Category: Rural Australia

Rural Australians Shortchanged $6.5 Billion in Health Funding, Report Finds

Australian medical groups are calling for state and federal governments to boost funding in rural areas after a report found that rural Australians were shortchanged to the tune of $6.5 billion (US$4.3 billion) in health funding. According to a Nous Group report that was commissioned by the National Rural Health Alliance, each person in rural…


Rural Australians Told to Look Beyond Big Four Banks

Regional Australia “can’t put the genie back in the bottle” as banking services move online and local branches shut their doors. But community banks could be one option to keep rural economies alive and give locals the face-to-face services they need; a federal inquiry has been told. A Senate committee is examining the impact of…


Rural Independents Threaten NSW Coalition Power

On a hot and windy day weeks out from the New South Wales (NSW) election, Orange independent MP Philip Donato meets a group of retirees and a guide dog named Rusty. Standing on the town’s single train platform, the rail action group is pushing for more services between Sydney and the growing regional centre in…


Regional Australia a Budget Battleground

Walking down a flooded road in Forbes, in central west New South Wales (NSW), Prime Minister Anthony Albanese smiled as Nationals MP Michael McCormack put an arm around his shoulder. During visits to disaster zones in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania this week, the prime minister greeted local emergency service crews, gumboot-clad locals, and a sheepdog…