When Canadian woman Kyla Dolen first met cowboy Fred Osman she admits she was instantly infatuated.
“I had moved out on a backpacking visa and had got a job helping out at his dad’s station,” she said.
“After working with him I was very twitterpated and in love with him.”
That was 12 years ago.
Now, she’s married her dream man.
Thousands were in attendance on the final day of the biggest rodeo in the southern hemisphere.(ABC North West Queensland: Larissa Waterson)
The couple tied the knot on Sunday, paying homage to Fred’s stockman roots as they said “I do” in front of a crowd on the red-dirt arena of the Mount Isa Rodeo — the biggest event of its kind in the southern hemisphere.
In true cowboy fashion, just an hour after his vows, Mr Osman, 36, went on to win the bareback ride, defending his 2021 champion title.
“I don’t know what I was more nervous about, getting married or winning my fourth buckle here,” he said.
The two said their vows on the arena just before Fred won the bareback competition.(Supplied: Mount Isa Rodeo)
A long road to rodeo romance
A year ago, Mr Osman popped the question to Ms Dolen while on a hike in Canada, right before he flew back to Australia.
“It was dodgy as. I didn’t have a ring or anything at the time so I just nicked one of her other little rings and did it with that,” he said.
“But I just wanted to make sure, because we were doing a lot of flying between countries, that she knew what my intentions were.”
The couple met 12 years ago and have been together for the past three years.(Supplied: Mount Isa Rodeo)
After COVID-19 lockdowns forced the couple into a 10-month long-distance engagement, Ms Dolen had had enough.
“My dream wedding was always to get married in Canada in the mountains,” she said.
“But after COVID and everything, I didn’t know when we were going to get back to Canada. And I’m lazy and I don’t like planning things. And I didn’t want to plan a wedding. So I was like, why don’t we just get married at Mount Isa?
“He was already going to be here riding in the rodeo and his family was coming to watch him ride so it was just so easy.
“And I wanted him to be excited about it as well and have a venue that he was excited about.”
Kyla tossed her bouquet into the crowd where one lucky single girl caught it.(ABC North West Qld: Larissa Waterson)
At the noon lunch break on Sunday, Ms Dolen walked onto the Mount Isa Rodeo arena in a sparkling white two-piece gown and cowgirl boots, her family watching via live stream from Canada.
Kyla enters the Mount Isa Rodeo arena from the chutes in true cowgirl fashion.(ABC North West Qld: Larissa Waterson)
“It’s been awesome. When you really love someone, it’s really hard to just pick the small things you love about them — it’s just the whole entity of that person that you’re drawn to,” she said.
“He’s my best friend and I just can’t imagine doing life without him anymore.”
Kyla and Fred (center and left) first met on his family’s station.(Supplied: Kyla Dolen)
As skilled stockman Peter Jupiter prepares for a saddle bronc ride behind the chutes of Mount Isa’s Buchanan Park, it’s clear that this is not his first rodeo.
Key points:
The biggest rodeo in the southern hemisphere launched its first ever Indigenous Championships
Indigenous rapper Baker Boy traveled from the UK to perform at the outback event
Organizers and competitors say the event creates opportunities for young people
Renowned for being the biggest and richest event of its kind in the southern hemisphere, the Mount Isa Rodeo drew a record 1,000 nominations.
But for Indigenous riders like Mr Jupiter, this year’s event was a first.
It marked the launch of the inaugural Mount Isa Rodeo Indigenous Championships on Thursday.
At least 85 cowboys and cowgirls from some of the most remote Aboriginal communities in the country converged on the iconic red-dirt arena to showcase their talents.
Indigenous riders from across Australia competed in the event.(ABC North West Qld: Larissa Waterson)
For Mr Jupiter, the event meant a lot more than bucking broncos and shiny buckles.
“It’s really important. It means a lot to us,” he said.
“With the first Indigenous rodeo, especially here at Mount Isa competing with the big boys, it means so much to us.
“This is probably going to light Mount Isa up.”
The rodeo is an opportunity for talented Aboriginal stockmen and women.(Supplied: Mount Isa Mines Rodeo)
Aboriginal cowboys and cowgirls of all ages were recognized on the arena while performances by local artists celebrated culture.
Kalkadoon woman Maisy Hetherington won the breakaway roping championship.(Supplied: Mount Isa Mines Rodeo)
Indigenous rapper Baker Boy traveled from Birmingham, England, where he had performed at the closing of the 2022 Commonwealth Games, to put on a show at the Indigenous Championships.
