The purpose of this analysis has been to portray the social and economic status of the population resident within the Northern East Kimberley at a point in time prior to either the winding down and ultimate cessation of mining activities at Argyle Diamond Mine, or the commencement of new operations and extension of the life of the mine to around 2020. To this extent, the baseline provided sits at a crossroads with options for future social and economic outcomes still the subject of negotiation between traditional owners, mine management and the State government. The value of such a profile is twofold. First, it assists by providing a quantum to discussions of need, aspirations, and regional development capacities. Second, it provides a benchmark against which the impact of any developmental decisions and future actions associated with them may be measured. Thus, the content of this report does not constitute a social impact assessment; rather it lays a foundation for identifying key requirements of regional development planning. With this in mind, the implications of the findings for each of these areas are summarised below.
It is difficult to portray the demography of the East Kimberley region as a consolidated whole. In effect there are two, even three, demographic profiles required on the basis of different population histories, composition and dynamics—one for the Aboriginal population, one for the usually resident non-Indigenous population, and one for a transitory population whose usual residence is elsewhere.
Of course, it is the Aboriginal population that has by far the longest and most enduring association with the region. From the time of their first contact with outsiders in the late nineteenth century, the Aboriginal peoples of the East Kimberley have experienced major demographic upheaval involving initial depopulation, a prolonged period of consolidation characterised by low growth, and in more recent times (since the 1970s) an expansion in numbers with high rates of growth. This recent phase of high population growth coincides with the integration of Aboriginal people into the provisions of the welfare state, and a related expansion of service provision in the region, notably in areas of health, housing and education.
As for the non-Indigenous population, usual resident numbers have also increased since the 1970s following the commencement of mining at Argyle alongside an expansion of jobs in agriculture, tourism, and related service industries, together with enhanced provision of State and local government infrastructure. This is typically a migrant population, located overwhelmingly in the region’s three urban centres, and focused on working-age groups with net migration loss in the teen and older age groups.
A further by-product of the expansion of economic activity in recent years has been a growth in visitation to the region of individuals whose usual residence is elsewhere. This group includes tourists, as well as temporary workers on short-term contracts, or FI/FO arrangements. While the individuals involved might change rapidly, temporary visitors nonetheless constitute a permanent presence in the region, especially in urban centres, and particularly in the dry season.
The background to the contemporary evolution of Aboriginal settlement in the region is well documented and is not repeated here (Coombs et al. 1989: 21-50; Ross 1989; Williams and Kirkby 1989). Suffice to point out that mining activities at Argyle commenced at a time when Aboriginal people were still regrouping geographically, having been evicted from long association with pastoral properties across the region and resettling on Aboriginal reserves and pockets of Crown land in and around Kununurra, Halls Creek and Wyndham, and at Turkey Creek (later the site for Warmun community). Subsequent decades have witnessed sustained growth of the Aboriginal population and its increased dispersion throughout the region contingent on the acquisition of legally recognised tenure to traditional lands—either through the buyback of cattle stations (such as at Doon Doon and Bow River), or via reserves being handed over to Aboriginal control (such as at Turkey Creek and Violet Valley). This ‘return to country’ and associated development of widespread dispersed settlement has greatly extended the residential circumstances of Aboriginal people within the region. This now ranges from suburban dwellings in town alongside non-Indigenous residents and visitors, to remote camping places for small family groups.
Thus, for Aboriginal people in the region, the overriding demographic characteristic today is sustained rapid population growth and a burgeoning youthful age profile. While natural increase constitutes the primary share of this growth, some indication of net in-migration is also present. Despite social networks that create a diaspora of East Kimberley Aboriginal people across the Kimberley as a whole and into the Northern Territory, and notwithstanding frequent population mobility beyond the immediate region, for the most part individuals born within the vicinity of Argyle mine conduct their affairs and pass through life in the same area. This demographic stability reflects, in part, the strength of cultural continuity and a growing capacity to sustain chosen lifestyles. But an untested and important question is the extent to which this perceived stability also reflects an incapacity to engage wider social and economic structures, for want of adequate human capital. Such issues are likely to loom larger in the years ahead as the pressures to provide sustenance and life chances for a growing population increase.