian Bureau of Statistics in northern Australia.

“I am focusing on getting to all the communities in my area, and raising awareness of the Census count and of the benefits of communities getting an accurate count,” he says.

For people in cities and towns Census night is Tuesday 9 August 2011. In remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, a Census collector will visit homes in July or August 2011.

Campbell believes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in both cities and remote communities should participate in the Census count so they are taken into account when services like roads and health centres are being planned.

“Missing out on counting even 10 people from a community can have a huge impact on the funding to that community, and that situation will continue for five years until the next Census,” he says.

“As a people, we’re less than three per cent of the whole country and when you’re that small I don’t think we can afford to let anyone slip through the cracks. We need to recognise everyone who’s out there.”

In the last Census, in 2006, about 11 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people weren’t counted, and in the Northern Territory that figure was as high as 19 per cent.

Campbell says the Census means a lot to the communities he visits, because people intend to stay living in their communities in the future, with their children and children’s children also likely to remain in the area.

“An accurate Census count of people can lead to improved services in education, health and infrastructure,” he says.

Campbell is also reassuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people about the privacy of Census information.

“People are worried that information gathered by the Census could filter through to other government agencies, but we’re explaining that Census information stays secret and private – it’s the law. Hopefully by letting people know their information is going to stay secret, more people will join in and there will be a more accurate count.”