A Litany of Disadvantage

A Litany of Disadvantage

Rural Communities of Australia

October 2000

Prepared by the
ACSWC Secretariat

INTRODUCTION

The attention now being given to the hardships of rural communities arises at a time of growing crisis in areas of rural Australia. There is now widespread concern at the prospect of Australia becoming 'two nations', based on growing inequalities between metropolitan and rural regions.

While it is true that economic changes of recent decades have impacted detrimentally on many regional centres and areas within metropolitan cities, it is simply the case that rural communities have endured particular and acute hardship over many years. There is an urgent need to emphasise again the importance of solidarity with those communities most in need and to insist that vulnerable rural communities have an intrinsic value to the nation as a whole, beyond their economic or productive value.

At the March 2000 General Meeting of the Australian Catholic Social Welfare Commission (ACSWC), the Secretariat was requested to prepare a briefing paper for the Bishops' Committee for Social Welfare (BCSW) on the situation of rural communities. The paper was to be informed principally by consulting Bishops from the predominantly rural diocese, in addition to the Secretariat's own research on the subject of economic policy and its impacts on regional Australia. The BCSW is now pleased to make this research available for the Centacare network and interested members of the public.

The Commission has also recently published two other discussion papers on themes relating to regional development: Regional Unemployment and the Indirect Employer: Beyond the Principle of Self-Reliance (August 1999) and Valuing Rural Communities: An Invigorated Approach to Rural Development Policy (April 1998). These documents can be found at www.acswc.org.au under the "Publications" section.

RURAL AUSTRALIA: A LITANY OF DISADVANTAGE

Rural communities in decline between 1986 and 1996 were usually located in the inland wheat-sheep belts, dryland grazing regions or mining regions (MacDonald, 2000). Those regional centres experiencing substantial population growth over the past decade have tended to be coastal. In this context, rural communities may be best understood as smaller inland towns and their surrounding hinterland, that are economically dependent on agricultural commodities or mining. Some 14% of Australians live in areas that may be defined as rural or remote (ABS, 1998: 2). However, if large towns or regional centres such as Bundaberg in Queensland, Tamworth in New South Wales, Shepparton in Victoria and Launceston in Tasmania are included, then the rural and regional proportion of the total population would be at least 30%.

Rural and remote communities have been exposed to considerable economic and demographic changes which have been the source of acute hardship. While the causes and effects of rural distress are complex, any discussion of rural hardship would include the following six factors:

weak commodity prices and deteriorating terms of trade;

uncertain global market conditions, that have followed the integration of the Australian economy within the international economy, and which have had particularly severe consequences for agriculture and mining;

world trade protectionism in agricultural commodities among Australia's competitors in Europe and North America;

microeconomic reform and the withdrawal of services by both the private sector and governments from rural and remote communities with consequent unemployment;

rising farm costs relative to farm prices resulting in declining farm incomes, putting pressure on farming families; and

the vagaries of unpredictable weather and other environmental conditions.

Many of these factors are simply beyond the capacity of farming communities to control. For example, cane growers in Queensland, found particularly in the Diocese of Townsville, have experienced three years of extremely wet weather and low sugar prices. One cane grower recently commented:

It effects everybody. If we don't have money to spend, we can't afford to grow cane anymore and the community itself suffers (Quoted in Pryor, 4 May: 6).

Coal and wool prices have also continued to fall in recent times. In other areas, within the northern parts of the Diocese of Ballarat for example, there has been a shortage of rain affecting the crops grown. Despite these water shortages and concern at locust plagues, a good wheat crop is expected this year. The experience of rural communities is not uniform and is often unpredictable.

These various factors impacting on rural economies have been well documented. The hardship endured by these communities has been made manifest in the following ways.

1. Health

The disparity between rural and other communities is most powerfully revealed in the poorer health status of people living in rural and remote communities. This can be seen particularly in the higher mortality rates, higher rates of hospitalisation and disadvantage in terms of access to health services. Rural Australians have mortality rates between 10 and 40% higher than for the nation as a whole (NRHPF & NRHA, 1999: 38).

