Rural and regional Australia: change, challenge and capacity

This paper examines non-metropolitan disadvantage in the framework of five key areas: economic capital; institutional capital; social capital; human capital; and natural capital. Through analysis of a range of issues including population, health, education, employment and environment, the report identifies and describes some of the major trends and issues in contemporary rural and regional Australia. It makes a number of recommendations, identifying priority areas as the needs of Indigenous Australians, retention of young people, especially women, improved access to health services and to services for victims of domestic and family violence, better access to some essential services via increased use of mobile and information technology based delivery systems. It calls for a whole of government approach - in co-operation with business and community organisations - to decrease inequality between rural/regional and metropolitan centres across a range of areas.