2 days ago
Bush Summit: Cost of living biting deeper among rural Victorians than those in cities
The cost of living crisis is hitting harder in the bush than it is in the city, with two out of five regional residents struggling to make ends meet and barely one in ten feeling comfortable with their finances.
Regional Australians love their quality of life – 77 per cent rate it as excellent, very good or good.
But according to the Mood of the Bush survey, this has fallen since last year, and city slickers are now marginally more likely to be happier.
The survey – conducted by SEC Newgate for the Bush Summit series – found 69 per cent of regional Australians named the cost of living as the issue of most concern to them, which was overwhelmingly ahead of housing affordability, crime and healthcare.
Nationally, three-quarters of those surveyed said reducing cost increases for household bills and other essential expenses was their top priority, with 41 per cent of those in the regions having difficulty paying their bills compared to 35 per cent in metro areas.
In regional Victoria, 45 per cent of those surveyed said they were currently experiencing financial difficulties, compared to 31 per cent in the state's metropolitan areas.
The survey found 73 per cent of regional Victorians considered reducing cost increases for household bills and other essential expenses to be 'extremely important', while 66 per cent said the same for investing more to ensure quality affordable healthcare.
The mood in regional Victoria was also considerably more pessimistic compared to the national result, with 62 per cent saying they were currently feeling negative emotions including 'anxious' and 'stressed' compared to 56 per cent nationwide.
Quality of life for those in regional Victoria has also gone backwards, with the proportion of those rating it as at least good dropping from 82 per cent last year to 75 per cent now.
That figure is the lowest for any regional area around the country.
Foodbank Australia chief executive Brianna Casey said regional families and single-parent households that were 'just getting by' were now slipping through the cracks.
'We warned at the beginning of the cost of living crisis that low-income households were always going to suffer first, worst and for the longest,' she said.
'But what we're also seeing is single-parent families and those in regional communities that were just getting by, now reaching their limits and making unimaginable choices.'
SEC Newgate research director Peter Collingridge said that while the cost of living was still a 'major concern', the level of stress recorded had declined slightly from last year's result, which could signal a 'turning point'.
'It's obviously the highest concern that's mentioned by people in both regional Australia, more broadly, but it's just come off the boil, just a fraction,' he said.
'Last year, it was 74 per cent around the same time … Potentially with interest rates on the way down, there's a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel for people.'
Ms Casey said challenges with mobility and travel seemed to be a key contributor to the inability for families to afford enough food, according to separate Foodbank research.
Last year, 20 per cent of regional Australians struggling with food insecurity cited 'limited access/ability to travel and get food' as a contributor, while only 14 per cent of metropolitan residents pointed to the same issue.
Respondents said there was often not enough money for food after bills, car repairs, medical costs and insurance.
Lauren never dreams of a life beyond the bush, but there are downsides
Numurkah resident Lauren Jackson grew up in the country and wouldn't want any different for her kids – yet she admits rural living has its downsides.
Originally from Gippsland, Ms Jackson moved seven years ago with her husband Zac to a cattle depot in Numurkah, 35km north of Shepparton.
Now their kids Shari and Rayner are growing up learning what it means to live in a country town: hard work, looking after animals and getting to know their neighbours.
'They learn a lot from living on a farm,' Ms Jackson said.
'We're horse people, so they have learned to look after their animals.
'They socialise a lot and know how to talk with adults, we've got a really good community around here – everyone knows everyone.'
While she has never dreamt of life beyond the bush, Ms Jackson still concedes there are some drawbacks.
'Childcare is probably an issue — it's a little limited here,' she said.
'A lot of people have difficulty getting their kids into childcare.
'The roads are also quite bad, there has not been much care for them … Especially between Shepparton and Seymour, the roads are really bad.'
Even still, Ms Jackson and her husband can't think of a better setting to raise their children.
'We believe this is the best sort of upbringing for our kids,' she said.
'The thought of moving closer (to the city) has never crossed our minds.'