Mortality rates worsen the more remote the location of the community. This is not surprising given that farming families now do much more of the work associated with maintaining a property, often using heavy machinery, as they can no longer afford to employ additional workers. Death rates from all sources of injury are twice as high in remote areas compared with capital cities (AIHW, 1998: 20).

Research in men's health indicates that rural men have significantly poorer health than their metropolitan counterparts with mortality rates some 20% higher and morbidity rates from respiratory disease, injury and poisoning and heart disease substantially higher than for males in urban areas. Women's health in rural areas is generally better than for the men, but women have higher rates of acute illness and non-fatal chronic conditions. Women in remote communities also have 7 to 25 times higher rates of hospitalisation due to domestic violence than do women from other areas (AIHW, 1998: 14, 29).

A most distressing consequence of rural disadvantage is evidenced in a high incidence of youth suicide. Youth suicide by males in rural and remote areas is at least twice the rate of urban suicides and is thought to be underestimated, with only half of the male and three quarters of the female suicides likely to be officially recorded (NRHPF & NRHA, 1999: 43; AIHW, 1998: 52). Factors contributing to these tragic deaths include high levels of rural unemployment, isolation from educational opportunities, family financial hardship and rising levels of stress, domestic violence, alcohol abuse and ready access to firearms (HREOC, 1997: 8). Of particular concern is the scarcity of mental health services in rural and remote communities given the prevalence of extreme stress and depression.

With the shortages of general practitioners, nurses, pharmacists and other health professionals in rural and remote areas, people must now travel even greater distances for medical services and hospitalisation. Farmers often find that they have no support networks and, on returning to their home communities, rehabilitation is made difficult by the absence of physiotherapists and other allied health professionals. Despite the greater need, people in rural and remote areas use less medical services than those in metropolitan areas, indicating the health access disadvantage.

With very tight finances, the greater distances to travel for essential services and the higher costs of fuel, families are restricting their outings and becoming even more isolated from their communities.

2. Education

In March this year, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission (HREOC) published a summary of evidence from its National Inquiry into Rural and Remote Education which found striking differences in literacy, numeracy, Year 12 retention and unemployment rates between rural students and those educated in cities and regional centres. The report documents a series of failures by governments to provide education to rural Australia comparable with that of urban areas, and that Indigenous children and students with learning disabilities are at a particular disadvantage. The other major issues arising from this inquiry include the lack of availability and accessibility of schools, and poor access to telecommunications technologies and resources for rural and remote education.

In terms of retention rates, in 1997 Year 12 completion rates were some 65% for the nation as a whole, but in remote areas it was only 52%. For males in remote areas, only 43% completed Year 12 (MacDonald, 2000: 3). Furthermore, in their recent Bush Talks study, HREOC found that while 25% of rural children entered tertiary education in 1989, by 1997 it had fallen to only 16% (HREOC, 1999: 12).

3. Services and Essential Needs

Rural Australia has also endured a massive withdrawal of other essential services by both the private sector and governments. This is occurring at a time of growing need in rural Australia for essential services.

The progressive loss of key services has led to greater inaccessibility and higher costs associated with accessing services. Rural and remote Australians have further distances to travel, greater amounts of time are required and higher fuel costs are involved. Moreover, the loss of services and the associated employment have acted to further disintegrate rural communities by closing off important opportunities for social interaction and recreation.

In large measure dependent on the economic fortunes of a particular industry, remote communities have often been unable to cope with the downturn or closure of the principal employer. This has then had flow-on consequences for the other services provided in the community which may become non-viable and, in turn, forced to withdraw or close. A decline in farm population often means a reduced demand for goods and services supplied by the retail sector of the small rural townships.

