GENOA - Life in the Bush

by Max Lindegger

"What do they want us to do; disappear because we’re not viable?"

People visiting us here at Crystal Waters often think of us "living in the bush". A bit isolated, so to speak. But this is not the bush, this is just the hinterland, only an hour’s drive from the Sunshine Coast.

Yes, we are 27km from a doctor, the hospital and dentist. The same distance to see the once-a-fortnight movie. We are in a mobile phone black spot, and on the TV screens it snows; there is no public transport; the police rarely come this far, no newspaper gets delivered to the door. But our nearest small town, Maleny, is thriving, and has a Food Co-operative, a busy credit union, a swinging co-operative pub and a neat Wastebusters, plus many other co-operative and community organisations.

At Crystal Waters itself we mostly work from home, grow some of our own food, enjoy the clean air and the abundant wildlife. We are not on town water and we treat our own waste water.

We recycle, most of our hot water comes from the sun and we make a lot of our own fun. This is a growing little village with currently 182 permanents (64 children) and 10 or so who come and go. Lots of visitors, too.

The Real Bush

The real bush is a different story. In many cases small country towns and villages are losing their population as small businesses and saw mills are ‘downsized’, banks and petrol stations are ‘uneconomic’ and farming suffers from low commodity prices and droughts.

A report published by the Society of St Vincent de Paul (April 98 "In Defence of the Bush") has found that the bush has undergone major changes in the last 20 years.

Agriculture, once a way of life, employs very few people today and in many cases can’t feed a family. Farmers are mostly retail buyers and wholesale sellers - they’re between a rock and a hard place. Wages are low, as low as $6 an hour. Small businesses find the on-costs (insurance, superannuation) and the red tape disincentives. The decision on drought assistance is made in the cities without the necessary local knowledge and often cuts out too early.

The report shows many examples which explain the rural downturn. For example, in the Bega Valley:

Banks are closing in Cobargo, Bombala and Bermagui
In Eden a small business has been closing every six weeks
200 jobs have been lost in forestry restructuring. Sawmills and logging contractors have gone out of business.
Bega Hospital has been downgraded with the loss of 12 jobs.
CES and Social Security downsized with the loss of a further 12 jobs.
3,000 people are registered as unemployed, but the real figure could be 50% higher.

At the same time the Bega Valley is experiencing its worst prolonged drought in memory, with serious impact on graziers and breeders.

The Working Poor

Australia is not "riding on the sheep’s back" any more. Still a large part of the economic wealth is rurally sourced - mining and agriculture. Rural towns and villages need a decent level of infrastructure - health, education, welfare, financial services, postal and retail services. The expectation that small communities should maintain their own infrastructures is just not realistic.

The report shows that a higher proportion of the rural population is ‘working poor’ when compared to the cities:

"In the bush, the proportion of ‘working poor’ is twice that of the cities and regional centres. In towns like Balranald, Coonamble, Kyogle, Walcha and Young, one third or more of the population qualify for Additional Family Payment. This means they earn less than $24,000 per year. In Young, 31% of the towns 2,800 children live in ‘working poor’ families.
The bottom five areas in terms of median weekly income are in the New England region. The towns are Nundle, Bingara, Severn, Barraba and Manilla. The median incomes range from $183 to $91 per week. 40% of the children in the Richmond-Tweed area live in families dependent on sole parent or unemployment benefits.
Many seasonal workers prefer to leave their work options open and bypass the dole because of difficulties experienced in accessing Social Security payments. Often they have long distances to travel to visit a Centrelink office and there is a long delay between application and receiving the first payment.
There are also numerous inconsistencies in the social security system. These families, though eager to work, are often left with no income except for family allowance. They are sometimes forced to sell off the few assets they have like white goods and electrical appliances to try and make ends meet. It is only as a last resort that they will contact a St Vincent de Paul Centre for food or assistance with household bills."

One participant at a forum on rural issues said:

"We’re told small family farms are not viable. To provide services like hospitals in our towns is not viable. It’s not viable to set up new industries. Bus services are not viable. It’s getting to the point where our communities are not viable. What do they want us to do; disappear because we’re not viable?"

The "Defence of the Bush" report makes a number of recommendations which I summarise here:

That governments, in consultation with rural communities, develop a detailed blueprint for both economic development and social justice.
Priority be given to the creation of socially useful jobs.
That governments urgently re-examine the scope for further incentives and concessions for businesses to move to, or remain in, rural areas.
That governments re-affirm their commitment to the practical and meaningful support of rural communities by ensuring that (a) the sale of public assets does not result in loss of jobs and (b) rationalisation programmes does not automatically lead to office closures.
That reciprocal trade barriers be introduced to create a ‘level playing field’.
That (the NSW) government establish a Rural Investment Fund.
That governments together with the Society of St Vincent de Paul review the eligibility for Aged Pensions, unemployment benefits for casual workers, review Austudy and not insist that rural unemployed move to other areas for work.

Reclaiming sanity & our rural social resource

If within a matter of a few years it is possible for a small town to lose its store, bank and hospital it should also be thinkable that the trend can be reversed and that these services can be replaced by a co-operative foodstore, a credit union and a community health centre.

In past issues of this newsletter we have reported village initiatives in many parts of the world. There are a growing number of successful developments within Australia.

We want to hear about these so that we can let others know. Community Title type legislation is now enacted in most States. Improvements can be made if those of us who are living with the legislation advise the local authority of oversights and misunderstandings.