12 hours ago
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The bush tax that dampens travel euphoria and complicates logistics
Voice of Real Australia is a regular newsletter from the local news teams of the ACM network, which stretches into every state and territory. Today's is written by Daily Advertiser deputy editor Daisy Huntly.
Last year I made a decision: I was going to do more in 2025.
Off the back of the COVID years, the never-ending crunch of the news cycle, an increasingly miserable state cost of work, family and paying the bills, I wasn't really factoring myself in.
We spend so much of our lives doing what we think we should do, or what others expect of us, rather than finding the balance when and how we can.
So as long as the bills were paid and I was squirrelling even a little bit away, I should have some things to look forward to, right? Great plan.
The limitations and logistics of public transport in regional NSW have made for some creative travel plans for the sake of efficiency and stretching a buck. Wagga is absolutely not alone in this - in many ways, it's ideally-placed geographically - and those in regional centres and rural communities know the angst well.
I also wasn't expecting the surge of musicians and comedians I love making long-awaited visits Down Under.
The cost of live gigs aside, it is increasingly expensive to be a music fan while living anywhere outside a capital city. The tickets are nothing compared to what having one incurs.
For a one-way flight out of Wagga, you rarely see change from $200 unless it's booked well ahead of time. As I type this, there are just 12 days of July 2025 you could fly to Melbourne with Qantas for less than $219 - and some days it's almost $500 - and if you were organised and got in now you could get to Sydney for $179 in August. Rex is also in the mix, but with similar challenges.
Without a concession, the cheapest train ticket out of Wagga to Sydney or Melbourne is around $67 one way. For what it's worth, I quite enjoy the XPT and it's my preferred way to get to Melbourne (if I was heading to Sydney, different story). But it's obscene the difference 130km and a state line can make - the alternative for a Melbourne journey is to drive to Albury and jump on the V/Line for about $15 return.
It's easy to see why many Wagga families choose this option. For solo travellers by the time you factor in driving time, fuel, vehicle wear and tear and leaving the car for a night or two, the XPT's siren song is singing.
I've turned everything I was already doing into frequent flyer points, for the times I can't make anything else work transport-wise. I've boosted every supermarket rewards offer that hit my inbox and watched for accommodation deals like a hawk.
I've boarded the XPT to Melbourne at 2.30am, carpooled to Canberra, scored last-minute lifts to the V/Line, cashed in those points.
I've fit in NRL games, wrestling, the Melbourne Comedy Festival. Tyler Childers, Randy Houser, Chris Stapleton (what a birthday present), Luke Combs, and at least Bliss n Eso, Oasis and Usher to come.
The Oasis purchase in particular racked me with guilt. Yet I'd paid utilities bills and didn't feel a twinge of regret. No one ever beats themselves up about that.
The feeling of being in the crowd - whether it's from the pit, a seat or the nosebleeds - is unquantifiable and something everyone should be able to enjoy. Even if it takes a bit more planning than it should.
I'm chronically aware many others face this travel dilemma constantly, and for more than just one person, for far more serious reasons.
For me, it's all short-term, it's only for a year or so, and looking back on who I've seen in the last eight months alone, there's not a single regret - other than not having done it sooner, and maybe not all at once.
It's just a shame the regional tax that comes with it is so harsh.
Voice of Real Australia is a regular newsletter from the local news teams of the ACM network, which stretches into every state and territory. Today's is written by Daily Advertiser deputy editor Daisy Huntly.
Last year I made a decision: I was going to do more in 2025.
Off the back of the COVID years, the never-ending crunch of the news cycle, an increasingly miserable state cost of work, family and paying the bills, I wasn't really factoring myself in.
We spend so much of our lives doing what we think we should do, or what others expect of us, rather than finding the balance when and how we can.
So as long as the bills were paid and I was squirrelling even a little bit away, I should have some things to look forward to, right? Great plan.
The limitations and logistics of public transport in regional NSW have made for some creative travel plans for the sake of efficiency and stretching a buck. Wagga is absolutely not alone in this - in many ways, it's ideally-placed geographically - and those in regional centres and rural communities know the angst well.
I also wasn't expecting the surge of musicians and comedians I love making long-awaited visits Down Under.
The cost of live gigs aside, it is increasingly expensive to be a music fan while living anywhere outside a capital city. The tickets are nothing compared to what having one incurs.