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Paving the way for future generations
Patrick Cooke, chief executive of the Mona Aboriginal Corporation, who coordinated the event, said the Indigenous rodeo fostered connection and representation in the community.
“From our perspective, this brings our community together,” he said.
“It’s not just a rodeo, it’s a celebration of our culture and our people.
Deadly Dexter was the newest edition to the Mount Isa Rodeo’s protection team.(Supplied: Mount Isa Mines Rodeo)
“It’s fantastic. We’ve also got about six new Indigenous businesses that have run over the four days because of this rodeo.
“It showcases Indigenous stock men and women who were once the backbone of this industry.”
Eight-year-old Rueben Craigie won the poddy ride while his dad, Jason, won the bareback title.(Supplied: Mount Isa Mines Rodeo)
Mr Cooke said the rodeo provided an avenue for young people to carve out careers in the industry.
“Mona runs on-country programs for disengaged youth and this Indigenous rodeo shows them a different industry and a different way of life that is available to them,” he said.
Patrick Cooke hopes the rodeo will create pathways for young people across the region.( ABC North West Qld: Larissa Waterson)
“This sort of event highlights that there are opportunities out there if they’re willing to take it and shows them the amazing things Indigenous people can do.
“These events are all about partnerships and continuing partnerships into a better future.”
Locals have praised the event as an opportunity for better representation of Indigenous talent from across the region.(ABC North West Qld: Larissa Waterson)
A rural fire brigade captain was driving through a forest in northern New South Wales when a flash of color caught his eye.
He was compelled to investigate and was thrilled to discover it was a vintage Bedford fire truck.
The 1960s vehicle had belonged to the remote Bellbrook Rural Fire Brigade, west of Kempsey on the Mid North Coast, and was used by what is believed to be Australia’s first all-Indigenous Rural Fire Service crew.
Bellbrook Brigade captain Adam Hall said it was an exciting find.
Bellbrook captain Adam Hall is thrilled to have the old truck back.(ABC Mid North Coast: Emma Siossian)
“Captain of the Newee Creek Brigade in the Nambucca Shire was driving through the Tamban State Forest,” Mr Hall said.
“Through some trees he noticed a little flash of red and saw an old fire truck and as firefighters tend to do, he got a bit excited, and he went and had a look and as he got closer, he saw Bellbrook was emblazoned on the side.”
The Bellbrook Brigade launched a public fundraiser so it could purchase the vehicle from the collector who had acquired it- the truck has now been moved from that property back to Bellbrook, with big plans for its restoration.
Gerard “Chunk” Wade served on the old truck in the 1980s.(ABC Mid North Coast: Emma Siossian)
Mr Hall said the truck was supplied to Bellbrook in the 1970s and became the primary truck used by an all-Indigenous branch based at the local Thungutti Aboriginal community in the early 1990s.
“We have a very rich history of Indigenous participation in the brigade here and the truck ended up as the truck that was used by the first all-Indigenous fire crew,” he said.
“We believe it was the first all-Indigenous fire crew in the country… so rebuilding it is very important for the community, for our Thungutti people here as well, and helping to bring some pride into our little village.”
Special memories of Indigenous crew
Ray Quinn remembers his dad serving in the original Indigenous crew.(Supplied: Bellbrook Rural Fire Brigade)
The truck held special memories for Bellbrook Rural Fire Brigade member Ray Quinlan. His late father Eric was part of the original Indigenous crew.
Eric Quinlan was part of the all-Indigenous brigade at Bellbrook.(Supplied: Adam Hall)
In the early 1990s, the truck was used at the local Bellbrook Aboriginal community.(Supplied: Adam Hall)
“It means a lot, my old man used to be out all the time in the fire brigade… I just used to always say, ‘I want to come’,” he said.
“I just want to keep following his footsteps.
“Looking at all the old photos of him back in the day in his fire brigade suit, it just makes me real proud of him and I want to make him proud of me.”
Bellbrook Brigade member Elwyn Toby also remembered seeing the truck in action at the Thungutti community.
“It was great to see our Indigenous leaders step up and have a go,” he said.
“It inspired me as a child, watching our uncles and aunties jump on the truck and become firefighters.”
A different era of firefighting
The truck at the Bellbrook centenary parade in 1992.(Supplied: Adam Hall)
Bellbrook Rural Fire Brigade deputy captain Gerard ‘Chunk’ Wade recalled serving on the truck in the 1980s.
