Inquiry Into the Indicators Of, and Impact Of, Regional Inequality in Australia
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Submission to the Senate Economics References Committee – Inquiry into the indicators of, and impact of, regional inequality in Australia Murray River Council takes this opportunity to make a submission to the Senate Economics References Committee – “Inquiry into the indicators of, and impact of, regional inequality in Australia”. Council’s submission will provide comment on the Terms of Reference that are of high relevance, but not limited to, the Murray River Council area and its community. Introduction On 12 May 2016, the Premier of NSW, The Hon Mike Baird MP, made the Local Government (Council Amalgamations) Proclamation 2016 under the Local Government Act 1993, whereby Murray Shire Council and Wakool Shire Council were amalgamated to constitute the new area to be known as Murray River Council, effective immediately. The Murray River Council Local Government Area (LGA) covers an area of 11,865 square kilometres, is home to some 11,456 residents and has a wealth of physical features including majestic sweeping plains, magnificent stands of Red Gum forests and is almost totally surrounded by the mighty Murray River and its tributaries. It comprises three wards, Moama, Greater Murray and Greater Wakool, with each Ward being represented by three councillors. The main settlements in the council area include: . Moama, with a population of 5,560 . Barham, with a population of 1,567 . Moulamein, with a population of 593 . Mathoura, with a population of 1,165 . Tooleybuc, with a population of 173 A number of other small rural communities make up the council area including Bunnaloo (population 126), Caldwell (population under 100), Womboota (population 340), Koraleigh (population 276), Goodnight (population 222), Murray Downs (population 144) and Wakool (population 470). The Murray River Council LGA is vast and the interests, needs, populations and growth of the various towns and small rural communities making up the council area are diverse. Regional development policies In rural NSW much of the impetus for development relates to Government services. Removal of services can have a detrimental effect on the ability of communities to sustain growth or even maintain the status quo. A recent example, which defeats the purpose of regional development, is the decentralisation of many government agencies, such as all the services that now come under the ServicesNSW banner. Such decentralisation has had an effect on reducing the populations of smaller towns due to redundancy and relocation of officers to district and regional centres. As a result, smaller communities are involved in a downward spiral due to a reduction in services. Whilst the Murray River Council area is experiencing a growth in population, especially in Moama, as a result of residential and tourist development, it has difficulty in maintaining essential services Murray River Council · PO Box 21, Mathoura NSW 2710 · p 1300 087 004 · f 03 5884 3417 · e [email protected] · w www.murrayriver.nsw.gov.au 1 Submission to the Senate Economics References Committee – Inquiry into the indicators of, and impact of, regional inequality in Australia and commercial development. For example, up until six (6) months ago, the only bank within the Murray River Council area was a branch of the National Australia Bank in Barham. The bank has now removed its services from Barham. The Westpac Bank had removed its services from Mathoura and Moama over 15 years ago, so consequently there is no bank within the Murray River Council area, only agencies of the Bendigo Bank (Mathoura and Barham) and WAW Credit Union (Moulamein) with limited services at each. This results in much uncertainty for the community, especially the elderly, who are not often well versed in phone or internet banking services. Infrastructure Those that live in rural NSW have limited or no access to air services and public transport, such as bus and rail. The unavailability of these essential transport services means that regional towns, and the people living in them, are isolated to an extent if they do not have the means to travel and for those that do have access to travel, it is often at a considerable cost in time and money. The transportation of goods and services to rural towns are also a factor in the higher cost of living for those living in the country. Rural people pay more for their food, clothes, fuel, etc, due to the mark-up added to goods and services to factor in the travel component of such. Often this mark-up dissuades people from purchasing from their local businesses, which generally results in a loss of income for local business, decline in the number of staff that that business can employ and in the most extreme cases, the closure of the business and loss of the business people from the small town. Education Rural schools are required to have the same teacher to student ratios as city schools. A consequence of this regulation is that as numbers drop off in country schools so do the specialist teachers. The teacher-student ratio needs to be reduced in rural areas to overcome this inequality and the subsequent loss of quality teachers, via no fault of the student’s ability or commitment to their schooling. The accessibility to education, especially advanced education, is difficult to obtain in rural NSW. Some diploma and degree courses are able to be accessed online rather than face-to-face delivery, but certainly not all. As a result, those wishing to continue with their education need to travel to city centres, which naturally adds to the cost, so many students relocate, leaving their family base and the community in which they have grown up in. With this in mind, regional centres tend to lose their educated talent and labour workforce. Alternatively, many regional people choose not to continually upskill as cost, time away from home and travel are all just too much. Health Generally, General Practitioners (GPs) in small rural communities that are appointed as VMO to community hospitals are being overrun with after-hours calls, largely because they are the only GP within the town. This ultimately leads to long hours and burnout and means that the GP has no option but to find employment elsewhere with much better support. A community without a GP has trouble in attracting new industries and maintaining local employment, etc. and subsequently, Murray River Council · PO Box 21, Mathoura NSW 2710 · p 1300 087 004 · f 03 5884 3417 · e [email protected] · w www.murrayriver.nsw.gov.au 2 Submission to the Senate Economics References Committee – Inquiry into the indicators of, and impact of, regional inequality in Australia residents need to travel distances to receive general medical care, adding to the financial and physical stress of living rurally. Many specialist health care professionals do come to regional areas to offer their services, but such visits are often bi-monthly and very difficult to get appointments with, leaving families with a sick member feeling very isolated and alone and forcing those that can travel to travel distances to gain such care. Again, an added financial and stressful burden to a rural community. Telecommunications The failure to provide adequate and reliable mobile telephone coverage challenges all aspects of rural community life, from managing business requirements to attracting tourism into the area to providing the best possible opportunities for students to achieve positive outcomes. Without adequate mobile telephone coverage the frail and aged cannot be adequately supported in times of medical and other emergencies and the ever present risk of a bushfire or other natural disaster is particularly problematic for the community. A lack of mobile phone coverage limits a range of opportunities for people living within a rural area. The cost of living increases because people are forced to return the calls of people who either ring them on a mobile phone when it is not receiving or who leave messages on home/business telephone numbers, which must then be returned at a later date. Students, whether at the local school or undertaking further study, within rural areas are disadvantaged in their access to education opportunities due to the lack of internet connectivity. Children and Youth A lack of childcare in small rural communities is preventing/restricting young people from returning to work, adding to a decline in the professional community and at times a decline in the population with families moving away from rural towns to increase their job opportunities whilst on the one income. The lack of childcare may also discourage professionals (eg GPs, dentists, etc) from starting up business in these communities. Low numbers of children make commercial childcare uneconomical, there needs to be some form of alternative support that allows parents to go back to work and ultimately keep the family unit in the rural community. There is a lack of resources in rural areas for youth development and crisis issues. With the vast areas that are inherent in rural areas youth and families are unable to readily access services, with most having to travel distances to gain specialist support, again adding financial and emotional stress to the sometimes already difficult situation. The problems of youth suicide in rural areas is well documented and it is time that a program be put in place by the Government. Social wellbeing Limited funding opportunities for the upkeep and maintenance of remote rural halls and recreational facilities, which in the past have provided an important location for rural communities to come together and participate in sport and general social activities, has increased pressure on local government to maintain such assets. In most cases, the people living in these remote communities now need to travel longer distances to access such facilities, increasing the cost to families and disconnecting community, resulting in a detrimental effect on the health and social wellbeing of small rural communities.