NATSISS crowding data: What does it assume and how can we challenge the orthodoxy?

Abstract

In this paper we consider the sociospatial problem of crowding in Indigenous Australia. Quantitative data are regularly collected in Census and other social surveys by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) to create quantitative indices of the extent of household utilisation and then ‘overcrowding’ in Australian society in general, and amongst the Australian Indigenous population in particular. However, in our view, the identification of states of Indigenous crowding requires an understanding of distinct cultural constructs to achieve greater validity of measurement. Our analysis also refers to the interconnected nature of Indigenous crowding and homelessness, a relatedness that has been seldom addressed in the literature,1 despite its importance to policy development in the Indigenous sector including effects on housing, family violence, education and health.