Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2024C00760:reg:24:p30
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2024C00760
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 24 (pt 30/36)
Character Range: 389465–392513

total population]
Total population (2006 census)                                                                   20,402,459

Source:  ABS 2006

    43. Excluding Canberra, almost half (47%) of the Basin's income earners in 2006 earned less than $400 per week gross, slightly more than the national proportion of 45%. For higher incomes, 17% of working Basin residents earned more than $1,000 gross per week, compared to 20% nationally. A similar pattern, of more lower‑income earners and fewer higher‑income earners, emerges when the gross weekly incomes are combined for families (ABS 2006).
    44. Agriculture is a defining feature for many of the Basin's communities. Many residents have a strong connection with the land, which forms part of their identity. The intimate connection between the farm as a place of work, as a residence, as part of family tradition, and in defining identity, reflects a way of life for many farmers and their families (DAFF 2008). Many towns were explicitly established as irrigation communities as successive governments championed the use of water for agriculture to encourage economic and social development within the Basin, for instance as part of soldier settlement schemes or, as in Coleambally in 1968, as a consequence of the development of the Snowy River scheme. Community identity for these towns is closely associated with the historical context of water resources development. For these and many other Basin communities, the water resource provides, beyond specific uses, a broader amenity that contributes greatly to the social values that communities and individuals consider important. Rivers, lakes, creeks and streams engender a sense of place for communities, which in turn helps to maintain the social fabric that the Basin's communities value.
    45. The agriculture, forestry and fishing sector is a significant employer, with 11% of employed persons and 32% of businesses in 2006 (ABS, ABARE and BRS 2009).
    46. The Basin's agricultural communities have been affected by a large range of social and economic developments and trends. Beginning in the 1980s, economic and financial reforms have been implemented through which trade barriers have been removed, the Australian dollar floated, public utilities privatised, markets created for water and power, and the banking sector deregulated. The consequences for rural and regional communities and agricultural producers have been profound. Improvements in communication technology and transport, together with changes in the organisation of production, have allowed sectors such as tourism and services to relocate or grow in regional areas. Private capital has also become increasingly mobile, and farmers have had increased access to credit to expand their operations and gain access to international markets.
    47. At the same time, the agricultural sector has had to contend with a wide range of other pressures, including changes in the costs of production (e.g. water, feed, fuel, fertiliser), consumer demand, technological