Country Victoria missing out, damning new data reveals

PEOPLE living in country Victoria are being left behind, with damning new data revealing the divide between them and their city counterparts.

• Our national shame: Aussies living in regional areas left behind

COUNTRY Victorians are being left behind, with damning new data revealing the divide between them and their city counterparts.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures reveal Victorians living in regional areas earn less, find less work and are ­living shorter lives than those who live in Melbourne.

Today, the Sunday Herald Sun, the Geelong Advertiser and News Corp Sunday and ­regional papers nationwide ­demand a Fair Go for Regional Australia ahead of the federal election.

In our own Fair Go For Regional Victoria investigation, we found:

A WORKER in Ararat or Benalla earns on average $1000 a week less than in Stonnington, where 65,000 people earn an average of $91,000 a year;

THE PYRENEES is the lowest-paid region in Victoria where 3351 wage earners make an average of just $36,102;

PEOPLE in Melbourne earned $72,591 on average, while those in regional areas such as Warrnambool earned $43,271; and,

AVOIDABLE cancer deaths and smoking rates are higher in country areas such as Mildura and Central Goldfields, where about a quarter of people smoke. These rates are double those of city suburbs.

Victorian Farmers Federation president Peter Tuohey said more needed to be done to lift the standard of living of rural Victorians.

“Smaller health services have been closed and concentrated in the regional centres,” he said. “That’s an issue for people, particularly the elderly when they have to travel 100km for an appointment.”

KPMG demographer Bernard Salt said regions must present a united front when demanding government funding. “No one in the administration of the 600-plus councils across the continent thinks they’re getting their fair share,” he said. “Evidence-based calls for funding are vital otherwise the rest of Australia has the right to say, ‘Why should you get special treatment?’ ”

Latest ABS data shows that a child born in Melbourne’s inner east has a life expectancy of 85.4. But just an hour down the road in Geelong, newborns have three years shaved off their life expectancy.

In coming weeks, our Fair Go for Regional Australia investigation will also expose shocking obesity rates, education outcomes and unfair funding distribution.

Mr Salt acknowledged that the higher proportion of indigenous people living in the regions contributed to life expectancy discrepancies, but that was not the only cause.

“Another factor in regional Australia’s higher mortality rate is education, lifestyle and lack of services,” he said.

Mr Salt said while regional Australia was the nation’s heartbeat at Federation, with 50 per cent of the population, the paradigm had dramatically shifted in the past 115 years.

“The capital cities and the coast burgeoned, but the bush lost ground and relevance in a cultural and political sense.”

Sunday Herald Sun editor Nick Papps said: “Regional Victorians have been doing it tough for too long. The Sunday Herald Sun will fight to make sure they start getting a fair go.

“Victorians outside Melbourne must not be treated as second-class citizens, but these statistics, sadly, show they are. It has to stop.

“The Sunday Herald Sun is the paper for all Victorians, and we are proud to drive this campaign in conjunction with the Geelong Advertiser and the other regional and Sunday ­papers in our company.”

SERVICES LACKING IN PROUD POOWONG

Poowong residents, Judith Martin, Anna Cecil, Harry, 10, Laurie Gregg, John Mandemaker, Fiona Cox and Phil Garrett outside the Poowong Hotel. Picture: Mark Stewart

LOCALS in the Gippsland town of Poowong love their little corner of the world.

The quaint country centre, 90 minutes from Melbourne, boasts a busy country pub, post office, corner store and cafe. There’s a school, a swimming pool, thriving footy club and an overwhelming sense of pride from long-time locals.

The town once hosted the world premiere of Aussie movie hit Kenny and will this month hold the inaugural Poowong Family Fun Day.

But take a wander down the main street and you could forgive these residents for sometimes feeling a little left out when it comes to the vital services and infrastructure.

Despite an increasing population, particularly an influx of young families, the town of 600 has no public transport.

The nearest bus link runs through Loch, 8km down the hill.

Residents are forced to travel to Korumburra to access health services.

Long-time local Anna Cecil said a local clinic would change the lives of many left hanging on the phone or forced to hit the road during medical emergencies.

Mrs Cecil, who requires a wheelchair for mobility, said accessibility issues should also become a priority for the local council.

Jobs are also scarce. The local abattoir is the only industry that offers a wider pool of ongoing job opportunities.

Poowong Hotel owner Fiona Cox said the township had also be frustrated by a decision to run a gas pipeline through to Leongatha without connecting residents on the way.

“It means local businesses fork out thousands for supplied gas when the bill down the road is only a few hundred dollars a year,” she said.

Postmaster John Mandemaker said the battle continued with VicRoads, which is yet to heed calls for a safer crossing and speed signals at the primary school despite a petition with more than 400 signatures.

JOBS THE FRUIT OF WEALTH

FARMER Joe La Spina wants more businesses to relocate to regional Victoria in order to boost jobs and local economies.

Brothers Joe and Raimond Laspina are kiwi and capsicum fruit growers from Whorouly.

The capsicum and kiwifruit farmer, from Whorouly in the state’s northeast, said his area was in urgent need of more jobs.

“They need to help promote enterprise. Even small manufacturing, if it moves here, has spin-off benefits,” he said.

Mr La Spina said the relocation of a Visy factory and a Woolworths distribution centre were recent boosts in his area.

And he called for more funding for schools, with many families choosing private schools in his region as they were better quality.

“Private schools are leading the way in the northeast,” he said. “Public schools are not getting the good teachers because of the wage structures.”

He also said that more expertise was needed at rural hospitals so people could be treated closer to home.

— Stephen Drill

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