“I remember standing in the back, and there’s not a lot of creature comforts of safety. You had a bar to hang on to and off you went into the fire,” he said.
“It was just a blast from the past just to see it come back to Bellbrook. It’s just a piece of history, I think that it’s just gold.”
Gerard Wade remembers heading into fire events standing on the back of the old truck.(ABC Mid North Coast: Emma Siossian)
Big restoration plans
It’s expected to take a couple of years for the truck to be fully restored.(ABC Mid North Coast: Emma Siossian)
Thanks to social media, there have been offers from around the country to help with the truck’s restoration.
“I expect it will take two to three years to get it somewhere near its former glory, at which point we hope to be able to go to schools and to shows and rusty iron rallies, that sort of thing and just show it off and put Bellbrook on the map,” Captain Hall said.
“We are only a very small, fairly isolated village here and it’s nice to be able to show the rest of the world who we are.”
Offers to help with the truck’s restoration have flowed in from around the country.(Supplied: Adam Hall)
The old Bellbrook sign on the side of the truck caught the eye of a local fire captain.(ABC Mid North Coast: Emma Siossian)
Bringing community together
Bellbrook’s current truck now also has ties to the region’s Indigenous heritage, featuring an artwork created by Mr Toby, who works as a local cultural arts teacher.
Elwyn Toby (right) has created an Indigenous artwork for the current Bellbrook fire truck.(ABC Mid North Coast: Emma Siossian)
“The artwork is recognized for our local Indigenous population in Bellbrook and the wider community,” he said.
“In the blue you have the fire truck, then water around the truck… the symbols in the yellow are people.
“It’s about coming together in the fires.”
It’s hoped the old and new trucks at Bellbrook will eventually be displayed side-by-side.(ABC Mid North Coast: Emma Siossian)
After months of paying $10 for lettuce, shoppers can expect some relief with Queensland growers getting back on track, three months after they were devastated by flooding.
Key points:
Prices for leafy greens are expected to fall as production returns to normal
Lettuce prices skyrocketed after two major floods in the Lockyer Valley
Growers say they are still coping with the increasing cost of inputs, which will be reflected in prices
Prices for the salad staple skyrocketed after flooding in May wiped out millions of dollars worth of vegetables in the Lockyer Valley, west of Brisbane.
Mulgowie Yowie Salads director Shannon Moss said he had only started full production about two weeks ago.
“We’ve had nice weather where a lot of growers have got stock coming on,” Mr Moss said.
“I was going through the photos [of the flooding] and I’m thinking how it’s hard to look at it, look at the devastation that was here.
“It is nice to see the paddocks recover and the farm get back into some sort of normality.”
Mr Moss said he was now producing about 30,000 cos lettuces a week for markets in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
Shannon Moss lost his entire lettuce crop in May when floods ripped through the Lockyer Valley. (Supplied: Shannon Moss)
He said prices had remained high for so long because the season had had to start from scratch.
“You have to remember a seedling in a nursery takes about four to six weeks to grow, then it’s another eight weeks in the ground to grow lettuce.
“So you’re looking at three to four months to grow any kind of lettuce.”
After the trauma of floods, Mr Moss is happy to get back to normal production. (Rural ABC: Lucy Cooper)
Further price drop expected
Toowoomba-based greengrocer Bevan Betros said prices had halved in recent weeks.
“I think we can afford to eat iceberg lettuce again … they are a good size, they’ve got a bit of weight in them — they’re very good value again,” Mr Betros said.
He said prices would remain stable over the coming weeks.
“I don’t think they’ll get much cheaper just for the next week or two.
“There may be some gaps in the plantings due to the floods and what people were able to do when they could get on and off their property.”
Greengrocer Bevan Betros expects iceberg lettuce to drop to about $2 by September. (ABC News: David Chen)
Mr Betros said he expected prices would continue to fall heading into October.
“They’ll get back down as the warm weather comes on, as we get into spring.
“We should be getting down under $2 again, hopefully in September.”
Iceberg lettuce has fluctuated from $1.50 a head to $12 and is now $6 a head. (ABC News: David Chen)
But don’t get used to it
Despite lettuce production returning to normal, shoppers are being warned not to get used to low prices.
Director of Coastal Hydroponics on the Gold Coast and Growcom chairwoman Belinda Frentz said a price reduction would likely be short term.
