Overviews
1994 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Survey
Torres Strait Islanders, Queensland
ABS catalogue number 4179.3
Introduction
This publication describes and analyses the 1994 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey (NATSIS) for Torres Strait Islanders living in the Torres Strait, and those Torres Strait Islanders living in Queensland. The results highlight that life is different for Islanders living on the Torres Strait Islands to those living in Queensland.
Population
The Australian Torres Strait Islander population count from the 1991 Census was 26,880 with 5,400 (20%) living in the Torres Strait, and 21,480 (80%) living on the mainland of Australia. Of the 21,480 Islanders on the Australian mainland, 9,250 (34%) lived in Queensland. Islanders living in Queensland were most likely to live in towns along the coast.
Culture
Seven out of ten Islanders living in the Torres Strait aged 13 years and over identified with a clan or language group, compared to six out of ten Islanders living in Queensland. Nine out of ten Islanders living in the Torres Strait recognised homelands compared to seven out of ten for all Australian Indigenous people (includes both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people).
Four out five Islanders living in the Torres Strait spoke mainly a Torres Strait Islander language or Creole, compared to only one in five Islanders living in Queensland.
Islanders living in the Torres Strait attended cultural events slightly more often than Islanders living in Queensland. Funerals were the most attended cultural activity by Australian Indigenous people (includes both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people). See chart below.
Health
Islanders living in the Torres Strait felt that their health was slightly better than both Islanders living in Queensland and the Australian Indigenous population. Also Islanders living in the Torres Strait were less likely to report a current or long-term health condition than Islanders living in Queensland. Torres Strait Islanders (living in the Torres Strait and Queensland) were less likely to smoke than the Australian Indigenous population (41% compared to 50%).
One in six Islanders living in Queensland reported that they drank alcohol, which was similar to the Australian Indigenous population. However, only one in four Islanders living in the Torres Strait reported that they drank alcohol. More Torres Strait Islanders, particularly Islanders living in the Torres Strait, were overweight compared to the Australian Indigenous population (65% compared to 44%).
Education and training
More Torres Strait Islanders (living in the Torres Strait and Queensland) had continued schooling beyond year 10 (29% and 24% respectively) compared to the Australian Indigenous population (18%). However, the proportion of Islanders living in the Torres Strait with a post-school qualification (10%) was lower than among Islanders living in Queensland (21%) and the Australian Indigenous population (17%).
The proportion of Islanders living in Queensland who wanted to do more study was similar to the Australian Indigenous population (49% versus 46%). However, only 30% of Islanders living in the Torres Strait wanted to do more study.
Employment and income
Torres Strait Islander males were more likely to be employed in the work force than Torres Strait Islander females. The unemployment rate nationally for all Indigenous people was 38%, 36% for Islanders living in the Torres Strait, and 34% for Islanders living in Queensland.
As with the Australian Indigenous population, Torres Strait Islanders were more likely to be in non-Community Development Employment programs (CDEP) than CDEP employment. CDEP schemes presents all Indigenous Australians with the opportunity to work in a wide range of community projects and enterprises. In the Torres Strait more CDEP programs were offered and as a result 15% of Islanders income came from CDEP schemes, compared to only 9% of Islanders income who lived in Queensland. See chart below.
Law and justice
Islanders especially those living in the Torres Strait, had less contact with the police, crime and the legal system, than did the Australian Indigenous population. However, Islanders living in Queensland had more contact with the police and legal system than Islanders living in the Torres Strait. For example, a higher percentage of Islanders living in Queensland than Islanders living in the Torres Strait were arrested (16% versus 2%); attacked or verbally threatened (12% versus 3%); or needed legal service (11% versus 4%). These statistics possibly reflect the fact that many Islanders in Queensland lived in urban centres and may therefore be subject to greater stresses than those who lived in the small and more close-knit Islander communities of the Torres Strait.
Overall, the NATSIS data suggested that while some Torres Strait Islanders felt that relations with police had improved, this improvement was of a lesser extent in Queensland than in the Torres Strait. An explanation for this could be that Islanders living in Queensland had greater contact with the police than Islanders living in the Torres Strait, therefore they are less likely to feel that relations with the police had improved. See chart below.
For more information and/or to obtain a copy of the publication, contact the National Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Statistics in the Darwin ABS Office on 1800 633 216. The price of the publication is $17 50 and copies can be purchased from the nearest ABS office (in all capital cities). Statistics are also available from NCATSIS on many other topics of interest to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
This web site contains PDF documents that require the most current version of Adobe Reader to view. To download click on the icon below.