In relation to services and essential needs, the key concerns of rural communities include:

The withdrawal of banking services

Between 1993 and 1998, 481 non-metropolitan bank branches closed, resulting in the loss of some 10,000 positions (HREOC, 1999: 16). In its current acquisition of Colonial, the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) has reportedly set plans to close some 250 branches, representing approximately 17% of the combined CBA/Colonial branch network. With the closure of town banks have also gone a range of other basic services such as supermarkets, butchers and chemists, suggesting a spiral of decline that follows the closure of rural bank branches. It is a positive development that the recently licensed Elders Rural Bank has announced plans to open 400 bank branches, providing traditional over-the-counter services, in rural communities over the next two years.

The price of fuel and other essential items

The cost of essential goods such as fuel, water, and fruit and vegetables is dramatically higher in rural areas than elsewhere. Rural people may have to pay from 10 to 20 cents a litre more for petrol than their urban counterparts. There has also been a large number of closures in service stations in rural areas as large retail companies have entered the industry.

The Federal Government had committed to lowering excise on diesel fuel to match the impact of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), but in June demanded that the oil companies start from July 1 to pass on the expected long-term savings from tax reform of 1.5c a litre. The oil companies insisted on their inability to do so and this caused a gap to emerge between the reduced excise rate of 37.5c a litre and the on-farm diesel fuel rebate of 35.7c a litre. The result has been that some 100,000 farmers are paying an 1.8c a litre impost for their on-farm diesel use. Furthermore, research conducted by Econtech, the Government's preferred economic forecaster, has found that tax reform will add significantly to petrol pump prices for the first four years after GST introduction.

Telecommunications and access to technology

There is concern at telephone service delays, the quality of older phone networks in remote areas, the lack of mobile telephony, the cost and speed of internet access and the disproportionate impacts on regional areas of Telstra's massive job-shedding plans. On 1 April, the Australian Communications Authority found that Telstra is failing to meet its legal minimum service standards in rural Australia, in up to 25% of cases. The Federal Government's Telecommunications Service Inquiry has heard that rural communities are waiting up to 12 months for phone service connections and paying up to four times more for fax and internet services.

The withdrawal of state rail and other public transport services

The decline in the provision of public transport services has forced greater dependence on buses or taxis for those who don't have a private car. Fewer rail services impose additional limitations for people in rural areas, especially with regards to accessing medical services, education and employment. Reduced public transport services may even necessitate additional accommodation costs in some cases.

4. Unemployment, Rural Incomes and Poverty

At the beginning of the last century, some 65% of Australians lived in non-metropolitan regions. By 1971 the rural population had declined to 36% (PC, 1998: 19). While the non-metropolitan share of the total population has largely stabilised since then, there have been substantial shifts of population within rural and regional areas. This has seen strong population growth in several coastal regions (eg. Tweed Heads and the Sunshine Coast) and economic activity gravitate towards a number of regional centres (eg. Wagga Wagga and Townsville) that service surrounding regions. This shift in population and economic activity has come at the expense of smaller rural and remote communities.

The withdrawal of services has been both a cause and an effect of high unemployment in rural Australia. In the two year period between 1996 to 1998, HREOC identified the following sources of lost jobs in regional Australia.

Major sources of jobs lost in regional
Australia, 1996 - 1998
Agriculture, forestry, fishing:
Banks:
Coal mining:
Steel works:
Telstra:
Meat works:
Clothing:
Metalliferous mining:
Manufacturing:
(Source: HREOC, 1999:16)

10,500
4,800
3,800|
2,750
2,266
1,944
1,044
900
530

This catalogue of large scale job loss throughout rural Australia over a relatively short period of time is also an indication of the longer-term restructuring of the nation's economy. This restructuring has seen the decline of traditional industries, the downsizing and privatisation of government services and the growth in the services sector, which has not been of benefit to many disadvantaged communities outside major metropolitan centres (ACSWC, 1999). The list of job losses in rural communities is likely to be extended as the Commonwealth Bank plans to reduce its workforce by 2,750 positions in the process of acquiring Colonial Ltd. Telstra has now sought to mollify public opinion by insulating rural communities from its planned shedding of 10,000 positions with the establishment in March 2000 of a new stand-alone regional business unit, Telstra Country Wide. The burden of Telstra's job shedding will now fall entirely on the metropolitan regions.