“We’ll start seeing the prices of most leafies coming back to what we would expect to be a normal sort of price,” Ms Frentz said.
Growcom chair Belinda Frentz says production is almost at full capacity. (ABC News: Steve Keen)
“Obviously we’ve got input cost pressures that are having a significant impact on businesses and recouping costs and seeing prices sort of not leveling out — there’s going to be some increases.”
Ms Frentz said farmers were still dealing with high labour, fuel and fertilizer costs.
“Growers are being hit in every pocket that they’ve got.”
Is there a right price?
While prices have dropped, growers want them to remain at levels where their businesses can survive.
“If we get down to $1.50 for retail lettuce that’s not going to be sustainable for too long,” Mr Moss said.
“You know, fuel levies are up 20 to 25 per cent, fertilizer prices are up another 25 to 30 per cent and diesel is up another 30 to 40 per cent, so our product needs to be up around 30 to 40 per cent,” he said.
Lockyer Valley growers supply the key markets of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.(Rural ABC: Lucy Cooper)
Ms Frentz hoped the severity of the losses endured by farmers during the floods would demonstrate to consumers how exposed the industry was.
“It was probably the first time as an industry we’ve actually been able to demonstrate how at risk we actually are,” she said.
“Especially with climate change, the reality for us is that we are going to have events outside of our normal patterns and that’s what we have experienced so far this year.”
But Ms Frentz hoped the industry could lift and start doing what it did best – put food on our plates.
“We really just want consumers to understand that when product is available, enjoy it, celebrate it, consume lots of it, put it on every plate, and enjoy what we do.”
After a three-month recovery process, growers in the Lockyer Valley are beginning to get back to normal production. (Rural ABC: Lucy Cooper)
Ten GP clinics across four states and territories previously owned by Tristar Medical Group have failed to attract a buyer and will cease operations on Friday.
Key points:
Tristar Medical Group’s administrators announce 10 clinics will stop operating on Friday
The clinics are located in Victoria, New South Wales, Northern Territory and the ACT
The closure means there is no longer a doctor working in the central Victorian town of Avoca
McGrathNichol Restructuring were appointed as Tristar Medical Group’s administrators in May after the company owed creditors more than $9.3million.
“It is regrettable that the clinics must close,” administrator Matthew Caddy said.
“In the absence of buyers for the clinics, which are loss-making, we have been left with no other option.”
Clinics include those at Avoca, Ararat, Dandenong and Grovedale in Victoria, Kempsey and West Wyalong in New South Wales, and at Bruce in Canberra.
Three Northern Territory centers across Darwin and Palmerston will also close.
The administrators said doctors and staff working at the clinics had been advised of the closure.
The ABC heard that there was a potential buyer for the 10 clinics, but that deal fell through at the last minute and clinic staff were only notified of the closure on Tuesday afternoon.
The Family Doctor group on August 5 purchased 12 of Tristar’s clinics, which were mainly located in Victoria.
Bulk billing ‘unsustainable’
Tristar medical clinics offered bulk-billing patients but Royal Australian College of General Practitioners president Karen Price said it was unsustainable.
“We’ve had a prolonged Medicare freeze and then inadequate indexation,” she said.
She said the last Medicare increase saw patients get back 1.6 per cent more from the government, but inflation had gone up 6 per cent.
“Patients need to demand more from their government to support access to primary care.”
Avoca loses doctors
In the regional Victorian town of Avoca, locals face having to drive nearly an hour to access standard health services, such as prescriptions and check-ups.
Pyrennes Shire Council Mayor Ron Eason said the community was ‘extremely disappointed’ and ‘concerned’.
“It’s been eight to 12 weeks since the Tristar closed,” Mr Eason said.
“The community is desperately trying to find a doctor. They’re traveling to Ballarat or Maryborough, Clunes or Beaufort.”
He said there was some concern for the aging population in the small town, with life “difficult enough” during the pandemic.
“Avoca lost the [health] facilities four or five years ago. We built up a degree of anger,” Mr Eason said.
He said Tristar “did a wonderful job” and drew people from Maryborough to Avoca.
“That’s now gone, and we’ve got to find a medical service to replace it. What that is, I don’t know,” Mr Eason said.
Dr Price says people least able to pay are often those in greatest need of GP services.(pixabay)
Cities are not immune
Dr Price said GP clinics were struggling nationwide, particularly in areas that relied on bulk-bullying.
