Jeremiah ‘Jayo’ Rivers was a talented AFL player, who moved from the Northern Territory to Balranald, to play with the Balranald Roos. After making friends in town, Jayo, a fellow NT-based footy mate, a local Balranald man and four men from Victoria left Balranald on a hunting trip. It was Saturday, October 16, 2021, so Covid 19 border restrictions were in place, which the hunting party say was why their stories became confused. In two vehicles, the group of seven headed to Wilcannia, where one man sought treatment at the hospital in the early hours of October 17. Jayo was recorded in CCTV in White Cliffs just before 11am the same morning, limping, in bare feet. It is estimated the group quietly entered Queensland through the isolated Wompah Gate around 4am on October 18, after cutting the lock on the chained border. The group say they set up camp at Wippo Creek, and the last photograph of Jayo was taken around 8.30am that day. According to the evidence given by his travelling companions at his 2023 coronial inquest, Jayo walked away from the camp, either chasing a pig, or to look for somewhere to take a swim. It was Monday. Wippo Creek is about 40 kilometres from the tiny out back town of Noccundra – population 16. On Monday evening two of the men drove to Noccundra and purchased meals for the group, but did not report Jayo as missing. On Tuesday morning, October 19, the two men returned to Noccundra to fuel their vehicle and it was then that they first mentioned Jayo as missing, to local police. The pair did not share that they were part of a larger group, and the second vehicle departed separately. Once the alarm was raised, Police launched an extensive land, air, and water search from for eight days, using vehicles, planes, and even a gyrocopter. As well as the official efforts, Jayo’s family arrived from Western Australia and the Northern Territory, and searched the harsh terrain for months. In May 2024, Queensland Police restarted a 16-day search north west of Noccundra, based on new but undisclosed information. Despite all these searches, no trace of Jayo, has ever been found. In October 2024, Coroner Donald MacKenzie ruled that Jayo was likely dead and probably met with foul play, but his heartbroken family still has no answers. Victorian man Scott Neven was on a pig hunting trip in October 2002, when he was last seen 40 kilometres from Ivanhoe. Broken Hill police say the 31-year-old Victorian was in a car with two friends when a fight erupted. The witnesses told police that Scott got out of the vehicle, crawled under a fence and ran off into the paddock. He has not been seen since Friday 11, October 2002. An inquest held in July 2006 by the Deputy State Coroner found that Mr Neven died on or about 12 October 2002. As no trace of Mr Neven has been found since, the Coroner could not make any findings over the precise place, date, manner or cause of death. The Coroner did rule that Mr Neven met with foul play. In 2025, the NSW Government offered $100,000 reward for information into the disappearance of Scott Neven, and for information leading to the arrest of Mr Neven's killer. On Tuesday January 2, 2001, Clifford Parker, left "Hazelwood Station" located on the Sturt Highway near Balranald. Clifford took with him a small grey and blue backpack and a swag marked "Hazelwood" on it. It is believed Clifford took his dogs with him, but neither Clifford nor his dogs have been seen since this date. If you have any information into the disappearance of Jeremiah Rivers, Scott Neven or Clifford Parker please contact Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000. The Riverine Grazier would also like to hear from anyone who knew any of these men, and is open to anonymous contact [email protected]

Margaret Pack was born in approximately 1885. Her mother, Maria Yew, passed away at age 35 on September 24, 1895. Margaret was thought to have Cantonese, Scottish and some French heritage. Margaret and Ah Pack settled in Hay. Ah Pack’s older brother had come into Melbourne from China. He loved the new country so he ventured back to China to bring Ah and their brothers to Australia together. The brothers travelled towards Balranald in search of work. Ah found work as a gardener on a station. His brother continued on in his search for work and sadly, the brothers never saw each other again. Years later a member of the Pack clan would report that Ah Pack’s brother was settled up on the NSW North Coast and had family there.Ah also grew vegetables to supplement his gardeners’ wages, and sold fresh grown vegetables to nearby stations. Ah and Margaret had 18 children, Florrie, Eileen, Harold, Lindsay, Grace, Olive, Amy, Joyce, Anzac, Hazel, Percy, Jacky, Kathleen, Ruth, Alec, Isabel and Iris, and Eric. This was not common for the times, and one of their neighbours in Hay had a similarly sized family.Iris and Isabel were twins, but the remainder were single births. Anzac was born on Anzac Day in 1915. Joyce was born in 1913. Olive married an Englishman Tom Hey, and settled in Hay.Jackie became an infantryman in the Second World War and was featured in the paper. Many of the children had a strong affinity with the land, with Anzac growing cotton near Narrandera, Jackie and Lindsay also ending up on the land. Life would have been tough through the depression, two world wars and the harshness and vagaries of the outback Australian weather. The youngest child Eric died aged seven months, on January 2, 1928.Alec was one of the last remaining of the children, and remined in Hay until just before his passing. Alec worked as a shearer for 35 years, the best times of his life. Alec would work at the station for the Rees family for many years and learn a lot from all the things he got to do at Daisy Plains. Rees paid him well, bought him clothes and provided meat for his family, and Alec was a valuable and loyal worker, thankful for the opportunities.As well as working for the Rees, Alec also travelled around as a shearer, starting as a younger man under the wing of his brother Anzac. He became very accomplished in his own right and at his peak could get through more than 200 full size sheep in a single day. Hard work, shearing paid well for the times. He was often up at 5:30AM eating a quick lamb chop and a slice of bread as he walked from the workers hut to the shearing shed. Working all morning then a short break from the shearing for a minimal lunch before settling in to finish the day's work around 5PM. Dinner was the main meal of the day, with workers eating well to prepare for the next day. Alec recalled ten hungry shearers eating five legs of mutton between them.Both Ah Pack and Margaret died when the youngest children were still quite small. Alec's only memory of his mother was her sitting in a chair at home and he as a toddler pulling himself to his feet using his mother’s seated knee for balance. His last memory of his father was when he was sick and in his sixties at home. Alec and Jacky were quarrelling over matches and both received punishment from Ah Peck to stop their argument.Margaret passed at 43 years of age on June 22, 1928. Ah Pack passed two years later aged 65 on 24th November 1930. There is a small headstone memorial in Hay Cemetery for Margaret.Ah Pack was not mentioned by name, but as Margarets husband, and also their youngest son Eric, who died as an infant. Henry and JoyceHenry Huie James was born in 1907 in Canton province. He ventured to Melbourne in the 1920s at 20 on a merchant boat, jumped ship and met up with his brother. He had a Chinese name, Huie, and no English comprehension. Henry and his brother separated after leaving Melbourne and never reunited. Henry saved money and bought a motor bike. He created a book in Chinese characters that he used to teach himself English. He had the special brushes needed for the proper formation of the characters and could write Chinese characters well. He was very literate in Chinese and had attained a good education.Henry did not talk much about his earlier life, most likely out of concern that his illegal immigration would come to light, with even Joyce not knowing much about his early years.Joyce Roseana You Pack lived in Hay and helped care for her younger siblings. With a strong sense of duty Joyce was a member of the Salvation Army and active in the local community.The Hay area went through a period of growth from the 1850s onwards. There was a small Chinese community centred around Sturt Place in Hay, close to the Pack residence that was believed to have come to Hay seeking opportunities after the initial gold rush was over.In Hay, Henry met Joyce Pack, one of eleven daughters, in one of the large Pack clans in Hay. When talking to Alec he said that Joyce was one of the best of the children.Henry and Joyce were married, and settled on a small property on the outskirts of South Hay. The house was to the south end of the multi-acre lot with north end of the property backing onto the Murrumbidgee River. Henry was able to show his business skills and adaptability by creating a successful market garden at the site. The access to plentiful water would have helped but he was able to change from being a tailor to being a farmer. He grew vegetables which were taken into Lachlan St the main street of Hay to sell, and business proved to be vastly successful. Allan, their first child was born on March 14, 1937, lived on the property in Hay and began school there. Allan would ride his bike from South Hay to the school across the river. After a time, Henry and Joyce decided to relocate to Sydney for Allan’s education. They moved to 75 George Street terrace in Sydney's Main Street, renting a house from the Maritime Services Board. Henry would later try to buy the property but that never happened, but it remained the family home until his retirement in the 70’s.In Sydney another son, Roger Henry James was born in 1947. Devastatingly, he died from meningitis at eight months old. In 1948, their daughter Roslyn was born.Henry had started a laundry and dry-cleaning business upon arrival in Sydney. Having had a knowledge of clothing from his earlier life would have helped but he was able to cater to the business community in Sydney with his new enterprise. Business men would bring in their laundry where it was then professionally done and nicely packaged up for them to take home. Henry’s business was featured in Pix magazine, which was as popular then as People magazine is today. Joyce and Henry remained in George Street for many years, enjoying life with the large extended family they created. Henry retired 1974. He and Joyce moved from their George St terrace to an apartment in Top Ryde, within walking distance from the Top Ryde shopping Centre. Henry was eligible to get a pension but did not pursue one, as he was in the country illegally and was concerned about deportation.  Henry had never disclosed much of this with Joyce, despite their years together. Regardless of this, he voted, paid taxes and enlisted in the Royal Australian Navy at the end of the Second World War. Allan eventually Finally, Allan contacted someone he knew in immigration, who organised a private naturalisation ceremony, and thus Henry was an official citizen. Joyce and Henry both died in 1980. Joyce from a stroke. Henry found life a struggle after Joyce's passing, and passed himself several months later. They along with Roger Henry are buried at Botany cemetery in the Church of England section.

In the scorching heart of far western New South Wales, where summer temperatures routinely exceed 40 degrees celsius, the residents of White Cliffs have mastered the art of beating the heat in the most unconventional way imaginable. They live underground. Around 100 dugout homes remain in use throughout this remote opal mining town, carved into ancient hillsides by miners who, in the 1890s, discovered that the earth itself offered the perfect escape from the relentless outback sun. Today, these subterranean dwellings maintain a constant, comfortable 22 degrees year round, naturally insulated from both the harsh summer heat and the occasional winter chill. The town's population of just 150 people has created something truly unique in Australian settlement. Unlike anywhere else in the country, the majority of White Cliffs residents have chosen to make their homes beneath the surface, transforming old mining shafts and tunnels into comfortable, modern living spaces that would astound any first time visitor. Cree Marshall and Lindsay White offer tours of their beautifully carved underground residence, located beside the Red Earth Opal Cafe. For ten dollars, visitors can step into a world that seems almost impossible, wandering through progressively renovated rooms that the couple has transformed into a remarkable subterranean dwelling. The home showcases what's possible when creativity meets necessity, with carved archways, comfortable living spaces, and all the amenities of any modern home, simply located beneath several metres of solid rock. The 100 million year old sandstone conglomerate in which these homes are carved carries two significant advantages that made White Cliffs' unique living arrangement possible. First, the rock is remarkably stable. In over a century of underground dwelling, no one has ever died from a mine collapse in White Cliffs. Second, the sandstone is relatively easy to dig, allowing miners and residents to excavate living spaces without industrial equipment. The White Cliffs Underground Motel represents the largest example of this architectural phenomenon. With 48 subterranean rooms, it stands as the biggest dugout motel in the world. Located on a mesa locally known as Poor Man's Hill, so named for its lack of opal, the motel has welcomed travellers since 1989. Guests descend into a maze of passageways that lead to comfortable rooms, all maintaining that perfect 22 degree temperature regardless of conditions above ground. The motel features a unique stairway to heaven, a passage that leads guests up to a star gazing room on the surface. Here, visitors can witness the brilliant night sky and enjoy vast sunsets and sunrises that paint the outback landscape in extraordinary colours, far removed from any urban light pollution. From above ground, White Cliffs appears almost otherworldly. The landscape is littered with around 50,000 disused diggings, creating a moonscape terrain of white dirt mounds that encircle old mine shafts. This distinctive topography, combined with the lack of ordinary buildings, gives the town the appearance of an alien settlement that has landed on the desert plains. The underground lifestyle extends beyond mere accommodation. The town has carved out community spaces, workshops, and even display areas for the precious opals that brought miners to this remote corner of Australia in the first place. Some dugouts house opal showrooms where miners sell the gems they've extracted from the earth around them, continuing a tradition that began in the late 1880s. For those considering whether underground living could work in modern Australia, White Cliffs provides a compelling answer. Residents report lower energy costs, no need for air conditioning or heating, and a lifestyle that, while unconventional, offers genuine comfort and sustainability. The constant temperature means no fluctuating power bills, no reliance on external cooling or heating systems, and a living space that remains comfortable through the most extreme weather conditions. White Cliffs stands as a testament to human adaptability and ingenuity. In one of Australia's harshest environments, a community has thrived by embracing what the landscape offered rather than fighting against it. Their underground homes represent not just shelter, but a unique Australian architectural heritage that deserves recognition and preservation.