Recent deregulation of the dairy industry, followed by dramatic price cutting by retailers, promises a disastrous cut in incomes to NSW and Queensland dairy farmers, with up to half the NSW farmers expected to exit the industry. Widespread farm closures and amalgamations are expected, and there will be ramifications for the local communities and their economies. Dairy deregulation was accompanied by a substantial adjustment package funded by a national retail levy on milk. The Federal Government has provided ad hoc industry assistance to cane growers who have faced chronically low world prices, due to large and blatant trade protection measures in Europe, Japan and the USA, and poor weather.

With the falls in agricultural and other rural employment, unemployment rates in rural and regional areas have exceeded those of metropolitan areas. In 1996 for example, unemployment rates in regional and rural Australia were, on average, two percentage points higher than those in metropolitan regions (PC, 1998: 20). In many communities the unemployment rate may be as high as two to four times the national average. Unemployed people who live in rural areas have less opportunities for employment, because there are now less businesses and government services available to absorb the labour, and are also more likely to be out of work longer than their metropolitan counterparts, particularly young people under 25 years of age (HREOC, 1997: 6).

Household incomes have also generally been lower in rural communities. In 1996, average household incomes were 30% ($10 000) higher in metropolitan regions (PC, 1998: 20). The incidence of poverty is considerably higher in rural and remote areas. Up to 24% of households in remote communities may be living in poverty, with unemployment being the major contributing factor (HREOC, 1997: 6).

5. Indigenous Australians in Rural Communities

Rural disadvantage is most pronounced amongst Indigenous Australians. Rural Indigenous Australians have a life expectancy 20 years less than non-Indigenous Australians and have and twice the mortality rate of non-Indigenous rural Australians (AIHW, 1999: 14). Indigenous infant mortality is more than three times the national average. There are higher rates of substance abuse and smoking prevalence is twice as high among Indigenous Australians (NRHPF & NRHA, 1999: 43).

In education, less than 30% of Indigenous students nation-wide complete year 12, as compared to more than 70% for non-Indigenous students. In the Northern Territory, there is very little secondary schooling outside urban areas, with at least 1000 Indigenous children having no school. This lack of accessible secondary education facilities is reflected in the fact that only 1% of Indigenous people in the Papunya region aged 15 years and over participate in secondary education (HREOC, 1999: 11).

THE BISHOPS' REFLECTIONS

The Bishops consulted in the production of this report corroborated this litany of disadvantage for rural communities with their observations, some of which follow. A number of these themes were addressed in the Bishops' statement issued in December 1994, Australia's Rural Communities.

Farms are becoming larger in size while at the same time fewer people are being employed.

The use of large farm machinery, which certainly increases productivity, also tends to increases stress levels due to the debts incurred in their acquisition.

The structure of rural families are changing, with fewer children being born and, of those, fewer children are choosing to remain on the farm.

The drift of younger people to the cities and the difficulties for the remaining men, in particular, to develop adequate social skills and begin families themselves.

The limited educational and employment opportunities in rural areas, which cause younger people to leave for the regional centres and cities, often results in further stress for those family members remaining on the farm. This in turn has consequences for the disintegration of rural communities.

There has been a withdrawal of supporting services in rural communities (post offices, banks, schools, chemists, hospitals), which has had dramatic social impacts because these services also acted as meeting places and centres for community gathering where people were able to share their lives and make other arrangements.

There is an awareness of intergenerational joblessness in some communities.

In some places there are tensions between sections of the rural community, for example, over appropriate water usage.

There is now a heightened sense of despondency, isolation, greater depression and even suicide in rural areas.

