What does Northern Australia mean to you? What do you love about Northern Australia and how do you identify as a Northerner? Take a selfie, send us a video, write us a letter… however you want to tell us! CAFNEC wants to hear from you. Send to capeyork@nullcafnec.org.au
Northern Australia.
What comes to mind when you hear those words? As people of the North we often feel different to our Southern counterparts, and it’s not just parochial rhetoric. The reality is that the North is different, the places, the people and the culture are unique.
Northern Australia is predominantly a rural and remote region with communities spread far and wide. It’s a region with a distinct wet and dry season and it matters. It’s definitive of our Country, farming, history and culture.
Our region features the largest intact Tropical Savannah in the world. The North is known for its iconic grass lands, eucalypt and acacia trees that cover almost a quarter of the continent. Central to this incredible ecosystem are the traditional fire practices of First Nations people that have shaped the landscape for tens of thousands of years.
Alongside the incredible Savannah country we have the world’s oldest continuing tropical rainforest, estimated to be 180million years old. The Wet Tropics is where the forest meets the sea and where one world heritage area meets another, the Great Barrier Reef. Then on the other side of the continent, West Coast Northern Australia features huge tidal ranges, up to 12 meters, shaping a unique and beautiful coastline.
First Nations communities are strong across the North, comprising 17.5% of the population, compared to the 3.1% nationally. Indigenous rights and interests have been recognised over 78% of Northern Australia. Aboriginal and Torres Strait communities across Northern Australia are diverse and unique, with many language groups and unique traditions.
Since colonisation the diversity of Northern Australia has increased. Many migrant communities have called the region home, bringing new cultivation, agriculture and traditions to Northern Australia. The region has a younger population compared to the rest of Australia, with a mean age approximately 4 years younger than average.
Northern Australia is a beautiful place, where people live connected to nature and defined by the Northern lifestyle, but so often the narratives about Northern Australia are defined by those who don’t live here.
Northern Australia is positioned by politics and industry as a place of extraction. Nowhere else is this more obvious than in the Northern Australia White Paper and the most recent TOR for developing emerging industries in Northern Australia – from the Joint Senate Committee for Northern Australia. We see the same story time and time again. What can be mined, militarised and developed.
As people of Northern Australia we need to be expressing our identity. We need to share with each other and the rest of Australia what we think it means to be the people of Northern Australia. What is it that defines us? Why is it different to be from the North? How do you identify with the land and culture of this place?
We want to hear from you!
What does Northern Australia mean to you? What do you love about Northern Australia and how do you identify as a Northerner? Take a selfie, send us a video, write us a letter… however you want to tell us! CAFNEC wants to hear from you. Send to capeyork@nullcafnec.org.au