Walk into Royal Adelaide Hospital's emergency department on any given day and you'll find a chaotic but functioning system. The wait might be 30 minutes. There are specialists on site. Advanced diagnostic equipment hums in the background. Ambulances queue at the door. Now picture Wilcannia. The Multipurpose Service there technically provides 24-hour emergency care. But as of November 2025, if you present between 7pm and 7am, you must first call ahead. Staff will decide whether to come in. The doors aren't always open.This is the reality of Australia's two-tiered emergency care system, and it's crucial to understand from the outset that our dedicated doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers are not the problem. They are the heroes holding a fractured system together through sheer determination and professionalism. What's failing isn't the quality of our medical professionals but the system that asks them to do the impossible with inadequate resources, chronic understaffing, and policy settings that haven't kept pace with demand. Every statistic about wait times and bed shortages represents healthcare workers fighting against overwhelming odds to provide care they know Australians deserve.If you've felt like emergency department waits are getting longer in cities, you're not imagining it. The data confirms what millions of Australians already know from painful personal experience. In 2024-25, there were 9.1 million emergency presentations to public hospitals across Australia. Half of all patients were seen within 18 minutes, which sounds reasonable until you realise that overall, only 67 per cent of patients were seen within the recommended time for their triage category. Perhaps most troubling is that for patients requiring admission to hospital, wait times have exploded. The time in which 90 per cent of these patients complete their emergency department visit has increased by over 6.5 hours in recent years, from 11 hours and 43 minutes in 2018-19 to a staggering 18 hours and 23 minutes in 2022-23. Let that sink in: nearly a full day in an emergency department before being admitted to a hospital bed.While city hospitals grapple with overcrowding, rural Australia faces a fundamentally different problem. Emergency departments barely function or don't exist at all in many communities. Wilcannia's situation exemplifies the crisis. The temporary change to after-hours access, requiring patients to call ahead between 7pm and 7am, will remain in place until at least 31 January 2026. NSW Health frames this as ensuring patients receive safe care during the summer holiday period. The reality is simpler and more stark: there aren't enough staff to keep the doors open around the clock. And Wilcannia isn't alone. Across rural and remote Australia, more than 400 hospital-based emergency care facilities serve communities, managing over one third of Australia's emergency presentations. But staffing shortages are catastrophic, as high as 85 per cent for specialist trainee roles, 66 per cent for junior medical officer positions, and 22 per cent for senior decision-making roles in rural and remote emergency departments.Small rural towns suffer the most. Research from the University of Wollongong found that the greatest workforce shortfalls aren't in the most remote areas but in small rural towns. These communities have three times fewer doctors per capita than metropolitan areas, and twice as few nurses and allied health workers. The nurses and doctors who do work in these communities are performing miracles daily, often managing complex cases without the backup and resources their metropolitan colleagues take for granted. They're making clinical decisions in isolation, covering multiple roles simultaneously, and working extended hours because there's simply no one else to share the load.Emergency departments operate on a five-category triage system that determines how quickly you need to be seen. Resuscitation means immediate care for life-threatening conditions, and almost all these patients are seen instantly. Emergency category means care within 10 minutes for imminently life-threatening conditions, though only 64 per cent are seen on time. Urgent means within 30 minutes for potentially life-threatening situations. Semi-urgent means within 60 minutes for conditions requiring medical attention but not immediately life-threatening. Non-urgent means within 120 minutes for minor illnesses or injuries. The system works well for the most critical cases. The problem is for everyone else, and everyone else constitutes the vast majority of presentations.But in rural areas, this sophisticated triage system often becomes meaningless. Over 60 per cent of small rural hospitals have only on-call doctors, not staff physically present in the facility. Nurses frequently must assess and manage patients without onsite medical backup, making split-second decisions that would have a team of specialists consulting in a metropolitan hospital. These rural nurses demonstrate extraordinary clinical judgement and courage, but they shouldn't have to work in such isolation. Radiology and pathology services may only be available during business hours, if at all, meaning even routine investigations can't be performed when emergencies happen overnight.The workforce crisis manifests differently depending on where you live. In metropolitan hospitals, the challenge is managing volume. Liverpool Emergency Department in Sydney receives more than 90,000 presentations annually. Despite impressive recent improvements, halving average treatment time for emergency patients from 18 to 9 minutes, the sheer numbers create relentless pressure on staff who are already working at capacity. These healthcare workers are achieving remarkable results not because the system supports them adequately but because they refuse to let patients down despite overwhelming circumstances.In rural areas, it's about basic coverage. Australian rural emergency care facilities don't always have 24-hour medical cover, emergency specialist involvement, or onsite diagnostic resources that are mandated for accredited emergency departments in cities. Rural generalists and international medical graduates form the predominant medical workforce, and there simply aren't enough of them. The Australian College for Emergency Medicine's data shows that emergency medical staff in regional areas manage a greater volume of presentations per full-time doctor compared to their metropolitan peers. In large metropolitan hospitals, the ratio is one doctor to 1,062 patient visits. In small and medium regional hospitals, it's one to 1,736. Those rural doctors are seeing nearly two thirds more patients each, and they're doing so with fewer resources and less specialist backup.One of the biggest threats to emergency department function is bed block, when patients stay in hospital beyond their expected discharge date because appropriate care isn't available elsewhere. In NSW alone, 1,151 patients were stuck waiting in hospitals for federally funded aged care or NDIS support in the September quarter of 2025, an increase of 54 per cent over the previous year. Dr Peter Allely, president of the Australian College of Emergency Medicine, minces no words about the consequences for metropolitan EDs: when every bed in emergency is occupied by patients who should already be on a ward, the next person who needs urgent care can't be seen safely. This isn't a failure of hospital staff but of the broader health and aged care system that leaves hospitals holding responsibility for patients who need different care settings.For rural hospitals, bed block creates a different crisis. Small facilities lack the capacity to hold multiple patients awaiting transfer or discharge. A single patient blocking a bed can effectively shut down emergency capacity for an entire region. Rural patients are more likely to have extended stays in emergency departments awaiting inpatient care than those in metro hospitals, leading to poorer outcomes through no fault of the dedicated staff caring for them.In metropolitan areas, if one emergency department is overwhelmed, ambulances can divert to another facility 15 to 20 minutes away. This mobility doesn't exist in rural Australia. From Wilcannia, the nearest alternative emergency department is in Menindee, 36 kilometres away. The next closest is Broken Hill, 216 kilometres distant. For someone experiencing a medical emergency at 2am, those distances can mean the difference between life and death. Many rural residents are forced to travel vast distances to access diagnostic services, specialist care, and treatment. This requires leaving behind family and community support networks, along with substantial time and expense for travel and accommodation.Behind the statistics is a bitter political dispute between federal and state governments over who's responsible for the crisis, while the healthcare workers caught in the middle continue providing care regardless of which government is technically responsible for funding it. State health ministers point to the surge in Commonwealth bed block, patients waiting for federally funded aged care or NDIS support. NSW Health Minister Ryan Park has been blunt about the serious consequences for our state hospitals, from wards to surgeries that can't be conducted to people waiting for beds in the emergency department. Federal Health Minister Mark Butler counters that urgent care clinics are making a difference and that the government is working towards a comprehensive National Health Reform Agreement. Dr Allely's perspective cuts through the political positioning: state and federal governments need to come together to get to the core of the problem. Meanwhile, rural hospitals and their communities are largely absent from this debate. The problems facing Wilcannia or similar small towns don't fit neatly into urban-centric political discussions about bed block and ambulance ramping.The federal government's flagship response has been rolling out Medicare Urgent Care Clinics, now 87 nationwide with 50 more planned. These bulk-billed facilities handle urgent but non-life-threatening conditions, and more than 1.2 million Australians have used them. The government touts their success in reducing emergency department pressure, but the evidence is nuanced and the model is almost entirely urban-focused. While one million urgent care clinic visits sounds impressive, context matters. There were 9 million emergency department presentations in 2023-24. Even if every visit prevented an ED presentation, which isn't necessarily the case, it represents only about 11 per cent of total demand. More critically, urgent care clinics offer little to rural Australians. The model requires sufficient population density to be viable and competes with general practices for the same scarce pool of GPs and nurses. The Mount Gambier urgent care clinic recently went into liquidation amid staff shortages, a cautionary tale for rural areas already struggling with workforce.Despite system-wide pressure, some metropolitan hospitals have achieved remarkable improvements through the dedication and innovation of their staff combined with targeted support. In NSW, Liverpool ED halved average treatment time for emergency patients from 18 to 9 minutes over the past year through the extraordinary efforts of their team. Westmead ED reduced similar times by over a third. Nepean ED increased the percentage of patients transferred from paramedics to ED staff on time from 65.1 to 82.2 per cent. These successes show what's possible when healthcare workers receive adequate resources and support. NSW has invested $31.4 million in Hospital in the Home programmes, allowing over 3,500 additional patients annually to be cared for at home rather than occupying beds. The $15.1 million Ambulance Matrix provides real-time hospital data to paramedics for better patient distribution. Such sophisticated systems are impossible to replicate in places like Wilcannia, where the challenge isn't optimising patient flow but simply having staff available.Underneath all policy debates lies a fundamental problem: workforce shortages affecting all of Australian healthcare. By 2025, Australia faces a shortage of 100,000 nurses. Small rural towns have the lowest number of nurses and allied health care workers per capita. The maldistribution worsens with remoteness, and healthcare worker shortages are notably more severe in regional Australia, where 21 occupations are exclusively in shortage. The government has announced additional funding to train more GPs and nurses, but training takes years. Today's shortages reflect decisions made or not made a decade ago. Meanwhile, universities like Wollongong are making a difference. UOW medical graduates are 50 per cent more likely to work in regional or rural areas than graduates from other medical schools, with nearly a third working in rural areas within 10 years of graduating. But even this success story can't bridge the massive gap fast enough.Wilcannia's after-hours model, call first and staff might come, represents a middle ground between full service and complete closure. But across Australia and globally, the trend towards rural emergency department closures is accelerating. The viability of many rural hospitals is uncertain. There's a serious threat to rural after-hours, urgent, and emergency care due to lack of investment and critical health resources. Some facilities have been forced to make the impossible choice: provide unsafe care with inadequate staffing or limit services and leave communities exposed. Healthcare services in rural and regional areas across Australia are facing ongoing challenges in health worker recruitment, as Wilcannia's temporary change to after-hours access explicitly acknowledges.Both Australia and New Zealand's public health systems are funded and delivered on the basis of universal access to healthcare, regardless of location. In practice, this principle has not delivered equity. Rural residents have poorer health and shorter lives than those in urban areas. The data shows stark health inequities according to geographic location. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, who make up a significant proportion of many rural communities, face compounded disadvantages. Rural communities have considerably higher rates of emergency department utilisation and hospitalisation than urban peers, not because they're choosing emergency care over primary care but because emergency departments are often the only healthcare available, particularly after hours.For metropolitan residents, the advice is familiar. Use alternatives when appropriate, considering your GP, urgent care clinics, or telehealth for non-emergencies. Understand that triage means long waits often indicate others need care more urgently, the system working as intended. Be prepared by bringing medications, medical history, and something to occupy your time. For rural residents, the advice rings hollow. Alternative services often don't exist. The nearest GP might be 100 kilometres away. Telehealth requires reliable internet, far from universal in rural areas. And being prepared for a wait assumes the emergency department is actually staffed when you arrive.Multiple approaches are needed, recognising that metropolitan and rural challenges differ fundamentally. For metropolitan areas, we need expanded hospital capacity with more beds and staff, improved patient flow through Hospital in the Home programmes, better discharge planning to prevent bed block, coordinated federal and state responsibilities on aged care and NDIS, and continued innovative programmes that have shown results. For rural areas, we need sustainable funding models that recognise the economics of rural healthcare, targeted workforce recruitment and retention incentives, investment in rural medical training with explicit rural placement outcomes, technology solutions like telehealth backed by reliable infrastructure, community-based models that leverage local strengths, and recognition that rural facilities need different standards appropriate to their context. The Australian College for Emergency Medicine has launched a Rural Health Action Plan providing strategic vision for strengthening emergency medicine in rural areas, focusing on workforce, research, collaboration, and service provision.Australia's emergency departments are simultaneously performing heroics and struggling under unprecedented strain, but the nature of that struggle varies dramatically by location. Our medical professionals in metropolitan hospitals are working overtime, treating more patients than ever, achieving impressive results for the most critically ill through sheer determination and skill. Many have reduced wait times through innovative programmes and extraordinary dedication. Yet system-wide pressures continue to intensify, not because these healthcare workers aren't working hard enough but because the system itself is fundamentally under-resourced.Rural hospitals face an existential crisis. It's not about optimising patient flow or reducing ambulance ramping. It's about having staff present. It's about keeping doors open. It's about maintaining any emergency capability at all. The nurses and doctors who choose to work in rural Australia deserve our deepest respect and gratitude. They're providing care in circumstances that would break many people, often with minimal support and recognition.As NSW Health Minister Ryan Park cautioned while acknowledging metropolitan improvements, I don't want us to get ahead of ourselves because these figures, while encouraging, will fluctuate. Our EDs continue to grapple with record pressure and demand, and we mustn't forget that. For rural Australians, the pressure isn't just record-setting but potentially life-threatening. When the nearest alternative emergency department is over 200 kilometres away and your local facility requires calling ahead to see if staff are available, record pressure understates the severity.The fundamental question facing Australia's health system isn't whether it can survive. It's whether we're willing to give it the resources, workforce, and policy coordination it needs to thrive, and whether we're willing to recognise that rural Australia requires fundamentally different solutions than metropolitan areas. Until federal and state governments move beyond jurisdictional blame games, until rural healthcare gets the targeted investment it desperately needs, and until we acknowledge that universal healthcare access means different things in different places, the crisis will continue. Our healthcare workers will keep showing up, keep providing exceptional care, and keep holding the system together. The question is whether we care enough to give them the support they need before more rural emergency departments follow Wilcannia's path from 24-hour service to call-ahead only to closure.If you're experiencing a life-threatening emergency, always call 000. For urgent but non-life-threatening conditions in metropolitan areas, consider contacting your GP, an urgent care clinic, or telehealth services. For rural residents, check your local hospital's current operating hours and after-hours protocols, as these may have changed.

