Writer
Ian Bowie
In a former life Ian Bowie was an academic, holding staff appointments in Geography, Planning and Environmental Management at universities in Victoria, Scotland and New South Wales and teaching courses at other universities in New Zealand and Australia over more than thirty years. Subsequently he practised as a consultant planner for eight years in New South Wales.
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An update on Indigenous numbers in Australia
Some years ago, I wrote a piece asking, ‘How many Aboriginal Australians are there? My beef at that time was that the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) wasn’t collecting census data about ‘Indigenous’ people in ways that met the High Court’s criteria to be regarded as an Aboriginal (and presumably Torres Strait Islander) person. This Continue reading »
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What is ‘middle income’ in Australia?
‘When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.’ Middle income, a term beloved of politicians, is like that. At a time when we’re hearing demands that the further reductions in tax rates on personal incomes legislated Continue reading »
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Aboriginal issues and New Zealand’s indigenous experience
New Zealand is often held out as an example of multi-culturalism and race relations that Australia might emulate. This has been so particularly since publication of the Uluru Statement (2017). Continue reading »
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IAN BOWIE. How many Aboriginal Australians are there?
It is commonly said that there are about 800,000 ‘indigenous’ Australians. In fact, the number of Aboriginal Australians may be substantially fewer. Continue reading »
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IAN BOWIE. Australia’s Place in the World
In geopolitics, Geography matters. Dimensions such as distance, relative location, area, terrain and economic reach between countries all influence how countries are positioned in the shifting sands of global power. Australian perceptions of geographic dimensions are often distorted by the manner in which our continent is shown on maps of the globe. Continue reading »