“[These areas are] often where there are patients with higher disadvantage, and those areas with higher disadvantage will often have more chronic disease,” she said.
“This is what we call the inverse care law, that those people least able to pay often have the greatest need for services and we are very concerned about this.
“We’re going to see more mixed billing where a large proportion of patients are charged.”
Dr Price said most GPs were “very compassionate people” and would keep trying to bulk-bill disadvantaged people.
“But certainly, there’s a lot more gap charges for more Australians.”
The administrators said a separate sale of the Mount Gambier practice was expected to be finalized soon.
A year or two ago it used to cost just over $1,000 a day for a locum GP to cover while a town’s permanent doctor was on leave. That has now tripled to close to $4,000.
Key points:
Financial support that helps five regional NSW towns pay for locum doctors has been withdrawn
Rural and Remote Medical Services says it can no longer afford to subsidize the cost
Locum fees have tripled in the past few years to almost $4,000 a day
It is this “eye watering” increase that is being blamed on a medical charity withdrawing its financial support to pay for fly-in fly-out doctors in five New South Wales towns.
“It’s a dramatic change, we’re moving from GP locum rates of $1,200 a day up to anywhere between $2,500, $3,500, $3,750 a day,” Rural and Remote Medical Services (RARMS) CEO Mark Burdack said.
“We’re looking in some instances, in some towns, locum rates more than tripling in the last year.”
RARMS has announced that since September 30 it will no longer help pay for locums in Gilgandra, Warren, Bingara, Tenterfield and Braidwood.
The practices in these towns will remain open, but the charity’s decision means they will be saddled with the locum bills.
“We can’t afford to pay locum costs moving forward.
“That means each of the towns, if they lose a general practitioner, if they decide to go, they will potentially be up for anywhere between $2,500 and $3,500 a day to get a locum in.”
Bingara in north-west NSW is one of five towns affected by RARMS’s withdrawal.(Supplied: Lisa Herbert)
‘Not in a position to subsidise’
Mr Burdack said the organization had managed to weather the costs for the past few years because of the federal government’s JobKeeper payments.
He said a request for this to be extended was knocked back.
“Unfortunately that’s not something that has been taken up and as a result without that JobKeeper money we’re simply not in a position to subsidize locum coverage in those communities when there’s not a permanent doctor,” he said.
RARMS CEO Mark Burdack says negotiations are taking place to help fill the gap left by the charity.(Supplied)
RARMS said permanent doctors in Tenterfield and Braidwood have agreed to take over the full management of those practices.
Mr Burdack said at Bingara, north-west of Tamworth, the local council had stepped in.
decision no surprise
But Gwydir Shire Council Mayor John Coulton said the council was not taking over the Bingara health service and the decision of RARMS came as no surprise.
“We were very suspicious of this happening,” he said.
“We spoke to Mark Burdack in May, he couldn’t give any guarantees they could stay open under the present set-up.
“This is not a function of local government, we are going to do everything we can to facilitate another arrangement.
“We’ve been speaking to different sources that we may be able to use at this stage we have nothing.”
“We had a hook-up yesterday with Gilgandra and Warren, two other councils in the same position, and we’ve been bouncing off each other.”
RARMS says it is negotiating with the Western NSW Local Health District and Western Primary Health Network on future arrangements at Gilgandra and Warren.
Pauline Follett has been struggling to get on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) for three years and is “frustrated” with the health system.
The 54-year-old has been living with cerebral lupus for nearly 30 years and depends on her disability pension as her main source of income.
Lupus can damage nerves in the body through inflammation of nerves or the tissues surrounding them.
The condition affects Ms Follett’s balance, which makes it difficult for her to walk and do tasks such as cooking, cleaning and driving.
She lives by herself in Gol Gol, in far west New South Wales, and has limited support.
“It becomes very difficult when you become too unwell to stay in one’s home. You have to have support when you’re disabled,” Ms Follett said.
Pauline Follett lives on the border between Victoria and New South Wales.(ABC NewsRichard Crabtree)
The first time she applied for NDIS, she said the assessors focused “on the wrong thing”, that she lives with osteoporosis rather than lupus.
The second time Ms Follett applied, she said she was told her specialists could do more for her.
The support she receives is from a local disability service provider, but only includes assistance with transportation and cleaning.
And that support is not guaranteed, as Ms Follett is reassessed for it every six weeks.
That has meant she has made nearly 30 applications over the past three years to maintain the help.