When Ray Charles Eade walked into the office, there was something familiar about his face. It wasn't until he mentioned his sister Dawn Matthews that the pieces fell into place. The youngest of 11 children, Ray carries the unmistakable features of his family, particularly resembling his mother and his sister Dawn. At 75 years old, Ray has plenty of stories to tell, and he’s generous with them. His life began in rather dramatic fashion, born on a sulky travelling to the maternity home in Lachlan Street in June 1950. His mother couldn't wait any longer, and Ray made his entrance to the world on the buckboard of the horse-drawn carriage. It's the kind of beginning that seems to have set the tone for an adventurous life. Growing up as the baby of such a large family had its challenges. By the time Ray came along, his mother had run out of names. In a wonderfully practical solution, she named him after household appliances; Ray from the Rayburn wood stove and Charles from the Charles Hope fridge. It’s an origin story Ray shares with good humour and warmth. The Eade family lived at Willow Tree Farm on the Thorne Road, about four or five kilometres out of Hay. Life on the farm was busy, particularly for Ray's father, who had three mail runs throughout the district from the early 60s until 1970. The Gunbar run, the West Burrabogie or Balranald run, and the Jerilderie run kept his father occupied five days a week. Young Ray often helped on these runs, particularly around the Gunbar route, which featured an exhausting 168 gates. He joked that he never wants to see another gate in his life. The family moved in 1965 when Ray’s father sold Willow Tree Farm and purchased a property on the Booligal Road. Ray was about 15 at the time. His first job came with Hay Shire, earning forty dollars a week, or one dollar an hour. With his wages, he bought his first car from Harold Wilder's Motors, a 1958 Morris 1000 for one hundred dollars. That little car served him well for years, delivering an impressive fifty miles to the gallon. At seventeen, in 1967, Ray headed north to Daisy Plains, about eighty miles from Hay and thirty miles north of Booligal. He worked there for three years until tragedy struck when his brother Neville had a significant accident with a slasher in early 1970. Ray was pulled from his job at Daisy Plains to help run the family farm in the irrigation area. He never received a cent for his work, and later that year, in October, his father died of a heart attack at age 61. Ray was just 20 years old. After his father’s death, the family farm was sold. Ray and his brother Robin briefly ran the Undercut Butchery in Hay, purchased from Jeff and Betty Pocock. But butchery wasn’t Ray’s calling. He wanted to travel, and soon found work at Dunlop Station at Louth on the Darling River. Dunlop Station was enormous; one million acres with 91 stands in the shearing shed and up to 60,000 sheep. Ray became the main contract musterer for the entire property. Some paddocks were 30,000 acres, and Ray would head out with five horses, five dogs, a truck and a horse float to his camp in the middle of the property, where he’d sleep in the horse float. He worked alone, never wearing a watch, relying instead on landmarks and the position of the sun. His dogs were specially trained to jump up on the back of his horse and to respond to different whistle commands rather than voice. It was demanding, isolated work, but Ray loved it. It was at Louth that Ray met the love of his life. Among three eligible young women in town, he chose one who would become his wife. They married and shared 42 wonderful years together before she died ten and a half years ago. The loss devastated him. Even now, Ray visits the cemetery every month, taking flowers to her grave. The couple had three children, Robert, now 51, Lesley, 45, and Susan, 41. After marrying, they moved to Narrabri, where Ray worked for Auscott, the cotton company, for seven or eight years. They lived in Narrabri for 18 years before moving to Wellington, where Ray has now been for 34 years. Throughout this time, he worked for various farmers, doing cattle work, sheep work and tractor work. Ray’s mother Alice lived to the grand age of 97 and a half, passing away in 2016. Whenever Ray and his wife visited, she would have cakes and biscuits freshly baked, delighted that her baby was coming home with the grandchildren. Ray still misses both his parents deeply. Music runs through the Eade family. Ray’s father was talented on the banjo and button accordion, whilst his mother played piano. Ray inherited this gift and still plays multiple instruments today, all by ear without reading music. The family gatherings at Christmas were f illed with music and laughter, with sometimes 50 people at the farm. Ray’s father also served in the Second World War, joining up twice. After being injured the first time and recovering at the Wagga base, he rejoined and served in the 16th garrison at the prisoner of war camp in Hay as a sergeant cook. Like many of his generation, Ray’s father didn’t talk much about his wartime experiences. The Eade family has deep roots in the district. Ray’s great great grandparents, George and Maryanne, walked thousands of kilometres from their property at Lilydale, north of Booligal, after migrating from England. There’s a harrowing story in the family history about one desperately hungry night when George, devastated but thinking of the only perceived option in a very hard time, suggested leaving their eldest child under a bush to die. Maryanne couldn’t bear it and, whilst George slept, went back for the baby. The next morning they milked their horse, an old mare that had lost its foal, to keep baby John alive. That child was Ray’s grandfather. The Eade name has a long history, with family crests dating back to 911. The family held a major reunion in 1988 at the Hay Showground, where 600 people with the Eade name, or married to an Eade, attended. Ray’s daughter Susan, just a few months old at the time, was one of the youngest there. Growing up in Hay, Ray attended school from the age of four, though his first day didn’t go well. Overwhelmed by the attention, he ran away and hid in berry bushes near the showground for two or three hours before his older sister Barbara found him. His father gave him a good belting for that escapade. Life in the irrigation area was different then. The giggle hall, a big community hall for irrigation area families, was a social hub where families would gather for cups of tea whilst children ran around the floor. Ray remembers catching yabbies in the irrigation channels for two shillings a bucket, which fishermen from town would collect. The channels are all gone now, replaced by underground pipelines, and Ray joked that you can’t go yabbying anymore. School days included getting two shillings to spend. Ray would buy a shilling’s worth of chips “Lately I keep being drawn back to Hay, thinking about coming home. “There’s something about Hay which always calls me; it is always home to me.” had a wonderful time. His children encourage him to return to Hay, to revisit his roots. from the Garden of Roses Cafe, a bottle of drink for sixpence, return the bottle for threepence back, and after school, spend the remaining threepence on a big single ice cream from Hill’s Corner. The Eade and Baird families, both living on Baird’s Lane, had an unspoken rule; no one in Hay was allowed to speak badly about the other family. If anyone did, they faced consequences. It was a mark of respect and community solidarity that Ray remembers fondly. Ray grew up playing with the Baird boys - Mervyn, Brian, Graham, Ray and Robin. Ray’s father was highly respected in the community, achieving the rank of Grand Primo in the Buffalo Lodge and receiving the chain of honour, the highest award possible. Ray now has this chain, which must be passed down through male descendants with the surname Eade.Though the family scattered after his father's death in 1970, with that glue that held them together gone, Ray maintains that he had a good childhood and no regrets. When asked if he enjoyed growing up in Hay, his answer is immediate and enthusiastic, immensely. Despite spending much of his working life elsewhere, from the vast paddocks of Dunlop Station to his decades in Wellington, Hay remains the place where it all began. And judging by the warmth and detail with which he recounts his stories, it’s clear that those early years on the farm, with his 10 siblings, hardworking parents, and tight knit community, shaped the man he became; resilient, good-humoured, and full of stories worth telling.