Despite the greater pressures, in many cases rural communities have displayed a great capacity to adapt and respond resiliently, for example, by diversifying and by establishing new community services.

With the withdrawal of government services and large companies to regional centres, unemployed people can no longer be absorbed as they once were. The withdrawal of government as a source of employment may result in social problems and other costs emerging over time.

There has been consistently strong demand for the social services provided by the Church in rural communities. In some cases, the Church remains one of the largest employers (schools and Centacare services) in remote areas.

The decline in rural communities is also having impacts on the Church, including the ageing of congregations, parishes becoming larger and greater financial burdens being placed on the diocese. However, given the pressures on rural communities, it was felt that the Church must not also be withdrawing at this time and that every effort be made to maintain a 'Church presence', for example, by using the services of a religious Sister or Brother to support people in remote areas.

The emergence of 'fly in, fly out' mining operations in remote areas has had social consequences with broken families and new pressures on both the husband and wife. There are often no extended family supports in some mining towns.

Communication with government agencies is often poor. There is an absolute frustration in rural Australia at not being listened to and not taken seriously. There is now such a deep, almost pathological, cynicism amongst rural Australians about the nature of government interest in them.

There is a recognition of the problems faced by Indigenous Australians and particularly their economic marginalisation. There is a need for improved links between vocational training for Indigenous Australians and the needs of prospective employers.

There are much higher prices for fuel, basic food stuffs, and difficulties in accessing health care.

With the disintegration of rural communities, there is also a sense of a wider loss: to Australia as a nation, something of its identity and uniqueness, for which rural communities have played such an important part in forming.

As the Bishops have made clear however, there is a great diversity of experience both between diocese and even within a diocese in terms of community prosperity. Some communities have experienced considerable growth due, for example, to the emergence of new industries such as tourism or new mining ventures, while others are undergoing a visible decline. There is therefore a great variation in regional experience.

There is however a consistent message of two related themes:

the increased pressure on relationships in rural communities - between husband and wife, between neighbouring farmers, and even on occasion between competing towns and regions - which in turn has major spiritual impacts; and

the immense social costs of the destruction of rural communities - on individual lives and families, but also for the broader cultural and spiritual impacts on the nation. It was felt that these broader social costs have not been addressed by successive governments and measures of financial costs alone are not adequate.

RURAL COMMUNITIES: RECENT PUBLIC POLICY RESPONSES AND THE COMMONWEALTH BUDGET, 2000 - 2001

There has been a growing recognition by Federal Governments of the problems confronting the nation in relation to rural Australia, and which have now gained some prominence and attention. This has been evidenced by the Prime Minister's 'listening tour' of rural areas early in 2000 and the Federal Government's recent announcement of the following initiatives for rural and remote communities:

The Rural Transaction Centre Programme, with funding of $70 million, had established more than 260 centres by September 2000, providing access to Government, banking and other services for many rural and remote communities.

On 11 April the Treasurer announced a $500 million petrol price scheme, to be spent over four years, for rural and remote petrol and diesel consumers, which was intended to shield rural consumers from anticipated price rises under the GST. These grants, which are paid to petrol stations, amount to between one and three centres per litre. This scheme, which is additional to a previously announced $1.9 billion commitment to cut excise on diesel fuel used in regional areas, has failed to insulate rural petrol users from price rises under the GST.

On 16 April the Prime Minister launched the National Families and Communities Strategy which invests $240 million in nine programmes over four years. Two of these programmes will have a substantial rural emphasis: early intervention support for families and the establishment of rural child care centres ($65.4 million, for 7000 places). This spending does however need to be seen in the context of the Federal Government's cut in 1996 of $850 million from child care.

These initiatives for rural communities are entirely welcome and appropriate.

On 9 May, the Government introduced the Commonwealth Budget, 2000 - 2001. It was widely anticipated that the Budget would provide substantial new funding for rural education, health and community leadership projects, following the recommendations of the Regional Australia Summit held last October. The Deputy Prime Minister had appointed a Steering Committee to provide advice to the Federal Government on strategies for implementing the Summit's recommendations in the Budget context. The Committee presented its Interim Report to the Government on April 19.

