4. Inland Possibilities

Australia as a nation—and like many nations—is sliced by a series of binary oppositions: east versus west, south versus north, urban versus regional, coastal versus inland. These binaries also punctuate narratives of indigeneity and immigration. But the power is held in and by the coastal cities in the southeast of Australia. While the capital of Canberra is inland, the two most influential and largest cities—Sydney and Melbourne—embrace the coast. This means that multiple disadvantages overlay inland, third-tier cities and towns. Each state has examples of them, such as Katherine in the Northern Territory and Northam and Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. Even in the most populous state, New South Wales, a series of inland cities fan Sydney. Commencing at Port Macquarie in the north—which as the name suggests in hemmed by water—through to Albury in the south—these cities face structural disadvantages. They are all underserved by public transportation, face challenges in holding their population, health and education services, but also—structurally—have not developed relationships between them. Following the transportation infrastructure, the alignments are between Bathurst and Sydney, Dubbo and Sydney, Wagga Wagga and Sydney, and Albury and Sydney. Only one train operates each day connecting Bathurst and Dubbo and it commences—no surprise here—in Sydney. Every movement inland requires a return to a coastal, global city. There are no trains or buses that link Bathurst and Wagga Wagga. To catch a train to Wagga from Bathurst requires a detour via Sydney. There are no direct flights. To move between the regional hubs (such as Dubbo and Albury) requires a flight to Sydney and then back out to inland New South Wales. The disadvantages of hub and spoke travel—first flying or travelling to a global or second-tier city and then out to a third-tier city—involves added expense, inconvenience and time. Few options are made available for the young, the old and those with impairments. This is a profound structural limitation.