For the first time in Australian history, the census will include questions on sexual orientation and gender identity. Here's what changed, what stayed the same, and why it took a political firestorm to get here.When Australians complete their census forms in August 2026, they'll encounter something unprecedented: questions about sexual orientation and gender identity. It's a change that advocates have fought for over years, politicians have wrestled with for months, and one that promises to finally make visible communities that have long been invisible in national statistics. But the road to this historic inclusion has been anything but smooth.The story of these questions is a masterclass in political backflips and public pressure. Initially, the federal government resisted expanding gender and sexuality categories in the 2026 Census, citing concerns about sparking divisive debate. The decision drew immediate and fierce backlash from LGBTQIA+ groups, researchers, experts, and even members within the Labor Party itself. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's position seemed to shift almost daily, one day committing to the change, the next walking it back. The Opposition Leader Peter Dutton questioned the Prime Minister's reliability, noting he appeared to be all over the shop on the issue.Eventually, after weeks of criticism and further engagement with the Australian Bureau of Statistics and community groups, the government reversed course. Assistant Treasury Minister Andrew Leigh confirmed the inclusion, stating that we value every Australian, regardless of their faith, race, gender or LGBTIQ+ status. The political drama revealed how contentious data collection itself has become, even when that data serves the fundamental purpose of understanding who Australians are and what they need.For Australians aged 16 and over, the 2026 Census will include two new questions. The gender identity question asks how a person currently identifies or expresses their gender, which may be different from sex at birth. The question includes tick-box options and a free-text field, along with a prefer not to answer option. The sexual orientation question asks about sexual identity and attraction, how an individual thinks of their own sexuality, the term they identify with, and their romantic or sexual attraction to others. It also includes response options and a don't know option for those uncertain or responding on behalf of others. These questions are voluntary, and the ABS has been clear that people will have the option not to answer.Notably absent is a question on variations of sex characteristics, commonly referred to as intersex status. Despite being considered by the ABS, extensive testing found that the question was too complex for the census format. Testing revealed limited understanding of the differences between questions on sex, gender, and sexual orientation. The challenges were particularly evident with people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Expert opinion from members of the ABS's LGBTIQ+ Expert Advisory Committee indicated that further simplification would risk misinterpretation and increase misreporting. The ABS ultimately determined it could not collect high-quality data on this topic through the census. Anna Brown from advocacy group Equality Australia expressed disappointment, noting it's incredibly disappointing that intersex Australians remain excluded from comprehensive data collection. The ABS has committed to working with the intersex community to explore better ways of gathering this information through other surveys.The 2026 Census includes several other updates beyond gender and sexuality. The question on sex will now specifically ask about sex recorded at birth rather than just sex, to differentiate it from the new gender question. The online form initially presents Male and Female, with a link revealing a third option: Another term. Respondents can now report up to four ancestries instead of being limited to fewer options. Questions will reference bicycles including e-bikes to reflect contemporary travel modes. Non-gendered terms will be introduced for household relationships to be more inclusive. The census will now include questions on liver disease. The question on number of children a woman has given birth to will return to being collected only once per decade and won't appear in 2026.The inclusion of sexual orientation and gender questions isn't just symbolic but has profound practical implications. Currently, there's extremely limited information on Australia's LGBTQIA+ population. Previous attempts to estimate community size relied on indirect methods, like examining relationship status and the sex of partners in households. This approach completely misses people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or use different terms and aren't in a household with a same-sex partner. Without comprehensive data, governments struggle to plan appropriate health services for LGBTQIA+ communities, develop targeted mental health support programmes, allocate funding for social services, understand disparities in housing, employment, or education, and track progress on equality and inclusion initiatives.As Georgia Chapman, the ABS's 2026 Census content director, noted, the Census provides some of Australia's most valuable statistics, and it's important that it reflects our contemporary society and captures emerging data needs. The statisticians, researchers, and public servants who have worked on developing these questions deserve recognition for their professionalism and dedication. The ABS staff navigated an incredibly complex task, balancing the need for accurate data with concerns about privacy, cultural sensitivity, and the practical realities of how Australians complete the census. They conducted extensive testing and consultation, refined questions based on feedback, and developed methodologies that respect both the need for information and individual autonomy.The ABS didn't arrive at these questions lightly. The testing programme included focus groups, short web surveys, and over 260 interviews conducted through September 2024. Research was conducted with 169 participants through focus groups and in-depth interviews, plus a sample survey of over 2,000 participants chosen to represent the Australian community. Key findings from testing showed broad understanding of the distinction between sex and gender, that the prefer not to answer response option and refinements to wording reduced concerns, strong understanding of sexual orientation questions, and similar comfort levels answering the sexual orientation question as the existing income question. Importantly, testing found that refinements to questions and the inclusion of opt-out options largely addressed concerns about the sensitive nature of the questions.One ongoing concern is privacy, particularly around answering questions with other household members present. The ABS acknowledges this as a legitimate consideration, especially for young people or those in situations where they're not out to family members. The inclusion of prefer not to answer options provides an escape hatch, though advocates note this isn't a perfect solution. Some LGBTQIA+ individuals may feel pressured to either lie or decline to answer if completing the census with family present.Unlike some census formats, one householder typically completes the Australian census on behalf of everyone in the household. This created design challenges for questions on gender and sexual orientation, as respondents might not know this information about other household members. The testing process and question design attempted to account for these scenarios, with options for don't know or prefer not to answer when responding on behalf of others. The challenge of household-level completion versus individual privacy reflects the broader tension between statistical efficiency and personal autonomy that the ABS navigated thoughtfully.The 2026 Census occurs at a moment when data collection itself has become politically contentious. The government's initial resistance and subsequent reversal highlighted tensions between data needs, political calculations, and community advocacy. Reverend Jo Inkpin, a transgender activist and Uniting Church Minister, captured the frustration many felt when she noted that by excluding people, they've created division themselves. The compromise reached, including sexual orientation and gender but not variations of sex characteristics, reflects both progress and ongoing limitations. For many in the LGBTQIA+ community, it's a significant step forward while simultaneously falling short of full inclusion.The final questions for the 2026 Census will be published on the ABS website in late 2025, following a large-scale test in August 2025. This test will ensure the questions achieve the best possible outcomes before being rolled out to the entire nation. The actual census will take place in August 2026, with every Australian household expected to participate. The data collected won't be available immediately but will be released progressively over the months following the census, providing government agencies, researchers, service providers, and communities with unprecedented insight into Australia's diversity.Whether the 2026 Census truly counts all Australians remains a matter of perspective. For many in the LGBTQIA+ community, the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender questions represents a historic milestone, formal recognition in the nation's most comprehensive statistical snapshot. For intersex Australians and their advocates, the census continues to render them invisible, despite promises of alternative data collection methods through other ABS surveys. What's undeniable is that the 2026 Census will provide unprecedented insight into the diversity of Australian society. For the first time, policymakers, researchers, and service providers will have comprehensive data on sexual orientation and gender identity across the entire population.The data collected will inform decisions on everything from healthcare planning to anti-discrimination measures, from housing policy to education programmes. It will shape how Australia understands itself and plans for its future for years to come. Perhaps most importantly, for LGBTQIA+ Australians who have long felt invisible in official statistics, the 2026 Census offers something powerful: the simple recognition that they exist, they count, and they matter. The statisticians, advocates, community members, and public servants who made this possible deserve our appreciation for their persistence, professionalism, and commitment to ensuring every Australian is seen in the nation's most important statistical exercise.The 2026 Census will be conducted in August 2026. All questions related to sexual orientation and gender identity are voluntary, with prefer not to answer options available.

So, you're sitting in a comfortable treatment room in Hay, finally getting that nagging shoulder pain looked at, when your myotherapist starts telling you about the time she managed 40 retail staff across seven shops, or her years working on cruise ships sailing through Alaska. This isn't your typical small-town career path, but then again, Liz Fattore has never been one to follow the typical path. The youngest of six children, Liz was born and raised right here in Hay, where she's recently returned after adventures that took her from the bustling streets of London to the red dust of Western Australia's mining towns. Now she's back where it all began, bringing with her a wealth of experience and a myotherapy practice that's helping locals manage everything from sports injuries to the complex challenges of conditions like fibromyalgia. "I loved my sport, that's what kept me at school," Liz laughed. "My daughter told me the other day that I still have a record at Hay High School, which is pretty special." There's a touch of pride in her voice, tempered by that characteristic Hay humility that never quite lets you boast too much about your achievements. It's ironic, she reflects, that despite her sporting prowess, her daughters have taken a different path. Life works in mysterious ways, she muses; where she was all about the physical, they're more academically inclined. At 19, Liz packed her bags and headed for England to work as an au pair. "I was very fortunate to get flown over there," she recalled. But what started as a young woman's adventure quickly turned into something more substantial. "After my au pair contract finished, I got into fashion retail," she said. Her sister had run a retail shop in Hay years earlier, and Liz drew on that experience as she found her feet in London's competitive retail world. "I did really well in selling, and the boss sent me to manage another store when the manager went on holiday." Success bred more success. "I did extremely well, and he offered me a permanent position. Then I opened up retail shops for him, showcasing mixed European brands," Liz said. Her natural ability to connect with people, honed perhaps by growing up in a community where everyone knows everyone, served her well in the anonymous bustle of London retail. The corporate world took notice. A company in Australia that held shares in her London employer sent a manager to observe operations. "I didn't know he was there, but I made him buy things to reach my target," Liz laughed. "He offered me a position to come back to Australia and open discount shops here." Back in Australia, Liz threw herself into a high-powered corporate lifestyle that would have been unimaginable to her teenage self, playing sport on Hay's dusty ovals. "I had a very city life, living in Sydney and f lying to Melbourne one week, Perth the following week." Managing 40 retail staff across seven shops demanded skills she'd never known she possessed. The girl who'd once been more interested in scoring goals than studying found herself navigating the complex world of retail management, staff rosters, and corporate targets. But after years of airport lounges and hotel rooms, something was missing. "Then I wanted to be free and single again, so I went to work on cruise ships," she said with a smile. For two years, Liz worked aboard P&O cruise ships, travelling throughout Europe and America, including the dramatic landscapes of Alaska. It was the kind of experience that feeds the soul but doesn't necessarily provide the grounding that eventually calls you home. "When I came back, I managed a restaurant here with my sister, at Shear Outback," she said. After years of corporate life and international travel, working alongside her sister provided something she hadn't realised she'd been missing. "We did an Italian restaurant together, which was grounding for me, and gave my sister a chance to show her passion for food," Liz recalled. The warmth in Liz's voice when she talks about her sister is unmistakable. "She's amazing - you go to her house and she has two ovens. She can look at anything and create a dish without even knowing the recipe." It's plainly obvious when hearing Liz speak about her sister how highly she regards her. "It was a great time, working with her. We had weddings there, and there's the history of the Shear Outback. We made money and were glad we had that opportunity. “Then I met my husband - it was all timing and destiny." Liz’s husband is a FIFO worker. He brought stability to Liz's adventurous life. Both their daughters, Elliana and Dania, were born in Wagga Wagga, and as the couple settled into family life, Liz began looking for a new direction. "Before I had children, I needed something to do. Do you remember Johnny and Nola Redenbach? Nola's daughter Katie was doing massage and suggested I try it. I loved sport, so it came naturally," she said. Katie's influence proved pivotal. "She influenced me, and it's true what they say about school friends; you have them for the rest of your life." What started as something to fill time while raising young children gradually evolved into a serious career path. "I started with massage and then got into myotherapy. As a therapist, you need to upgrade and keep your qualifications current. If you can't provide a receipt, it means you're not up to date with qualifications," Liz said. The commitment was substantial. Liz found herself travelling to Albury-Wodonga monthly, leaving her little ones behind to study myotherapy with Katie. It was an investment that would prove invaluable in the years to come. Myotherapy, Liz explains, occupies a unique space in the healthcare spectrum. "It's between a remedial massage therapist and a physiotherapist. We can help with rehabilitation, do dry needling and cupping - it's more of a physical treatment,” she said. "If you have a shoulder issue, we can treat it like a physio, but we can't diagnose. That's where we refer you to a physio for a proper diagnosis, then rehabilitation." we can work on The technical aspects of her work clearly energise her. "Myotherapy is amazing for conditions like f ibromyalgia. With dry needling, you're not pushing and hurting muscles that don't like to be touched,” she said. “Needling helps release tension without manual pressure. It can calm the nervous system too. People with MS have muscles that tighten, and dry needling helps those muscles relax without significant manipulation." Work opportunities took the family to Karratha in Western Australia, where Tim's logistics career flourished and the girls experienced a different side of Australia. "You'd wake up at 6 o'clock just to go to the horse yard, and within 15 minutes you'd be sweating," Liz laughs, remembering the intense heat of the Pilbara region. But Karratha offered unexpected gifts. "I loved it because it gave my kids the opportunity to understand Aboriginal culture. The people there were amazing. We learnt their customs, their protocols, how they survive." Her work in apprenticeship support opened her eyes to cultural practices she'd never encountered. "When I did apprenticeship support work, I learnt things like when they go to a funeral, you can't leave until the main person leaves - so you could be off work for weeks." For daughter Dania, these exchanges became deeply personal. cultural "Dania had beautiful First Nations friends who'd come for sleepovers, and we had to learn their ways. “They were used to sleeping as a family in one room and were initially scared to have sleepovers, so we really nurtured that. It was a wonderful learning experience." The landscape, too, left its mark. "The landscape was beautiful, but you can't buy blocks of land there - you lease equestrian and their options open. "We don't know what the future holds apprenticeship-wise, and there are so many opportunities there, so we're keeping that door open for the kids just in case." land, but can only buy a block to build a house." They had access to the ocean and could drive to waterholes and gorges, a stark contrast to the gentle riverine country of their Hay origins. Tim's work as a logistics truck driver meant navigating the massive road trains that dominate Pilbara highways. "He drives road trains with four trailers behind the truck. When I'd drive up there with horses for events and those trucks come past you, you concentrate on holding the lane and count one trailer, two trailers, three trailers, all right, we're clear." But as fulfilling as the Karratha years were professionally and culturally, family circumstances began to shift the balance. Both girls were struggling with the transition to high school in the mining town's intense environment. Liz's daughter developed a tics disorder, like Tourette's, from stress when transitioning from primary school to a big private college. "The poor little one had quite a challenge, and other issues came into play that we didn't initially realise," Liz said. "In Karratha we didn't get the extra private help with schooling that we needed. Here, even though we're regional and have to travel, we actually get more opportunities to look after our kids." The contrast was stark. "The best thing about moving back is that my kids actually enjoy waking up and going to school," she reflects. "In Karratha it was like a typical chaotic household with threats to call their father. I'm very grateful for the school's special needs classes, my daughter has really settled in well." Her daughter was at a pivotal age where these struggles could have turned her off school and learning altogether. "I'm very grateful we're back, and it's lovely to see familiar faces like Mrs Longworth at the school." The timing of their return proved poignant in another way. Liz was able to spend three precious months with her mother before she passed away, time she will forever treasure. "She was so gentle and placid, but if she had to speak up, she'd put people in their place. I'm glad she had her faculties right to the end," Liz said fondly. The adjustment from Karratha's intense heat to Hay's stark climate has been an ongoing process for the whole family. "When he comes back from Karratha, every old ache comes out," Liz says of Tim, who continues his FIFO work. "He says he never had pain up there, but when he flies back and it's 30 degrees, which is their winter, he really feels it." Even the animals need time to adjust. "My poor dogs look at me like 'please leave me inside,' and we have horses that are wondering where we've taken them. We're double-rugging them because they're used to the heat." The family maintains their connection to Western Australia, keeping their house there For now, though, Liz is focused on building her myotherapy practice in Hay. She briefly considered other options, including getting her motorbike licence for Australia Post deliveries, but decided to focus on the profession she's spent years perfecting. Understanding the unique needs of rural clients, Liz has structured her practice to be as accessible as possible. "I have a Facebook page, and there's an online link where they can book appointments through Clinico." But she also recognises that technology isn't everyone's preference. "I also give out my mobile number for people who might prefer to call rather than book online. “I don't mind if they text me either, and I tell them to text if the online booking shows I'm not available, because sometimes I block out time for other things but would prefer to look after my clients." Her schedule reflects the realities of rural life. "I try to do evenings up to 7 o'clock, which gives me daytime flexibility for personal tasks." This kind of flexibility, understanding that farm work doesn't stop at 5 pm, and people's lives don't always fit into neat appointment slots, is part of what makes rural healthcare work. From the sports fields of Hay High School to the cruise ships of Alaska, from London's retail floors to Karratha's red dust, Liz Fattore's journey has been anything but conventional. Yet there's something beautifully circular about her return to Hay, bringing with her decades of experience and a skill set that serves her community in ways her teenage self could never have imagined. "I think that covers everything," she says simply. "It's good to be back home in Hay." In those words lies the quiet satisfaction of someone who has seen the world, succeeded in various careers, and chosen to bring it all back to where it started. Her myotherapy practice represents more than just another business in town, it's the culmination of a life lived fully, with skills honed in boardrooms and cruise ships now applied to easing the aches and pains of neighbours and friends. For those dealing with chronic pain, sports injuries, or conditions like fibromyalgia, Liz's return represents something valuable; access to high-level healthcare delivered with the understanding that only comes from being part of the community. She's not just treating symptoms; she's caring for people she's known all her life, in the place that shaped her, using skills gathered from the wide world beyond. It's the kind of story that makes you appreciate the complex journeys that bring people home, and the gifts they carry with them when they return.