The Budget provides a total of $1.8 billion in new spending over four years for rural and regional Australia. In addition to the petrol grants scheme ($500 m) and significant portions of the families strategy funding ($240 m) listed above, the principle new initiatives are contained in the Regional Health Package of $562 million over four years. The Government has clearly attempted to provide a comprehensive response to the health disadvantages of rural Australians. The package of initiatives include:

changes to general practitioner vocational training to favour rural areas;

an expansion of the Regional Health Services Programme;

new scholarship schemes for medical students who agree to practice in rural towns;

a medical specialist outreach programme taking specialists to remote areas;

support for the employment of community-based, allied health professionals;

a new programme targeting chronic disease in rural areas;

a new support programme to help secure the viability of small rural private hospitals; and

grants to improve the viability of small rural aged care facilities.

In addition to the health package, the Budget provides $309 million over four years for Agriculture - Advancing Australia initiatives to enhance farmers' business skills, improve market access for exports and provide support for rural families in financial difficulty. To assist isolated families with education costs, funding for the Assistance for Isolated Children Scheme and the comparable ABSTUDY School Fees Allowance have been increased by $16.4 million over four years.

The Australian Catholic Social Welfare Commission welcomed these initiatives but stated that in view of the scale of rural poverty and the well considered conclusions of the Regional Australia Summit, the lack of rural infrastructure spending (aside for $40 million for the Alice Springs to Darwin railway) was of concern. In this Budget the Federal Government has attempted to isolate the issue of rural health rather than provide an encompassing national strategy for regional and rural development. While significant and meritorious, the initiatives in rural health are not integrated within a broader vision for supporting Australia's rural communities.

In addition to the Regional Australia Summit, committees of the Federal Parliament have also recently conducted inquiries into the needs of rural Australia and the consequences of certain economic policies on rural and regional communities. Most notably, the House of Representatives Committee on Primary Industries and Regional Services has recently issued a significant report, Time Running Out: Shaping Regional Australia's Future, which has pointed to the infrastructure and development needs of regional Australia. Furthermore, at a state level, the New South Wales Parliament's Standing Committee on State Development is currently conducting an inquiry into opportunities for strengthening rural towns.

RURAL COMMUNITIES AND CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING

Catholic social teachings elaborate a series of principles that are of direct application to the problems of rural communities in Australia. These principles have implications for the responsibilities of governments, particularly the Federal Government, for businesses and the rural communities themselves.

1. The role of Government

In his encyclical, Mater et magistra (1961), Pope John XXIII writes:

It often happens that in one and the same country citizens enjoy different degrees of wealth and social advancement. This especially happens because they dwell in areas which, economically speaking, have grown at different rates. Where such is the case, justice and equity demand that the government make efforts to either remove or to minimise imbalances of this sort (n150).

Governments must ensure the equitable distribution of the costs and benefits of strategies of economic reform and growth. Social justice,

explicitly requires that, with the growth of the economy, there occurs a corresponding social development ensuring that all classes of citizens will benefit equitably from an increase in national wealth (Mater et magistra, n73).

Catholic social teaching therefore explicitly requires that governments act to reduce discrepancies in standards of living between classes of citizens and ensure that essential goods and services be provided for rural communities. This tradition of Catholic teaching has continued under Pope John Paul II who reaffirmed these principles in Laborem excercens (1981). Most recently, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace issued Towards a Better Distribution of Land (1998) which reaffirmed the Church's call for adequate social infrastructure such as schools and health services for rural communities (ACSWC, 1998: 5). Indeed, without a decent level of services to the most isolated of communities there is danger that some may disintegrate completely.

