Call for action to keep outback communities viable
The National Rural Health Alliance (NRHA), the peak non-government body responsible for improving the lives of people in rural and remote areas, has called for an inquiry into the health, viability and productivity of Australia’s outback communities, which are under increasing pressure.
People in isolated rural and remote areas should also be supported if, as seems likely, they bear a disproportionate share of the costs of climate change, and of related policies such as an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).
The NRHA believes all Australians should be concerned at the recent suggestion that governments consider assessing the longer term viability of remote communities, especially if this would mean that those deemed unsustainable would be ‘written off’ without a fair assessment of the impact on both costs and benefits.
Substantial economic, cultural and social losses would result if remote communities were simply cast adrift through cessation of vital services that should be accessible by all Australians.
