Number's up for record
DAVID KILLICK
December 20, 2008 12:00am
DON'T expect much of an acceptance speech -- the 500,000th Tasmanian is probably happily gurgling in a cot right now.
Though the identity remains a closely guarded secret, our fabulous half-millionth is most likely a baby born in the past few days.<p> Of course it could be new arrival at the airport, or someone who drove down the ramp off the Spirit of Tasmania.<p> But they're here, somewhere, definitely, south of the 39th parallel.<p> At 4pm yesterday, 84 babies and 57 mainland immigrants were in the running for the prize that's been 200 years in the making.<p> Sometime during the weekend the State Government will officially draw a name out of a hat and, with a bit of stage-managed PR, bestow upon the chosen a certificate and $5000 travel voucher.<p> History doesn't record our 400,000th citizen in 1987, nor the 300,000th in 1954. The oversight won't be repeated this time.<p> Could it be young Samuel Anis who was born at the Royal Hobart Hospital this week.<p> Or Ava Rose Crouch. Does Sebastian Bush stand a chance? Did they even enter?<p> A breathless state will find out in a glittering ceremony on Monday. <p> By contrast with our newest and youngest Tasmanians, a new report has found Tasmania is getting wrinklier and child-free. <p> And the two-parent family is fast becoming an endangered species.<p> The number of couples with children fell 10 per cent in the decade following 1996, figures in the latest Demographic Change Advisory Council report show.<p> By contrast, the numbers of single parents, couples without children and lone-person households are booming.<p> The report also shows a large growth in the number of baby boomers in Tasmania -- up 25 per cent -- while Generations X and Y have disappeared in their thousands.<p> Depending on whether one accepts the high or low-growth figures, the state should have somewhere between 425,000 and 750,000 in 40 years, the report notes.<p> Treasurer Michael Aird said keeping track of how many people lived in the state was critical for providing government services.<p> With Tasmania's population hitting 500,000, the publishing of these projections was very timely in the context of our demographic change, he said. <p> The projections would play an important role in the state's future, including assisting in infrastructure planning and provision of government services, such as education and health. <p> "I emphasise that there is no certainty about these outcomes and non-demographic factors such as major government policy decisions, future economic conditions and climate change have not been considered," Mr Aird said.<p> |
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