In this regard, a number of Bishops suggested during the consultations a variety of issues that the Federal Government ought to have regard for:

employment levels and the maintenance and promotion of rural industries;

that all levels of government reconsider plans to withdraw services and to shed labour in rural and remote areas;

the accessibility of basic medical services, such as the number of general practitioners in rural areas;

the prices of the essentials of life, such as many food items, and the price of petrol, which is crucial given the distances that must be travelled to access services;

the further subsidisation of petrol prices in rural and remote areas and a concern for the provision of public transport, such as rail and bus services;

an improved quality of communication between government agencies and rural communities to determine the actual needs of these communities, that rural communities actually be 'listened to' and for a less confusing flow of information;

improved telecommunications services particularly for remote schools and expanded mobile coverage;

that grants for students from rural areas to access tertiary eduction be increased;

the economic marginalisation of Indigenous people be addressed and specifically that vocational training be better linked to the needs of prospective employers and that employment for Indigenous Australians be given the highest priority; and

all levels of government, in consultation with rural communities and the private sector, develop long-term infrastructure and development plans for individual regional areas.

The Federal Government ought to look again at creative ways to stop the flow from rural areas of people who would prefer not to leave, and particularly to look at supporting new industries and employment initiatives in these communities.

The relative disadvantage of regions where there is less economic progress requires a reordering and an adjustment of economic structures to meet the basic human needs of community members, to avoid mass unemployment and to promote sustainable economic and social development. Beyond the provision of public services and programs to encourage and stimulate economic growth and to provide useful employment for workers, the Federal Government has a duty to co-ordinate a full range of national policies which have a bearing on the future of rural communities (ACSWC, 1999: 12).

All these initiatives would require a commitment to solidarity with rural communities, which entails a "firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good" (Solicitudo rei socialis, n38). Policies which promote solidarity and the equitable distribution of sacrifice and reward through the market and social wage systems enhance the common good and contribute to the dignity of all members of society.

2. Communities

It is generally the case that local communities know what the appropriate solutions to their difficulties are, but that they may require outside technical advice, training or finance for infrastructure. Most communities are willing and able to bring about the necessary solutions, which accords with the principle of subsidiarity. The role of government here is to foster the energies of local communities. However, it is increasingly difficult for communities to access government funding for development projects and there exists an expectation that isolated communities are somehow able to subsidise such initiatives themselves (SVdP, 1998: 15).

Major national inquiries, reviews and research into the plight of the nation's rural communities over the last decade have emphasised the pivotal importance of community participation in the formulation and implementation of policies concerning their economic and social development (ACSWC, 1999: 10). National strategies are important in establishing policy frameworks for development, but the ultimate achievement of policy goals depends upon local control and initiative as well as the degree to which governments support the development process (Mater et magistra, nn151-2; Centesimus annus, n48).

However, the principle of subsidiarity does not provide a justification for the withdrawal of government intervention to the degree that communities' viability and potential for self-determination is undermined. On the contrary, governments are responsible for establishing the preconditions to develop communities, investment and programs that "favour and help private enterprise...in order to allow private citizens themselves to accomplish as much as is feasible" (Mater et magistra, n152). Currently, the potential for rural communities to exercise greater power and autonomy in developing their economic and social potential is limited by reductions in public investment into the social and economic life of these communities. The restoration of these resources, services and opportunities is a precondition for the success of strategies which seek to empower disadvantaged communities in realising their potential.

3. Employment and the just wage

Meaningful employment, which is remunerated with a just wage, is central in upholding the dignity of individuals, families and communities (Laborem excercens, n19). The provision of a just wage, which meets the cost of daily living expenses and the longer-term life-cycle commitments of individuals and families, remains the surest way of preventing poverty. Access to employment that provides a living wage and opportunities for advancement should be a central element of any national strategy for rural development.

Policies that spur employer demand, jobs growth and access to stable, adequately remunerated employment opportunities benefit entire communities by reducing high levels of reliance on income support payments as a primary source of income. Moreover, such policies would increase the purchasing power of the community and increase average household incomes which are key determinants of living standards for the majority of citizens.