“It’s all up in the air, all the time … You’re not guaranteed, it’s very tiring,” she said.
“You have to be on the ball all the time, which is difficult when you’re ill.”
Uncertainty exacerbates condition
She likes living in her own home but without the right help, she believes she could be forced to leave and fears being unable to find stable aged care accommodation, which would put her at risk of homelessness.
Pauline Follett hopes to get NDIS support after being rejected twice.(ABC NewsRichard Crabtree)
“Item [aged care] is difficult to get here. It’s not as readily available to us, so to have something like that. It’d be very hard to access,” she said.
Ms Follett said the uncertainty of NDIS providing support had affected her mental health, which had taken a toll on her physically.
“I’m very stressed, and with my lupus, stress is something that exacerbates my condition, so it makes it worse,” she said.
Ms Follett is not alone in finding access to services difficult.
Calls on government to do more
Disability Advocacy NSW released The Aussie Battlers report to the ABC, detailing issues people living with disabilities face in rural, regional and remote (RRR) NSW.
It showed 61 per cent of cases in RRR areas had difficulties meeting evidence requirements due to limited accessibility of service providers.
In RRR NSW, 73 per cent of people reported their service accessibility as poor or very poor.
Disability Advocacy NSW policy officer Cherry Baylosis said the results were not surprising.
Cherry Baylosis contributed to The Aussie Battlers report.(ABC Broken Hill: Youssef Saudie)
“It is concerning when I confirmed these experiences persist despite some of the efforts that were made,” Dr Baylosis said.
She is calling on the government to involve people with disabilities in policymaking.
“At the very least to have consultations with people with disabilities who live in remote areas for better engagement and participation, and then developing considerations within policy based off that,” she said.
“I would like policy to take into consideration the complexities of people with disability living in regional, rural and remote areas to consider the complications — such as the cost of living with a disability.”
Delays from service providers
There are 750 NDIS recipients in far west New South Wales as of June 30, but far west NSW Disability Advocacy district manager Eveleen May said there would be a “lot more” people who were in need of assistance.
She said a lack of healthcare workers and their retention in the region was a contributing factor.
“Doctors find themselves in a position of not having enough time to actually write up a very strong report to help a person access the scheme,” she said.
The research found that due to limited services for participants in RRR, it takes 2.4 times longer to resolve a matter compared to those in metropolitan areas.
Sometimes the delay is due to difficulties in obtaining evidence.
“We have doctors come and go and not often stick around for a long period of time, and we hear from our clients the waiting lists can be quite lengthy,” she said.
Eveleen May says the further west people with disabilities live in NSW, the greater the issues they face.(Supplied: Eveleen May)
Ms May said the further west you traveled into NSW, the greater the financial and service issues were.
“Broken Hill has very much of an aging population, and a high number of Aboriginal people who have a disability too,” she said.
All Pauline Follett wants is to stay in her home with ease as she applies for NDIS the third time.
“I have a permanent disability, and I’m not going to get any better. If I don’t get this service, well, then I’m on my own, and that stresses me out a lot,” she said.
NDIA acknowledges ‘need to improve’
A National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) spokesperson said they empathised with Ms Follett’s situation. They said services had “a strong focus on connecting Australians with a disability to local supports”.
NDIA says they will continue to work with government for people in rural and regional areas.(AAP)
“The agency acknowledges the need to continue to improve the NDIS so that it works for everyone,” they said.
“This includes addressing the historical challenges faced by people with disability in finding support services in rural and remote areas, including parts of far western New South Wales.
“The NDIA will work proactively with the government to work through issues for people in rural and regional areas accessing the scheme.”
John Seccombe had regularly checked his skin and even had small cancers on his face removed, but nothing prepared him for the moment when the right side of his face went numb.
Key points:
Farmers older than 65 have a high risk of developing melanomas
8,032 people were diagnosed with melanomas in 2021
The number is expected to grow to more than 11,000 by 2030
He was a fair-skinned boy who grew up on a farm.
Later in life, he managed a cattle station and a feedlot at Gurly Station, south of Moree in north west New South Wales, before becoming the chair of Casino Food Co-op, the largest meat co-op in the country.
He was aware of the danger of skin cancers, regularly went to the dermatologist, and had a squamous cell carcinoma removed in his 30s.
But the disease returned, and this time, it was a “rampant” cancer that was heading into his brain stem, crushing a facial nerve.