After three rate cuts in 2025, Australia's big banks are now split on what comes next. Some predict rate hikes as early as February. Here's what you need to know.Just when Australian families thought they could breathe easier after a year of rate cuts, the conversation has shifted dramatically. After the Reserve Bank of Australia cut rates three times throughout 2025, bringing the cash rate to 3.60 per cent, two of the big four banks are now predicting the unexpected; rate hikes in early 2026.It's a jarring turn that has left many homeowners wondering what happened to the promised relief.The major banks are currently split, with two predicting the cash rate will increase. Here's where they stand:Commonwealth Bank has revised its forecast and now expects a 0.25 percentage point hike in February, taking the rate to 3.85 per cent, where it would remain for the rest of 2026.National Australia Bank is even more hawkish, predicting two rate increases in 2026, one in February and another in May, adding a total of 50 basis points.ANZ and Westpac, however, expect the cash rate to remain steady at 3.60 per cent throughout their forecast horizons.Why the sudden change? The answer lies in one stubborn problem, inflation isn't cooperating.The key trimmed mean inflation measure rose to 3.0 per cent in the September quarter and is expected to stay above that level until well into 2026. Even more concerning, consumer price index data showed inflation climbing to 3.8 per cent in October, well above the RBA's target band of 2-3 per cent.Economic growth is forecast to reach 2.4 per cent in early 2026, a rate that's slightly above the pace the economy can comfortably sustain. The economy is running hot, and that's keeping prices elevated.Households are a major driver of this strength, helped by earlier interest rate cuts, recent tax changes and steady job and income gains. Investment in data centres and renewable energy projects is also adding momentum, along with improvements in housing investment.The problem? An economy growing faster than its sustainable pace inevitably creates inflationary pressure, exactly what the RBA has been trying to suppress.The RBA board discussed circumstances in which an increase in the cash rate might need to be considered at some point in the coming year, according to minutes from the December meeting. However, they noted it would take time to assess whether inflationary pressures are truly persistent or driven by temporary factors.RBA Governor Michele Bullock has been unusually frank about the situation. In December, she said she doesn't see rate cuts on the horizon for the "foreseeable future" and that the question is whether we face "an extended hold from here, or the possibility of a rate rise."The next crucial data point comes in late January, when the fourth quarter inflation figures are released. That information will heavily influence If a rate hike does materialise, banks emphasise it would be modest adjustment, not the start of an aggressive tightening cycle.The expected February rate rise would be a fine-tuning move, not the start of a large run-up in interest rates. The goal is to nudge inflation back toward target rather than cool the economy sharply.For someone with a $600,000 mortgage, even a single 0.25 per cent rate increase translates to approximately $80-100 extra per month in repayments. If NAB's prediction of two rate hikes proves correct, that figure doubles.For families already stretched thin by the cost of living, these aren't trivial amounts. The accumulated savings from 2025's rate cuts could be partially or entirely eroded if forecasts of rate increases come to pass.Not everyone is convinced rate hikes are inevitable. ANZ's head of Australian economics, Adam Boyton, notes that the economy is in an unusual position, GDP growth is around potential, the cash rate is around neutral, and the labour market is broadly in balance.This "goldilocks" scenario, not too hot, not too cold, could justify keeping rates steady. ANZ also reserves the option to put rate cuts back on the table if the labour market shows signs of weakening.Most economists don't expect inflation to comfortably settle within the RBA's target band until late 2027. That suggests we're in for an extended period of monetary policy uncertainty, with the central bank walking a tightrope between controlling inflation and avoiding recession.The question is whether it's just an extended hold from here, or the possibility of a rate rise, as Governor Bullock noted. The RBA itself can't put a precise probability on either outcome.In this environment of uncertainty, homeowners should consider: Reviewing your budget assuming rates could rise rather than fall. Can you absorb an extra $100-200 per month in mortgage payments?Consider fixing if you're on a variable rate, though weigh the pros and cons carefully. Fixed rates reflect market expectations of future rate moves and may already price in potential hikes.Build a buffer if possible. Having 2-3 months of expenses in savings provides crucial breathing room.Stay informed but don't panic. The RBA's next meeting on February 3 will provide crucial clarity, and the January inflation data will be the key factor in their decision.The Bottom LineAfter a year of relief, Australian mortgage holders face renewed uncertainty. The optimism of 2025's rate cuts has given way to a more complex picture where even modest rate increases are on the table.For now, the cash rate sits at 3.60 per cent. Whether it moves up, stays put, or eventually continues down depends on one crucial factor: whether inflation finally cooperates and moves sustainably back toward the RBA's 2-3 per cent target range.With the big banks divided and the RBA itself uncertain, Australians would be wise to prepare for multiple scenarios. The days of assuming rates will only move in one direction, either up or down, are over. We're entering an era where every data release matters and where the RBA's next move remains genuinely uncertain.The RBA's next cash rate announcement is scheduled for February 3, 2026, at 2:30 PM.

NSW’s New Gun Laws: What Just Happened?In Short• Hard Ownership Caps: A new limit of four firearms for recreational shooters and 10 firearms for primary producers is now law.• Increased Red Tape: Standard firearm license terms have been slashed from five years to two years, doubling renewal frequency and background checks.• Recategorisation and Buyback: Many common firearms (straight-pull/lever-release) are moving to Category C, supported by a state and federal-funded buyback scheme.In a marathon pre-Christmas session that stretched into the early hours of December 24, 2024, the NSW Parliament passed the most significant tightening of firearm legislation since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre.The Terrorism and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 was fast-tracked by the Minns Government following the horrific Bondi Beach terrorist attack earlier that month. While the government says the laws are about "community safety first," the news has sent shockwaves through regional NSW, with critics calling it a "knee-jerk reaction" that punishes law-abiding farmers and shooters.The Core Changes: At a GlanceThe new laws introduce a "cap and category" system designed to drastically reduce the number of firearms in circulation:The Ownership Cap: A hard limit of four firearms per individual. Primary producers (farmers) have a higher cap of 10 firearms.Recategorisation: Straight-pull, pump-action, and button/lever-release firearms are moved to Category C, making them much harder for recreational shooters to access.Licence Terms Slashed: Standard firearm licences have been cut from five years down to two years, doubling the red tape and background checks for owners.Mandatory Club Membership: All licence holders must now belong to a gun club and use the GunSafe online platform.Citizenship Requirement: Licences are now restricted to Australian citizens (with some exceptions for NZ residents in specific roles).The Buyback: A state and federal-funded buyback scheme will be launched to compensate owners for newly prohibited firearms.The View from the Paddock: Peak Orgs ReactThe reaction from representative bodies has been swift and largely scathing.NSW Farmers President Xavier Martin slammed the legislation as "unworkable." The association argues that the 10-gun cap fails to account for large-scale operations where multiple properties require dedicated equipment for pest control."It’s incredible this government has allowed generous capping exemptions for recreational shooters but for farmers... the government hasn’t given us a second’s thought," Martin said.The Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (SSAA) has also condemned the "chaotic" reforms. SSAA CEO Tom Kenyon argued that the laws wouldn't have prevented the Bondi tragedy, noting that existing "fit and proper person" checks should have caught the offender if intelligence sharing had been better.Voice from the Electorates: Dalton and ButlerIndependent MPs representing the state's most expansive rural electorates led the charge against the Bill in Parliament.Member for Murray Helen Dalton did not mince words, labelling the move as the government’s "greyhound moment," referring to the backlash that toppled a previous government over a racing ban. "We have close to 10,000 law-abiding firearms owners in Murray... None of them have behaved like terrorists, but they are being treated like they are."Ms Dalton argues that regional people are being made "scapegoats" for a failure in urban intelligence.Member for Barwon Roy Butler, a former SSAA executive, attempted to amend the Bill to "grandfather" existing owners and split the protest laws from the firearm changes to allow for a committee inquiry.He described the laws as an "overreach" that ignores the real drivers of the attack, such as radicalisation and poor intelligence sharing.Mr Butler warns the two-year renewal cycle will put an "impossible burden" on already over-worked regional police who process these applications.What’s Next?The government is now moving toward a comprehensive audit of all existing licences. For those in the bush, the "buyback" details and the logistical nightmare of two-year renewals are the next big hurdles.

