Dr Andrew Taylor

Official Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) numbers released yesterday suggest a small decline in Darwin’s population during 2017-2018. Charles Darwin University’s Northern Institute demographer Dr Andrew Taylor said the numbers were not unexpected and were part of a longer-term population slow-down for the Territory. “The regional growth figures show a small overall decline in growth for the Greater Darwin area. In general, the ABS figures suggest net losses occurred in established suburbs while newer or greenfield areas like southern Palmerston see continued growth,” Dr Taylor said. Dr Taylor said the Territory’s long-term struggle with growth reflected increasing difficulties governments and businesses in Northern Australia faced in attracting and retaining workers and residents, with a population decline evident for the north as a whole for some years.