The notion of sponge cities has attracted considerable attention in the media, in the policy arena, and in academia. It rests on the notion that some regional centres 'soak up' population and business from a 'pool' of surrounding areas, thereby appearing as 'oases' of growth in areas of population decline. Specifically, the notion of sponge cities rests on two premises and a deduction: some large towns and provincial cities are growing; surroundings areas are losing population; therefore, the growth results from the relocation of people from outlying farms and smaller towns to the nearby growing centres. Despite its popularity, the notion has largely gone untested. Investigation of migration trends in Dubbo and Tamworth (New South Wales, Australia), frequently cited as sponge cities, over the period 1986Á2001 shows that the reality is much more complex than the simple metaphor suggests. The contribution made by the 'pool' to the growth of the regional 'sponges' is relatively minor. This calls into question the value of the notion of a sponge city*and the use of metaphors in social science more generally.
The provision of financial services in rural Australia is a significant public policy issue, reflected in the high level of media and political interest in the recent spate of branch closures. There are, however, many aspects of the current debate regarding the delivery of financial services to rural communities that are, at best, less than ideal and, at worst, erroneous. Using telephone directories for New South Wales, nonmetropolitan bank branch listings for the period 1981 to 1998 were collated. A recategorisation of these data according to the Rural, Remote and Metropolitan Areas classification reveals, amidst a spatial realignment of financial service provision, that rural and remote New South Wales have been disproportionately affected by a relatively recent and concerted withdrawal of services. The research demonstrates that corporate-level responses to increased competition within the financial system are significantly more important in deciding rural access to banking services than local and regional population trends. Indeed, twothirds of rural localities that have lost branches had experienced healthy population growth during the study period. In the wake of the postderegulation reconfiguration of the bank branch network, the socioeconomic marginalisation of rural communities is being compounded, a process of 'financial exclusion' recognised in other parts of the developed world.The Australian financial sector has been in an almost ceaseless phase of restructuring since its deregulation in 1983. In large part, this restructuring is being driven by the sheer complexity and rapidity of financial trading in the rest of the globe, which itself is being aided by the ongoing revolution in information and communication technologies. During this postderegulation era, the regulatory apparatus and financial institutions central to the Australian financial system have undergone dramatic 182
Health promotion and prevention are critical elements of public health programs designed to improve health status and extend life chances. The pattern of mortality and morbidity in rural Australia suggests a particularly important role for health promotion and preventive measures in country areas. However, the importance of preventive health measures and how people access health‐related information is not well understood. This study examines which sources of health‐related information are most valued by rural residents and whether the importance attributed to different sources varies according to age, sex and geographic location. The results demonstrate the overwhelming importance of the general practitioner and pharmacist in provision of preventive health information for all rural people. There is a need to ensure that the work carried out by all those involved with health promotion is closely integrated with that of rural general practitioners.
In order to ensure that adequate and appropriate health care services are provided to rural inhabitants, it is vital to have a comprehensive understanding of their health care needs. The lack of conclusive evidence on the health status of rural inhabitants to date reflects problems associated with how best to measure health status, and the fact that insufficient research has been conducted to ascertain whether health status differs within rural Australia. This article evaluates different measures used to assess rural health status. It also reports the results of a study which investigates whether the pattern of ill health varies between farm and small rural town residents, and according to remoteness from health care services.
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