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.
Ian's recent articles
22 July 2022
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) wasnt collecting census data about Indigenous people in ways that met the High Courts criteria to be regarded as an Aboriginal (and presumably Torres Strait Islander) person. This continued to be the case in the 2021 census.
22 September 2020
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 were hearing demands that the further reductions in tax rates on personal incomes legislated in 2019 should be brought forward to stimulate spending it is useful to consider some data.
24 June 2020
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).
9 June 2020
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.
24 September 2019
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.