According to his doctors, it was a death sentence.
“I had to under go radiation for two years, at the end of that it was still growing and they gave me 12 months to live and said ‘go home and hug your children’,” Mr Seccombe said.
Skin cancer death rates for farmers over 65 are double that of other Australians.(Supplied: John Seccombe)
That was 22 years ago.
Mr Seccombe was saved by radical experimental surgery that involved three operations on his face.
“I had to have three lots of craniotomies, where they enter your face through the skull base,” he said.
“They removed as much damaged tissue as they could but it left my right eye left in a precarious position so I had to have another one, removed my eye, and I basically lost the right side of my face.”
Check your skin
Melanomas can be extremely serious, but there are ways of identifying them.(Supplied: Melanoma Patients Association)
Mr Seccombe is now living on a farm on the north coast of New South Wales and is the chairman of Melanoma Patients Australia, a charitable organization that advocates and supports people diagnosed with melanoma.
He is urging men in regional and rural areas to check their own skin.
That is because the statistics in those parts of Australia, often a long way from the beach, are shocking.
The death rates in farmers over 65 from skin cancer are more than double the rate of other Australians, while the total disease burden rate in remote Australia is 1.4 times as high as in major cities.
And it is expected to get worse.
About 8,000 Australians in regional areas were diagnosed with melanoma last year, and that is forecast to rise to over 11,000 annually by 2030.
That is because the population is ageing, and men are twice as likely as women to die of melanoma due to complacency about sun safety, according to the Cancer Council.
Parents have confronted the NSW Education Minister during a visit to Walgett in the state’s north-west, asking for an intervention into long-term problems at the high school.
Key points:
Walgett Community College in north-west NSW has been plagued by serious problems
The NSW Education Minister visited the outback town to speak with stakeholders
Community members confronted the minister about their concerns about student wellbeing
The group, made up of parents and former students of Walgett Community College, say an independent investigation is critical to finally stop student violence and poor educational outcomes, as well as the constant turnover of principals and staff.
They held up signs with messages including “United Walgett stands, divided Walgett fails” and “Lack of knowledge, bypass this college.”
Community members also want changes to zoning rules to allow their children to attend other schools.
‘Viciously assaulted’ at school
Parent Lisa Smith became emotional as she told the ABC about her experiences at the outback school.
The parents called for an end to the Education Department’s Connected Communities program.(ABC News: Olivia Ralph)
She said her 13-year-old daughter had been “viciously assaulted in the schoolyard by another child” before a video of the incident was posted on social media.
Ms Smith said her other 14-year-old daughter’s mental health has suffered severely after attending the school, and that she was “heartbroken” after being forced to send her seven hours away to be educated elsewhere.
“We went to visit family … and my 14-year-old told me if I bring her back to this school she will hurt herself or kill herself,” she said.
“I now don’t have my daughter in my care because she cannot go to school here.”
She felt her children were not safe at the high school, and wanted urgent support for Walgett children.
“The majority of people in this town send their children to boarding school because they can’t risk their children’s safety,” Ms Smith said.
“I am over being told my daughter is resilient. I know she is.
“She shouldn’t have to be resilient to attend school and get an education. When is this going to stop?”
Videos of students fighting at Walgett Community College have been circulated on social media.(Supplied)
Low enrollment numbers
More than 5,000 people live in the Walgett local government area in the state’s north-west but only 119 enrolled at the high school last year.
NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell speaks to protesters outside Walgett Community College.(ABC News: Olivia Ralph)
Only 3 per cent of those students attended school at least 90 per cent of the time, and just four students completed Year 12 in 2020.
NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell held a closed meeting with Department of Education staff and stakeholders Wednesday evening, which was followed by a meeting with four community members.
Ms Mitchell spoke with the small group of protesters outside the school about their concerns and planned to meet with police and the local council today.
Going to school ‘traumatic’
Former student Felicity Forbes attended the community meeting to tell the minister what it was like to live through a “lockdown” triggered by violence at Walgett Community College.
Former Walgett student Felicity Forbes says she wants the cycle of violence she experienced to stop.(ABC News: Olivia Ralph)
The 16-year-old has been studying at home via distance education after leaving the school due to the negative impact on her mental health.
“Within the first week of Year 7, I experienced my first panic attack,” Felicity said.
“A student grabbed a stick and smashed through glass to get to another student.”