January brings the financial reckoning for December's festive spending, as credit card statements arrive and bank balances reveal the true cost of Christmas celebrations. For many households across regional NSW, the combination of holiday expenses, reduced working hours over the Christmas period, and January school costs creates genuine financial stress that can take months to resolve.The first step in managing post-holiday finances is an honest assessment of where you actually stand. Gather all your bank statements, credit card bills, and records of December spending to understand the full picture. This can be confronting, particularly if you avoided checking balances during December, but you can't make effective plans without knowing what you're dealing with. List all debts including amounts owed, interest rates, and minimum payments, and calculate your current available cash and expected income for January.Credit card debt attracts high interest rates that quickly compound if left unpaid, making it the priority for repayment. If you can't pay the full balance immediately, pay as much as possible above the minimum payment to reduce the principal and therefore the interest charged. If you're carrying balances on multiple cards, focus extra payments on the card with the highest interest rate while maintaining minimum payments on others. Consider whether transferring balances to a lower interest card or personal loan makes financial sense, though be wary of balance transfer offers that might have fees or conditions that outweigh the benefits.Creating a realistic budget for the coming months helps prevent further deterioration of your financial position while also showing a path forward. Track every dollar coming in and going out for at least a month to understand your actual spending patterns rather than what you think you spend. Many people are genuinely surprised by how much they spend on small, frequent purchases that seem insignificant individually but add up substantially over time. Free budgeting apps and spreadsheets can help track spending if you find manual record-keeping too tedious.Identify areas where you can realistically reduce spending, focusing on wants rather than needs. Subscription services, takeaway food, entertainment, and non-essential shopping are common areas where cuts can be made without genuine hardship. The goal isn't to eliminate all enjoyment from life but rather to bring spending back into line with income until you've recovered from holiday expenses. Be honest about what cuts you'll actually maintain rather than creating an unrealistic budget you'll abandon within weeks.If you're facing genuine financial hardship rather than just temporary cash flow problems, seek help early before the situation becomes critical. Financial counselling services are free and confidential, providing expert assistance with budgeting, negotiating with creditors, and accessing support programs. Many utility companies, phone providers, and lenders have hardship programs that can provide payment arrangements, reduced payments, or temporary relief if you're struggling. These programs work much better when you approach them proactively rather than waiting until bills are in collections.The temptation to ignore bills or avoid opening mail when finances are tight is understandable but counterproductive. Ignored bills don't disappear; they accumulate late fees, damage your credit rating, and can result in services being disconnected or legal action being taken. Open everything, respond to all communications, and contact providers immediately if you can't pay on time. Most organisations would rather work out a payment arrangement than pursue debt collection, but they can only help if you communicate with them.January sales and clearances offer genuine opportunities to save money on items you actually need, but they're also designed to encourage spending on things you don't need under the guise of getting a bargain. Before buying anything on sale, ask yourself whether you would have bought it at full price if you needed it, and whether the money wouldn't be better directed toward paying down debt or rebuilding savings. A bargain isn't a bargain if you can't afford it or wouldn't have bought it anyway.Building even a small emergency fund protects against unexpected expenses tipping you back into debt. Start with a modest goal like $500 or $1000, saving whatever you can afford each pay period even if it's just $20. This buffer means that when the car breaks down or a medical expense arises, you don't automatically reach for the credit card and create new debt. Once you've achieved your initial emergency fund goal, you can redirect that money toward debt repayment while maintaining the fund for genuine emergencies.For households dependent on agricultural income, January finances can be particularly challenging when income is uncertain or heavily seasonal. Plan conservatively using worst-case income scenarios rather than hoping for the best, and maintain strict separation between business and personal finances if you're managing a farm or rural enterprise. Professional accounting advice is worth the cost if your financial situation is complex, as the money saved through proper tax planning and financial management typically exceeds the fees charged.Children and finances intersect particularly sharply in January with back to school costs. Involve age-appropriate children in conversations about budgets and spending choices, teaching them that money is finite and choices have trade-offs. This doesn't mean burdening children with adult financial stress, but rather helping them understand why they can't have everything they want and involving them in decisions about where limited money is allocated. These lessons serve them well throughout life.If you've overspent significantly and are facing months of recovery, forgive yourself and focus forward rather than dwelling on regret. The Christmas period is specifically designed to encourage overspending through marketing, social pressure, and emotional appeals. You made the choices you made, and now you're dealing with the consequences and learning for next year. Self-recrimination doesn't help; practical action does.Looking ahead to next Christmas might seem premature in January, but starting early prevents repeating the same financial stress. Open a separate savings account specifically for Christmas expenses and contribute regularly throughout the year, even small amounts. Calculate what you actually spent this Christmas, decide what you can realistically afford next year, and divide that amount across the remaining months. When December arrives, you'll have money set aside rather than relying on credit or depleting regular savings.The post-holiday financial hangover is miserable and stressful, but it's temporary and fixable. Create a plan, make consistent progress on debt reduction, and remember that financial recovery happens gradually through sustained effort rather than dramatic gestures. By the time next Christmas approaches, you'll be in a much stronger position if you take action now rather than hoping the problem will somehow resolve itself.

Andrew Barton ‘Banjo’ Paterson (1864 1941) (pictured bottom right) was a highly celebrated Australian bush poet, journalist, and solicitor. He romanticised life in the Australian outback, writing iconic ballads like “Waltzing Matilda” and “The Man from Snowy River”. His career also included time as a war correspondent during the Boer War and service in World War I, cementing his place as an essential figure in Australian culture. Paterson was born near Orange but spent his childhood living in Yeoval and Yass. As an adult he practised law in Sydney. After marrying in 1903, he and his wife settled in Woollahra, (Sydney) but in 1908, he moved back to the country to manage a property at Coodra Vale, near Wee Jasper, He eventually resumed his career as a journalist in Sydney and after his death in 1941 was buried in the northern suburbs. For those of us living in and around Hay and Booligal, one of Banjo’s most famous poems has become a slogan for the region - cars and eskies across the country boast that infamous sticker “Hay, Hell and Booligal”. What is interesting is that the poet had no first-hand knowledge of the conditions of the track that ran between Hay and Booligal in 1896, when the poem first appeared in The Bulletin Magazine. Working as a lawyer in Sydney at the time, it is thought Banjo was likely influenced by the detailed accounts of country life, that were regularly published in Sydney and Melbourne newspapers, by far flung correspondents. In fact, a 1943 article in The Riverine Grazier, stated that “we think we are right in saying that Banjo only paid Booligal one visit, and that was years after he wrote his familiar lines”. Once again, The Grazier was able to record facts for future history buffs and researchers, amongst its pages. The poet was issued a formal invitation to attend the opening of the Booligal War Memorial Hall in May 1936. He declined, explaining that he was “getting too far on in years to make the journey”. Banjo Paterson cannot lay claim to the catchy title of his work, which has since spawned numerous t-shits, stickers and stubby holders. The expression “Hay, Hell and Booligal” was apparently already a very popular figurative phrase in the Australian vernacular, used by drovers and teamsters who worked in the harsh conditions. The phrase became a popular expression to designate a journey or a place of the greatest imaginable discomfort (especially during drought or summer). Bit harsh, I thought, from the comfort of my climate controlled desk, in the year 2025! Local legend says that “Hell” refers to the One Tree Plain, the particularly isolated stretch of the stock route that lies between Hay and Booligal. In 1905 Paterson published a collection of poetry, including one piece titled “Flash Jack from Gundagai”. The shearer Flash Jack boasts about all the places he has visited in his travels, his favourite being “Old Tom Patterson’s place” “I've shore at Burrabogie and I've shore at Toganmain I've shore at Big Willandra and out on the Coleraine But before the shearing was over I longed to get back again Shearing for old Tom Patterson on the One Tree Plain” Flash Jack is apparently a mixture of a few characters known to Banjo, but Tom Patterson actually existed. He married Jane Esplin, the widow of George Esplin, who was publican of the Tattersall’s Hotel in Lachlan Street, Hay. Patterson hailed from Tasmania, but in 1870 took up a 300,000 acre station on the Hay Plains, called Ulonga. By all accounts Tom Patterson was a decent man. When the publicans of the nearby One Tree Hotel died from typhoid, Patterson took in their children and raised them as his own. When the legendary lone tree at the hotel burned down on New Year’s Even 1897, Tom Patterson dug up saplings from Ulonga and replanted them at the One Tree Hotel. Another of Banjo Paterson’s famous poems “Clancy of the Overflow” is also reputed to have ties to the region. It is widely claimed that a man named Thomas Michael MacNamara is the real-life inspiration for Banjo’s character, Clancy. It is reported that Thomas Michael MacNamara was known by the nickname "Clancy" and worked at "The Overflow" station, which is mentioned in the poem. Thomas MacNamara is buried at Griffith, NSW, having passed away at the age of 94. MacNamara's family also claim another close link; his wife was the sister of Jim Troy, who is considered one of the inspirations for “The Man from Snowy River,” written by Banjo Paterson, and MacNamara himself is included in that poem as a skilled horseman (“No better horseman ever held the reins”). Thomas MacNamara and wife Theresa gave an interview to the Forbes Advocate newspaper in 1939, sharing their part in the famous chase that was the inspiration for The Man from Snowy River. “The inclusion of “Banjo” Paterson in the New Year honours list recalls his famous poem “The Man From Snowy River”. “Clancy of the Overflow” and his wife, a sister of “The Man From Snowy River,” are living quietly in Brisbane, and on Christmas Eve “Clancy” was 90 years old. Outside the realm of poetry, “Clancy” is Mr Thomas Michael MacNamara. His wife, Theresa Mary, formerly Miss Troy, is aged 83. She is tall, graceful, and quick-witted, and her hair is as white as the legendary beard of her big brother, Tom Troy, who commanded the horsemen in the hills at the back of Wagga 58 years ago. “I well remember the ride as if it took place yesterday,” said Mr MacNamara. “From Troy's place near Wagga, you can see the hills in the direction of Tumut. Our adventure was not down Kosciusko side, as Paterson sang. ‘Banjo’ shifted the mountain into our country to make the tale epic. “Three fine horses broke away from Troy's place, including the £1000 colt, from Old Regret, and they joined the wild horses in the hills. “The horsemen who rode that day were Tom Troy, my cousin, Andy MacNamara, Jim Troy and myself.” Despite Mr and Mrs MacNamara’s recorded memories, Banjo Paterson told a different tale. The origin of the poem, according to Paterson himself, was an experience he had while working as a lawyer. He was asked to send a letter to a man named Thomas Gerald Clancy to request a payment. Paterson said he sent the letter to "The Overflow" station. He received a famously laconic reply from Clancy's shearing mate: “Clancy's gone to Queensland droving, and we don't know where he are”. This single, evocative reply, seemingly written with a “thumb-nail dipped in tar,” was the catalyst for the poem, according to Paterson.

I was recently lucky enough to sit down with a trio of inspiring women; Alice Watts from Links for Women, Madeleine Rossiter, Links for Women/Staying Home Leaving Violence (SHLV) Manager, and Ann Jones who covers Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Services. These women often have multiple clients they are supporting, each with their own complex tandem issues, including mental health, culture, religion, and other complex issues. These various compounding issues can truly impact on the decision to leave, and they are often supporting women who have not yet made the choice. When asked how they continue and survive in a role which most would find emotionally draining and difficult to navigate, the trio agreed it was all about self-care. “You have to take care of yourself,” they said. “Be good to yourself; go to the gym, have a glass of wine at the end of the day, whatever it means for you,” they said. “We also are a big support for each other, with the office being a space where we can debrief and support each other, a non-judgmental space.” The three colleagues agree the system works hard for victims and survivors, but the court process and outcomes are not consistent. “The police do their jobs, but the court process is wanting,” Ms Jones said. “Magistrates really need external domestic violence training and trauma informed responses for the victims.” Linking Communities Network (which is the umbrella in which the different programs these women cover sit under) has a no wrong door approach to their services. Clients can come to LCN through any of justice system right away, there are so many ways we can help.” their services and programs for support. If they can’t directly assist someone, they will direct them to another service. LCN services the entire Western Murrumbidgee District including Griffith, Darlington Point, Leeton, Narrandera, Coleambally, Hay, Hillston, Lake Cargelligo, Ardlethan, Barellan and West Wyalong. Their services include Early Intervention and Prevention, Rapid Rehousing Response, Crisis and Transitional Response, Intensive Support and Complex Trauma Response, Emergency Accommodation Options and Outreach Services. There have been many changes in the delivery of service over time. The Court Advocacy Service is now located in the police station, so they can hear and have access to potential people in need. Even in the last decade, services have become so much more coordinated, meaning the clients can experience a more holistic help and support. There have been cases in the past where a person has been let down so profoundly, they will not engage services again. “I have had women refuse to report it, as they fear when it goes to court it will be reported on and people will know it was them,” Ann said. “That has indeed happened in the past, where the woman was not named, but the circumstances were described in such specific detail it was known who it was.” The trio say support before a person leaves is just as important as support for those who have already fled domestic violence situations. “Knowing what to do in the lead up, steps to take and ways to prepare yourself to leave, these are important things to consider,” they said. “Even if a person does not want police or to go through the formality of going through the The Griffith Women’s Refuge is still open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, even on Christmas Day. The trio agree one of the hardest obstacles faced is lack of understanding of what constitutes domestic violence. “There are so many different ways a person can be a victim of abuse,” they said. “Coercive control has seen a big rise in understanding and consequence for a perpetrator. “If you are feeling unsafe, needing to walk on eggshells, are unhappy and being made to change who you are and the way you are, then there is something wrong in a relationship.” This is another aim of the programs, to try and educate on what are healthy and unhealthy relationships. While there is an increase in the number and variety of services and resources victims can access over the years, sometimes the one size fits all approach in the delivery of these resources can prove hard. “Say it’s a $5000 payment, which is fantastic, but then there is a mum with five or six kids,’ Alice said. “Once you’re doing something such as paying $1500 in rent you need to catch up on because your partner would not pay it, or catching up in other ways, or needing to buy all new furniture and beds, it doesn’t go a long way,” Alice said. Alice will engage with local services, to see if they are aware of anyone who may need help or assistance due to domestic violence, before she quietly and discreetly offers help. “Sometimes people just aren’t aware of what is out there, and until they do they cannot get that help.” Staying Home Leaving Violence Program is for women who have left their partner, and are in stable accommodation. Madeleine Rossiter (right), Links for Women/Staying Home Leaving Violence (SHLV) Manager, and Ann Jones who covers Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Services. The program can assist with establishing a safety plan, conducting a safety audit of the property, investigating safety upgrades to maximise safety, assist with court support and advocacy, information and referrals to other services such as counselling and financial referrals. They offer support for women to continue to live free from violence. Madeleine’s grandmother was part of the women’s refuge movement for over 45 years. Her mother was also heavily involved for over 20 years, so she was part of a family of strong helpful women and was inspired to keep it going. “I love my job, I love to see women and children become safe and to help them achieve good positive outcomes,” she said. The bottom line for articles such as this is to let people know they are not alone, there are many different ways to get help. Reach out and grab help, contact Linking Communities Network to get the ball rolling.