Governments could reconsider incentives for businesses and services to remain in, or move to, rural areas and to provide employment opportunities for people who are particularly disadvantaged, such as older workers, migrants and Indigenous people. Businesses operating in remote areas, especially where there is a large Indigenous population, ought to be encouraged to train and employ local labour rather than 'fly in and fly out' workers from outside the communities. It may assist in achieving this objective if vocational training can be better linked to the needs of prospective employers, especially in the case of Indigenous children.

Fundamentally, it is the minimum wage, fixed and protected according to the laws of justice and equity and underpinned by adequate income support arrangements, that provide the concrete means of verifying the justice of any economic development strategies. Proposals that the scourge of rural unemployment ought to be solved by lowering wages in these areas and suggestions that the existence of high unemployment in rural areas may in fact be beneficial because of the flow-on effects for prices are abhorrent. Any system that views human labour as simply a factor of production and that seeks economic growth by undermining the value of work or a fair level of remuneration cannot be seen as a just or equitable course of development (Laborem excercens, nn7, 8, 17-19; Pacem in terris, n64). In this regard it is well to recall the recent remarks of Pope John Paul II to a conference of economists that,

it is necessary to harmonise the needs of the economy with those of ethics. It is urgent to recognise, guard and promote the primacy of the human person (L'Osservatore Romano, 2000: 10).

4. Recognising the inherent value of rural communities

While only 14% of Australians live in rural or remote communities and the output of the farm sector represents a declining share of Australia's Gross Domestic Product, this nonetheless accounts for approximately 42% of the nation's exports (NRHPF & NRHA, 1999: 28). Furthermore, rural communities are suppliers of goods that serve primary human needs, particularly food.

Beyond this 'economic value', which so dominates any contemporary discussions of individual worth, rural communities have an inherent value to the nation as a whole. As the Bishops wrote in their 1994 statement:

The economic and social fabric of Australia is under threat when the future of country people is under threat. Their contributions cannot be measured in purely economic terms. They witness to important family values and express in many ways the spirit of our nation. The family farm is important as a school for future farmers and as an expression of fidelity and perseverance. Our farming families show us that suffering and poverty are part of the human condition and that we can be made stronger by our response to them (ACBC, 1997: 159).

These comments echo Mater et magistra, in which John XXIII writes of farming as a calling that is noble, conferring dignity on those who practice it and surrounding people with allusions to God the Creator and Provider (Boland, 1994: 585).

Rural decline ought to be of profound concern for the nation as a whole. In addition to the hardship inflicted on families and individuals, the disintegration of rural communities causes the nation to lose something precious of its identity and uniqueness as rural Australia has a special place in the cultural identity of the nation. Indeed, the health of rural communities is of vital importance for the well-being of the nation as a whole.

REFERENCES

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1998, Australia in Profile: A Regional Analysis, ABS Cat. No. 2032.0. Canberra: ABS.

Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, 1997, 'Australia's Rural Communities'. In Australian

Catholic Bishops' Statements: 1985 - 1995. Sydney: St Pauls.

Australian Catholic Social Welfare Commission, 1999, 'Regional Unemployment and the Indirect Employer: Beyond the Principle of Self-Reliance', Common Wealth, Vol. 7, No. 2. Canberra: ACSWC.

Australian Catholic Social Welfare Commission, 1998, 'Valuing Rural Communities: An Invigorated Approach to Rural Development Policy', Discussion Paper, No. 13. Canberra: ACSWC.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 1998, Health in rural and remote Australia, AIHW Cat. No. PHE 6. Canberra: AIHW.

Boland, V., 1994, 'Mater Et Magistra'. Entry in Dwyer, J. A. (ed.), The New Dictionary of Catholic Social Thought. Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press.

Centesimus Annus ('On the Hundredth Anniversary of Rerum Novarum'), 1991, Encyclical Letter of Pope John Paul II. Sydney: St Pauls.

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A Litany of Disadvantage

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