For a one-way flight out of Wagga, you rarely see change from $200 unless it's booked well ahead of time. As I type this, there are just 12 days of July 2025 you could fly to Melbourne with Qantas for less than $219 - and some days it's almost $500 - and if you were organised and got in now you could get to Sydney for $179 in August. Rex is also in the mix, but with similar challenges.
Without a concession, the cheapest train ticket out of Wagga to Sydney or Melbourne is around $67 one way. For what it's worth, I quite enjoy the XPT and it's my preferred way to get to Melbourne (if I was heading to Sydney, different story). But it's obscene the difference 130km and a state line can make - the alternative for a Melbourne journey is to drive to Albury and jump on the V/Line for about $15 return.
It's easy to see why many Wagga families choose this option. For solo travellers by the time you factor in driving time, fuel, vehicle wear and tear and leaving the car for a night or two, the XPT's siren song is singing.
I've turned everything I was already doing into frequent flyer points, for the times I can't make anything else work transport-wise. I've boosted every supermarket rewards offer that hit my inbox and watched for accommodation deals like a hawk.
I've boarded the XPT to Melbourne at 2.30am, carpooled to Canberra, scored last-minute lifts to the V/Line, cashed in those points.
I've fit in NRL games, wrestling, the Melbourne Comedy Festival. Tyler Childers, Randy Houser, Chris Stapleton (what a birthday present), Luke Combs, and at least Bliss n Eso, Oasis and Usher to come.
The Oasis purchase in particular racked me with guilt. Yet I'd paid utilities bills and didn't feel a twinge of regret. No one ever beats themselves up about that.
The feeling of being in the crowd - whether it's from the pit, a seat or the nosebleeds - is unquantifiable and something everyone should be able to enjoy. Even if it takes a bit more planning than it should.
I'm chronically aware many others face this travel dilemma constantly, and for more than just one person, for far more serious reasons.
For me, it's all short-term, it's only for a year or so, and looking back on who I've seen in the last eight months alone, there's not a single regret - other than not having done it sooner, and maybe not all at once.
It's just a shame the regional tax that comes with it is so harsh.
Voice of Real Australia is a regular newsletter from the local news teams of the ACM network, which stretches into every state and territory. Today's is written by Daily Advertiser deputy editor Daisy Huntly.
Last year I made a decision: I was going to do more in 2025.
Off the back of the COVID years, the never-ending crunch of the news cycle, an increasingly miserable state cost of work, family and paying the bills, I wasn't really factoring myself in.
We spend so much of our lives doing what we think we should do, or what others expect of us, rather than finding the balance when and how we can.
So as long as the bills were paid and I was squirrelling even a little bit away, I should have some things to look forward to, right? Great plan.
The limitations and logistics of public transport in regional NSW have made for some creative travel plans for the sake of efficiency and stretching a buck. Wagga is absolutely not alone in this - in many ways, it's ideally-placed geographically - and those in regional centres and rural communities know the angst well.
I also wasn't expecting the surge of musicians and comedians I love making long-awaited visits Down Under.
The cost of live gigs aside, it is increasingly expensive to be a music fan while living anywhere outside a capital city. The tickets are nothing compared to what having one incurs.
For a one-way flight out of Wagga, you rarely see change from $200 unless it's booked well ahead of time. As I type this, there are just 12 days of July 2025 you could fly to Melbourne with Qantas for less than $219 - and some days it's almost $500 - and if you were organised and got in now you could get to Sydney for $179 in August. Rex is also in the mix, but with similar challenges.
Without a concession, the cheapest train ticket out of Wagga to Sydney or Melbourne is around $67 one way. For what it's worth, I quite enjoy the XPT and it's my preferred way to get to Melbourne (if I was heading to Sydney, different story). But it's obscene the difference 130km and a state line can make - the alternative for a Melbourne journey is to drive to Albury and jump on the V/Line for about $15 return.
It's easy to see why many Wagga families choose this option. For solo travellers by the time you factor in driving time, fuel, vehicle wear and tear and leaving the car for a night or two, the XPT's siren song is singing.
I've turned everything I was already doing into frequent flyer points, for the times I can't make anything else work transport-wise. I've boosted every supermarket rewards offer that hit my inbox and watched for accommodation deals like a hawk.
