As is often the case, the Census results paint an interesting picture of our region. On a more practical note, it can also reinforce some more important and equally relevant pieces of information.
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Information provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that Tasmania, with its population of 509,965 is comprised mostly (by a margin) of females at 51.1 per cent. The majority of people fall into the 15 to 64-year age bracket. Our household income has increased from $948 in 2011, to $1100 in 2016, with the average household is home to an average of 2.3 people.
China was the fourth most common country-of-birth for Tasmanians, behind Australia, England and New Zealand. It also detailed that Mandarin is now the most commonly spoken language in Tasmanian homes aside from English, with 88 per cent only speaking English at home.
The golden nugget to take from the Census is that despite our best efforts, more needs to be done to cater for the fast-growing presence of Chinese in our community – not just tourists and international students, but those now permanently calling Tasmania home.
We are culturally different, with different needs and we need to be inclusive. A study in 2016 by the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute found that a proportion of Chinese tourists who visited Tasmania were not happy with their experience detailing that the only tourist food option after 8pm was instant noodles.
Mandarin signage, until recent years, has been non-existent. Last year, Break O’Day Council said it wanted to erect traditional welcome and farewell signs in Mandarin at the entrance to the region. Bridestowe Lavender Farm has done wonders for the Northern Tasmania economy and helped bridge the divide through Bobbie the Bear, which also features on a sign at the Launceston Airport and has been front-and-centre of a recent road safety campaign.
We have come some way since 2014, when the state’s tourism operators were given a book advising hoteliers to offer free underwear, cup noodles and disposable slippers. But it is not enough. We need to better prepare our next wave of business and emerging leaders to be bilingual. We need to teach more Asian languages in our schools instead of French, German and Spanish.
We work and live in a global world - it is time to start being an active participant rather than just an observant bystander.