The Back Country's history has been fundamentally shaped by climate extremes, with devastating droughts and catastrophic floods creating cycles of prosperity and disaster that influenced everything from settlement patterns to political decisions. The first major drought recorded after European settlement occurred in the early 1840s. This prolonged dry period, lasting several years, devastated the newly established pastoral industry. Stock died in massive numbers, and many squatters faced financial ruin. Some properties were abandoned entirely, their owners unable to sustain operations without reliable water. The 1864-66 drought proved even more severe. Rivers stopped flowing, waterholes dried up, and pastures turned to dust. Contemporary accounts describe horrific scenes; dead and dying sheep carpeting the ground around dried water sources, desperate stock attempting to eat bark from trees, and pastoralists shooting animals they could not sustain. This drought triggered the first serious discussion of water conservation and irrigation. Pastoralists recognised that relying entirely on natural rainfall and river flows left them vulnerable to catastrophic losses. The seeds of ideas that would eventually lead to the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area were planted during this period. The Federation Drought, lasting from 1895 to 1903, coincided with economic depression to create a period of extreme hardship. This drought, affecting most of eastern Australia, caused sheep numbers nationally to fall by more than half. The Back Country suffered severely, with some properties losing 70 to 80 per cent of their stock. The social impact was profound. Rural workers lost employment as properties destocked or closed operations. Families abandoned selections they could not sustain without water. Towns contracted as businesses failed and people left seeking work elsewhere. The drought contributed to support for Federation and government intervention in rural affairs. Between droughts, floods could be equally devastating. The Murrumbidgee River system, while generally reliable, could produce catastrophic floods. The 1870 flood inundated vast areas, destroying fences, drowning stock, and isolating communities for weeks. The 1891 flood, occurring during an already difficult period, caused severe damage throughout the riverine country. Hay experienced significant flooding, with water entering the town and forcing evacuations. Pastoral properties lost fences, infrastructure, and stock. The combination of flood damage and ongoing economic depression nearly broke some long-established pastoral operations. The 1917 flood remains one of the largest recorded on the Murrumbidgee. The river at Hay peaked at levels not seen before, inundating the town and surrounding properties. Residents evacuated to higher ground, and the main street became navigable by boat. The flood lasted weeks, causing enormous economic damage. Ironically, floods could sometimes provide drought relief. The floods deposited nutrients on floodplains, creating excellent pasture growth when waters receded. Some pastoralists regarded occasional flooding as beneficial, recognizing the fertilization effect even while acknowledging the immediate damage and inconvenience. The World War II drought, from 1937 to 1945, tested the region severely. Combined with labour shortages due to military service and restricted access to equipment and supplies due to wartime constraints, this drought created immense challenges. Some properties reduced stock to minimal breeding herds, simply trying to survive until better seasons returned. Post-war, river regulation through dams and irrigation development changed the flood-drought cycle. The Snowy Mountains Scheme, completed in the 1970s, and other water infrastructure projects stabilised Murrumbidgee River flows. Major floods became less frequent and severe, though they still occurred. However, regulation created new problems. Reduced flooding affected floodplain ecology, native fish populations, and river red gum forests that depended on periodic inundation. The environmental costs of flood mitigation became increasingly apparent through the late 20th century. The Millennium Drought, from 1997 to 2009, represented the worst sustained dry period since European settlement in many areas. This drought differed from earlier ones in occurring within a highly regulated water system. Irrigation allocations were slashed, threatening the agricultural industries that had developed in the MIA. The political and social responses to the Millennium Drought reflected changed circumstances. The Murray-Darling Basin Plan, developed partly in response to the drought, attempted to balance agricultural water use with environmental needs. This proved contentious, with irrigators, environmentalists, and different government levels disagreeing about appropriate water management. The 2010-11 floods, breaking the Millennium Drought, demonstrated that extreme events persisted despite changed water management. The Murrumbidgee flooded extensively, with Hay experiencing its highest flood levels in decades. While river regulation prevented the flood from reaching the extremes of earlier eras, significant damage still occurred. Climate change adds new uncertainty to the region's future. Climate models suggest more extreme variability, with more intense droughts punctuated by more severe flooding events. Average rainfall may decline, while extreme rainfall events become more frequent. These projections create challenges for water management, agricultural planning, and community resilience. The history of droughts and floods in the Back Country demonstrates both the vulnerability of European settlement to climatic extremes and the resilience developed through repeated exposure to these events. Communities and industries have adapted repeatedly to survive extreme conditions, though each drought or flood tests this resilience. Understanding this climatic history provides context for current debates about water management, climate adaptation, and sustainable development. The region has always experienced extremes, and managing these extremes while maintaining viable communities and industries remains the central challenge, as it has been since European settlement.

The NSW Government has formally responded to the Select Committee inquiry into PFAS contamination in the state’s waterways and drinking supplies, offering support for the majority of the committee’s findings.In Short• The NSW Government has formally supported 25 out of 32 recommendations from the PFAS inquiry, focusing on long-term "forever chemical" management.• Testing across 83 regional utilities confirms that all supplies, including those in Hay and Balranald, currently meet updated Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.• The Government "noted" rather than supported certain recommendations involving Defence sites, citing Federal responsibility for RAAF bases and Commonwealth land.Of the 32 recommendations handed down by the inquiry, the Government has supported—or supported in principle—25. The response comes at a time of heightened awareness regarding "forever chemicals" (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) and their long-term impact on regional environments and public health.For communities across the Hay, Balranald, and Ivanhoe districts, where water quality is central to both domestic life and the agricultural industry, the Government’s commitment to risk-based monitoring remains a key focus.Testing conducted earlier in 2024 across 83 regional water utilities initially showed that 80 supplies met the draft guidelines. While the Government confirmed it has been working with the three utilities that exceeded those levels, it noted that those supplies currently meet the updated Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.A spokesperson for the NSW Government stated that management of the contaminant would remain a priority for regional areas.“In regional NSW, risk-based monitoring is taking place to ensure the NSW Government and local water utilities can respond promptly to ensure continued compliance with the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines,” the Government stated.“We understand the community’s concerns about PFAS, particularly in our state’s waterways; our management of PFAS is informed by the best available science and evidence. That is why we supported the NSW Chief Health Officer convening the NSW Health Expert Advisory Panel on PFAS to review the latest evidence and provide independent advice.”PFAS, a group of manufactured chemicals used in firefighting foams and industrial products, has become a "legacy contaminant" that persists in the environment. The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has already assessed more than 1,100 legacy sites across the state.While many of the recommendations were accepted, some were not supported or simply "noted." The Government cited jurisdictional boundaries as a primary reason, particularly regarding matters of Defence, which remain the responsibility of the Australian Government—a significant factor for regional areas near RAAF bases or federal land.“For those recommendations not supported or noted, it is for reasons of: jurisdictional responsibility (matters of Defence are a matter for the Australian Government), existing expert advice on PFAS as a contaminant (such as on blood testing and site testing), and existing systems that already address the inquiry’s concerns,” the response noted.The Government also emphasized that work on the issue is far from over.“Our work dealing with this legacy contaminant is ongoing in NSW: more than 1100 legacy sites have been assessed by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA), and the NSW PFAS Expert Panel and the PFAS Technical Advisory Group continue to provide cross-government assessment and advice.”“Regular testing is now in place to ensure the NSW Government and local water utilities can respond promptly to ensure continued compliance with the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. We understand the community’s concerns about PFAS, particularly in our state’s waterways; our management of PFAS is informed by the best available science and evidence.”The Government said they have pledged to maintain a level of transparency.“We remain committed to ensuring transparency and community awareness and working alongside the Australian Government where jurisdictional responsibility requires it. We thank the committee for their work, and community members for taking the time to share their views and expertise throughout the inquiry.”Read the reports HERE

Katerina Pastellis (pictured above) and her family have been pleasantly surprised over the years, realising home away from home for cancer patients, Lilier Lodge, is not actually only there to support cancer patients and their families. Whenever vacancies allow, this haven will open its doors to people who are needing to be in Wagga for any medical reason. “I didn’t know of Lilier Lodge before I needed it, and it is a wonderful thing,” Katerina said. “It is only five minutes’ walk from the hospital and everything you could ever need. “My mother and father have stayed there while attending to various medical needs, and my husband Keith stayed there while I was undergoing a serious medical issue. “Even when I have had to go back to Wagga for check-ups, we have stayed there.” Katerina said the friendly and caring atmosphere at Lilier Lodge makes an incredible difference. “Being surrounded by people who are often going through much the same thing is comforting,” she said. “The staff also know what you are going through, and they are so kind and caring.” Katerina remembers the first time she needed to travel away; it was a scramble to find somewhere for Keith to stay while she was in hospital. It was especially hard as at the time the annual field days were on, leaving no accommodation options. “It just takes such a load off your mind, to know you and your family have somewhere to stay, and are not stranded or forced to battle the dangerous roads with kangaroos and wildlife,” she said. Lilier Lodge is an oasis, a friendly and welcoming place for people all over the district. It opened in 2004 and was purpose built by Can Assist and Cancer Council NSW, together with the support of local and regional communities. It is a not-for-profit 21 room accommodation facility which helps over 1400 people each year. The Lodge provides accommodation for people undergoing cancer treatment at nearby facilities including the Riverina Cancer Care Centre, Wagga Wagga Base Hospital and Calvary Hospital. It is also a drop-in service for cancer patients who travel daily for their treatment and for community transport drivers while waiting for clients. The Lodge is also a meeting place for local volunteers and community groups. Guests can have family and friends come and visit while staying at Lilier Lodge. As well as guest rooms, there are garden and communal lounge and dining areas that can be used for spending time with visitors. Wagga’s Lilier Lodge has won a national award for its outstanding support for recovering cancer patients. The cancer accommodation won the Thank You Small Business competition and will receive a new solar system valued at $13,000. The lodge landed the prize from 300 nominations and will receive a fully installed solar system for its business to a maximum of 10kW. Before this, the Lodge currently spent $16,000 a year on electricity but with the solar system it would receive a big boost, and the money saved on energy would be invested in improving guest accommodation. Lilier Lodge has received more than $7000 in funding from Riverina Water to upgrade the facility’s water irrigation system. At the end of 2024, Lilier Lodge released a fabulous cookbook, at the reasonable price of $25. The recipes were written by volunteers, guests and supporters of the Lodge. There is also a small store of gifts available for purchase. All items, many handmade, have been donated to raise money to support Lilier Lodge and its guests. Fundraising efforts over the years have included high teas, quilters groups and other crafters donating blankets, Heavenly Charity Masquerade Ball, garage sales, working bees, wooden platters, donations of foods for people staying at the lodge, and donations of goods to sell in their shop. The Lodge provides that extra bit of support and care cancer patients need during the harrowing treatment progress. All in the same boat, to be surrounded by other patients provides that extra bit of comfort.