I've boarded the XPT to Melbourne at 2.30am, carpooled to Canberra, scored last-minute lifts to the V/Line, cashed in those points.
I've fit in NRL games, wrestling, the Melbourne Comedy Festival. Tyler Childers, Randy Houser, Chris Stapleton (what a birthday present), Luke Combs, and at least Bliss n Eso, Oasis and Usher to come.
The Oasis purchase in particular racked me with guilt. Yet I'd paid utilities bills and didn't feel a twinge of regret. No one ever beats themselves up about that.
The feeling of being in the crowd - whether it's from the pit, a seat or the nosebleeds - is unquantifiable and something everyone should be able to enjoy. Even if it takes a bit more planning than it should.
I'm chronically aware many others face this travel dilemma constantly, and for more than just one person, for far more serious reasons.
For me, it's all short-term, it's only for a year or so, and looking back on who I've seen in the last eight months alone, there's not a single regret - other than not having done it sooner, and maybe not all at once.
It's just a shame the regional tax that comes with it is so harsh.
Voice of Real Australia is a regular newsletter from the local news teams of the ACM network, which stretches into every state and territory. Today's is written by Daily Advertiser deputy editor Daisy Huntly.
Last year I made a decision: I was going to do more in 2025.
Off the back of the COVID years, the never-ending crunch of the news cycle, an increasingly miserable state cost of work, family and paying the bills, I wasn't really factoring myself in.
We spend so much of our lives doing what we think we should do, or what others expect of us, rather than finding the balance when and how we can.
So as long as the bills were paid and I was squirrelling even a little bit away, I should have some things to look forward to, right? Great plan.
The limitations and logistics of public transport in regional NSW have made for some creative travel plans for the sake of efficiency and stretching a buck. Wagga is absolutely not alone in this - in many ways, it's ideally-placed geographically - and those in regional centres and rural communities know the angst well.
I also wasn't expecting the surge of musicians and comedians I love making long-awaited visits Down Under.
The cost of live gigs aside, it is increasingly expensive to be a music fan while living anywhere outside a capital city. The tickets are nothing compared to what having one incurs.
For a one-way flight out of Wagga, you rarely see change from $200 unless it's booked well ahead of time. As I type this, there are just 12 days of July 2025 you could fly to Melbourne with Qantas for less than $219 - and some days it's almost $500 - and if you were organised and got in now you could get to Sydney for $179 in August. Rex is also in the mix, but with similar challenges.
Without a concession, the cheapest train ticket out of Wagga to Sydney or Melbourne is around $67 one way. For what it's worth, I quite enjoy the XPT and it's my preferred way to get to Melbourne (if I was heading to Sydney, different story). But it's obscene the difference 130km and a state line can make - the alternative for a Melbourne journey is to drive to Albury and jump on the V/Line for about $15 return.
It's easy to see why many Wagga families choose this option. For solo travellers by the time you factor in driving time, fuel, vehicle wear and tear and leaving the car for a night or two, the XPT's siren song is singing.
I've turned everything I was already doing into frequent flyer points, for the times I can't make anything else work transport-wise. I've boosted every supermarket rewards offer that hit my inbox and watched for accommodation deals like a hawk.
I've boarded the XPT to Melbourne at 2.30am, carpooled to Canberra, scored last-minute lifts to the V/Line, cashed in those points.
I've fit in NRL games, wrestling, the Melbourne Comedy Festival. Tyler Childers, Randy Houser, Chris Stapleton (what a birthday present), Luke Combs, and at least Bliss n Eso, Oasis and Usher to come.
The Oasis purchase in particular racked me with guilt. Yet I'd paid utilities bills and didn't feel a twinge of regret. No one ever beats themselves up about that.
The feeling of being in the crowd - whether it's from the pit, a seat or the nosebleeds - is unquantifiable and something everyone should be able to enjoy. Even if it takes a bit more planning than it should.
I'm chronically aware many others face this travel dilemma constantly, and for more than just one person, for far more serious reasons.
For me, it's all short-term, it's only for a year or so, and looking back on who I've seen in the last eight months alone, there's not a single regret - other than not having done it sooner, and maybe not all at once.
It's just a shame the regional tax that comes with it is so harsh.