As we gear up for the holiday season, have you thought about the whole picture? Safety, and not just the fun? An incorrectly loaded caravan can lead to snaking, swaying or loss of control of your caravan and vehicle. Caravan popularity is high, with over 901,000 registered in Australia as of January 2024, a 27 per cent increase since 2019. Caravan and camping trips account for a significant portion of domestic travel, making up 56 per cent of trips, 62 per cent of nights, and 70 per cent of spending in this sector. While families and the "grey nomad" demographic remain strong, the 30-54 age group is now the dominant segment, representing 46 per cent of trips and 42 per cent of nights in 2024. When loading your caravan, make sure that the heaviest items are packed low and centred over the caravan’s wheel axles and the lightest items are packed up high and distributed across the vehicle. It's an easy and safe way to prevent sway!Do you know the rules about digital screens in vehicles? Sometimes in our excitement and pressure to pack and head off, we can forget things.If you have a full licence, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto can only be used while driving to make or receive calls, play audio or as a driver’s aid (e.g. navigation). All other functions including texting, emailing, social media and web browsing aren't allowed as per the regular mobile phone road rules.What about L, P1 and P2 drivers? Well, restricted licence holders aren't permitted to use their mobile phones at all while driving, whether it's connected to a screen or not. The best place for your phone if you're a restricted licence holder is on silent and in your bag!For a quick Australian holiday, prioritize sun protection, be prepared for vast distances by flying or planning travel time, and pack accordingly, as southern states are cooler in winter and northern areas are hot year-round. Always swim between the flags and be aware of the emergency number for your location. Here are a few extra tips to make your holiday seamless and enjoyable, with a just a little extra thinking involved.Pack for the climate and conditions where you are heading.The UV index is high; use high-SPF sunscreen, wear a hat, and seek shade, even on cloudy days.Pack comfortable walking shoes or hiking boots for exploring cities, national parks, and beaches.Beach safety: Always swim between the red and yellow flags to be in a patrolled area.Health: Get a health check and any recommended vaccinations before you go, and ensure you have enough prescribed medication, along with a doctor's letter and copy of the prescription. Plan for distances: get that podcast playlist sorted, charge up the kids screens, pack travel board games, and double check you all have the little creature comforts you like to make travel as bearable as possible. Driving: If driving, be aware that distances between towns can be very large, with no services in between. Take breaks every couple of hours.Cook your own meals: Eating out can be expensive, so try self-catering or buy alcohol from bottle shops instead of bars.Free wildlife spotting: Visit national parks to see native animals like kangaroos and koalas in the wild, instead of paying for sanctuaries.Look for deals: Use websites like Klook, Viator, or GetYourGuide to compare prices on activities, or Bookme for last-minute deals.Work or volunteer: If child free, consider opportunities like WWOOFing or working in a hostel for accommodation to save money

January sits in an interesting position in the agricultural calendar, marking neither beginning nor end but rather a pause point in the middle of summer when the year's production outcomes are largely determined but not yet realised. For farmers and graziers across the Riverina and far west, the new year is a time for assessment, planning, and preparation that sets the foundation for the months ahead.Seasonal conditions in January largely dictate what's possible for the remainder of summer and shape expectations for autumn. Assess your current position honestly in terms of soil moisture, pasture condition, crop development, and stock feed availability. This assessment determines whether you're in a position to maintain current stock numbers, whether crops will achieve projected yields, and what management interventions might be necessary in coming months. Hope and optimism have their place in farming, but practical planning requires realistic assessment of actual conditions rather than what you wish they were.Stock management decisions in January have consequences that ripple through the entire year. If feed availability is marginal and no rain is forecast, making hard decisions about reducing stock numbers now rather than waiting until the situation becomes critical protects both animal welfare and land condition. Selling down allows you to match stock numbers to available feed, maintain condition on remaining animals, and prevent degradation of pastures that will cost years to repair. While selling into potentially weak markets is painful, it's typically better than the alternative of supplementary feeding through extended dry periods or watching stock condition deteriorate to the point where they're unsaleable.For croppers, January brings the nail-biting wait as summer crops approach critical growth stages and potential yield becomes clearer. Water management for irrigated crops requires constant attention, balancing water allocation constraints against crop water requirements and making strategic decisions about where to allocate limited water for maximum return. Monitor crops closely for signs of heat stress, disease, or pest pressure, and be prepared to intervene quickly when issues arise. Some problems in January can still be managed; others simply have to be endured while you plan for next season.Livestock health and welfare demand particular attention through the hottest month of the year. Heat stress kills animals quickly and reduces production in survivors, so ensuring adequate shade, clean water, and appropriate management during extreme heat events is essential. Monitor stock daily, particularly animals in feedlots or intensive systems where heat load is higher. Shearing timing affects heat tolerance, so consider whether adjusting your shearing program might improve animal welfare during summer extremes. Parasite control continues through summer, as do fly control measures that protect both welfare and production.Machinery and equipment maintenance can't be postponed indefinitely, and January downtime provides opportunity for servicing and repairs before autumn work begins. Harvest equipment needs thorough cleaning and servicing after the season's work, identifying any worn parts or damage that needs attention before the machinery is stored. Tractors, spray equipment, and other regularly used machinery benefit from scheduled maintenance rather than being run to failure. The time and money invested in proper maintenance saves exponentially more in reduced breakdowns, longer equipment life, and improved reliability when you need machinery to work.Planning for autumn activities begins now while there's time for thoughtful decision-making rather than rushed choices under pressure. Consider what crops you'll plant, what areas need renovation, what pasture management you'll implement, and what infrastructure improvements you want to complete before the busy season arrives. Seed procurement, fertiliser ordering, and chemical purchasing can often be done more economically with early ordering rather than last-minute purchases. If you're planning new activities or enterprises, January provides time for research, talking to other farmers, and seeking advice before committing resources.Financial planning and record keeping deserve attention in January when the pressure of day-to-day operations might be slightly reduced. Review the past year's financial performance, identifying what worked well and what didn't. Update production records, ensuring data is captured while memories are fresh and information is accessible. Tax planning for the coming financial year benefits from early attention, particularly if you're considering significant capital investments or changes to enterprise mix. Professional advice from accountants and financial planners familiar with agricultural businesses provides value that typically exceeds their cost.Risk management extends beyond financial planning to include insurance review and business continuity planning. Ensure all insurance policies are current and coverage is adequate for your actual situation rather than what it was when policies were initially written. Consider what risks your business faces, from weather events to market volatility to personal injury or illness, and whether you have adequate protection or strategies to manage those risks. While paying insurance premiums feels like money going out the door for nothing, the one time you need insurance and don't have it can destroy decades of work.Soil health and land management receive less attention than they deserve, yet they underpin all agricultural production. January conditions often reveal erosion, salinity, or degradation problems that need addressing. Plan soil testing to inform fertiliser decisions, consider whether lime, gypsum, or other amendments might benefit production, and identify areas where earthworks, tree planting, or pasture renovation could improve both production and sustainability. Land is your fundamental asset, and maintaining or improving its productive capacity protects both current income and long-term farm value.Water security becomes increasingly critical as climate patterns shift and allocation reliability declines. Consider your water position including storage capacity, delivery infrastructure, and potential efficiency improvements. Investment in water-saving technology, whether that's improved irrigation systems, recycling infrastructure, or stock water reticulation, often pays for itself relatively quickly while also building resilience against tighter water availability. Water markets provide both opportunities and risks, requiring careful attention to allocation announcements, market movements, and your own strategic position.Networking and information gathering help farmers stay current with industry developments, new technologies, and changing market conditions. Attend field days, join industry organisations, participate in producer groups, and maintain connections with agronomists, stock agents, and other industry professionals. The investment of time in staying informed and connected returns benefits through better decision-making, access to opportunities, and the social capital that helps navigate challenges when they arise.The mental health dimension of farming deserves recognition and attention, particularly given the high stress associated with financial uncertainty, weather dependence, and isolation. January might feel quiet compared to busy seasons, but for farmers facing drought, low prices, or struggling enterprises, the stress is constant and cumulative. Maintain connections with others, seek professional support if you're struggling with anxiety or depression, and remember that asking for help demonstrates strength rather than weakness. Rural financial counselling, farm business support programs, and mental health services all exist to help farmers navigate challenges.Looking ahead to the rest of the year requires balancing optimism with pragmatism, planning for multiple scenarios rather than assuming everything will work out perfectly. Have contingency plans for poor seasons, consider how you'd respond to low prices or high input costs, and think about what decisions you might need to make at various trigger points. Farming has always required managing uncertainty, but explicit planning for different scenarios helps you respond effectively rather than just reacting when problems arise.

Did you know that just 15 minutes of unprotected exposure when UV levels are 3 or above is enough to start causing damage to your skin. This is a crucial fact that many Australians don't realise. In very fair-skinned people, UV radiation starts becoming harmful after about 5 to 10 minutes. For some people, unprotected skin can start to burn (visible damage) in as little as 11 minutes on days with extreme levels of UV radiation.The general rule is to protect your skin when the UV index is 3 or above, which in Australia occurs most months of the year and peaks in the middle of the day, often reaching extreme levels in summer. In South Australia, sun protection is usually needed from the beginning of August until the end of April, though in some parts of the state UV can reach 3 and above all year round. At least two in three Australians will be diagnosed with skin cancer by the age of 70 .In 2021, 2,220 people died from skin cancer in Australia - 1,455 from melanoma and 765 from non-melanoma skin cancers - Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world, with the age-standardised incidence rate of melanoma in 2008 being more than 12 times the average global rate. 95 per cent of melanoma and 99 per cent of non-melanoma skin cancers are caused by overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun. The original "Slip, Slop, Slap" campaign told Australians to slip on sun protective clothing, slop on water resistant, broad spectrum, SPF50+ sunscreen and slap on a broad-brimmed hat. In 2007, two crucial steps were added: seek shade and slide on a pair of sunglasses. The Complete 5 Steps:SLIP on sun-protective clothing covering as much skin as possible.SLOP on SPF 50+ broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen (reapply every 2 hours).SLAP on a broad-brimmed hat (at least 7.5cm brim) SEEK shade, especially between 10am-4pm.SLIDE on wrap-around sunglasses that meet Australian standards.UV vs Temperature: UV radiation is often confused with infrared radiation (heat). Temperature does not affect UV radiation levels - UV can be just as high on a cool or even cold day as it is on a hot one, especially if skies are clear. Even when it's cloudy or cool, you need to protect your skin, as UV radiation and sun damage can happen any day of the year when the UV index is 3 or higher. Intense sun exposure in the first 10 years of life has been shown to nearly double the lifetime risk of melanoma. - Download the free SunSmart Global UV app - Check the Bureau of Meteorology website - Check your phone's weather app - Look in daily newspapers. Outdoor workers receive up to ten times more UV exposure than indoor workers, putting them at greater risk of skin cancer, and should use sun protection every day regardless of the UV rating. For most people, 10 to 15 minutes of sunlight every day is enough to maintain a healthy supply of vitamin D, and regular day-to-day outdoor activities provide adequate sun exposure to maintain optimal vitamin D levels. In Australia, there's no such thing as a "safe tan" - tanning is damaged skin cells producing melanin to protect themselves, and one damaged cell can start a deadly melanoma growing. Always check the UV index and protect yourself when it's 3 or above. With just 15 minutes being enough to cause damage, sun protection should be a daily habit, not just for hot, sunny days.

Mallee Accommodation and Support Program (MASP) say they are entering 2026 with a new purpose, but the same commitment to supporting Mallee communities.The diverse community service agency has launched its 2026-2030 Strategic Plan, with the new organisational purpose “to empower our community to live with equity, opportunity and dignity”.MASP CEO Charmaine Calis said the purpose change came as a result of community consultation across the six LGA’s MASP serves – Mildura, Swan Hill, Gannawarra, Buloke, Wentworth and Balranald - during the creation of the new strategic plan.“Our previous purpose was to empower our community to be free from homelessness, abuse, poverty and disadvantage,” she explained. “Some of the feedback that we received was that purpose could be a little limiting or off-putting to some people who may not identify as one of those aspects. "So what we did was create more of a strengths-based purpose. "What we hope that demonstrates is MASP is here to support anybody that needs it, no matter what your upbringing, no matter what your life circumstances - if we have a program that is available to support you, we are here to provide that support to you.”Mrs Calis said the new Strategic Plan will build on the progress made during the previous four-year period.“We want to look at identifying the genuine needs within community and gaps in service delivery,” she said. “We also want to be looking at the innovative ways that our staff work, whether that's in Mildura or whether that's in Swan Hill or Dareton or Balranald or any of our other communities and how are we using feedback to inform how our programs are developed anddelivered within those communities.”