The student spoke to Ms Mitchell directly at the protest, asking her to let her travel the 150-kilometre round trip to attend high school at Lightning Ridge, after her application was rejected in May.
“Studying at home is isolating,” she told the ABC afterwards.
“I’ve definitely fallen into some kind of depression a couple of times because I’m not talking to anyone.
“I’m alone by myself. I’ve lost connection with all my friends.”
Bec Trindall says her daughter Felicity still suffers from anxiety and depression after attending Walgett.(ABC News: Olivia Ralph)
Felicity added that she and her sister could not do the work they were given when first starting distance education “because it was stuff we haven’t even learned because this school hasn’t taught us”.
The teenager said children deserved to feel safe at school.
“No kid should go through this on an almost daily basis because that’s just traumatic,” Felicity said.
“You don’t want to put any fear in a kid that they could be hurt.”
Minister gives reassurances
Minister Sarah Mitchell reassured the community that she was invested in their children’s future, and came to talk to them directly so she could understand the issues.
“I know there’s a long history at the school,” she said.
“I know there’s many views in the community about what’s working and what’s not working.”
Traumatized students are leaving school to learn from home or leave town altogether.(ABC Western Plains: Lucy Thackray)
Strengthening TAFE’s partnership with the school to improve employment prospects and student engagement was among options the minister was exploring.
“I’ll be catching up with some of my colleagues about my visit next week and thinking about how we can make some of the things people are asking for come to a fruition,” Ms Mitchell said.
“I certainly gave an undertaking to everybody I caught up with yesterday that we’ll be back in touch and continue to work with them and see what we can do in terms of some of the improvement and suggestions put forward.”
The protesters wait outside Walgett Community College as the minister meets stakeholders inside.(ABC News: Olivia Ralph)
An aged care advocate wants the federal government to support facilities in rural and remote areas to have registered nurses, rather than giving them an exemption to the requirement.
Key points:
Proposed aged care reforms would mean registered nurses would need to be in aged care facilities at all times
Rural aged care facilities want more information about how exemptions will be applied
Many rural facilities are finding it difficult to recruit staff
Labor’s aged care reforms include a requirement for there to be a registered nurse (RN) on-site at aged care facilities at all times, but there will be exemptions for rural facilities that are unable to find staff.
Charles Sturt University academic Maree Bernoth acknowledged the regional workforce shortages but said the government was taking an “easy” option.
“Our older people in rural areas deserve the same standards of care as everywhere else,” Dr Bernoth said.
Maree Bernoth wants a long-term strategy to recruit and retain nurses in aged care.(ABC Riverina: Emily Doak)
“We shouldn’t be looking for a lesser standard or a lesser qualification of people working with our rural older people than is available in metropolitan areas.”
A Senate committee is considering the proposed legislation for 24-7 registered nursing in aged care and will report back at the end of August.
Paul Sadler of the Aged and Community Care Association said exemptions were necessary, particularly for facilities in rural and regional areas.
Paul Sadler from the Aged and Community Care Providers Association is lobbying for clarity around exemptions.(Source: Paul Sadler Twitter)
“In particular we don’t want the process of making it mandatory to have a registered nurse 24-7 mean at the end of the day that small aged care homes in country towns have to close because they fail to do that,” Mr Sadler said.
RNs ‘like hen’s teeth’
At Hillston in south western NSW, the community-run aged care facility has first-hand experience of the challenges in recruiting a registered nurse.
Board member John McKeon said the first registered nurse for the 18-bed facility was employed last year after but finding her somewhere to live was also a problem.
“It’s very hard to get accommodation for people, especially out of town people,” Mr McKeon said.
“The manager we have now has to live in a caravan park which is far from satisfactory.
“It’s almost double the cost to have a nurse on your staff as it is a standard care worker, if we need to have more than one nurse it’s going to cost a lot more money and we would struggle without government assistance.”
It is a similar story at Coleambally, also in southern NSW, where the not-for-profit aged care home provides 18 beds for full-time residents and one for respite service.
Manager of Cypress View Lodge at Coleambally, Karen Hodgson is calling for more detail about the aged care reforms.(Supplied: Karen Hodgson)
Manager Karen Hodgson said she was lucky to have two part-time registered nurses.
“Registered nurses are just like hen’s teeth, they’re just not out there, they’re certainly not in our community but they are not even the wider community,” she said.
Concern for the future
Ms Hodgson said there had been no detail about how the proposed exemptions to the aged care reforms would be applied.
“We just want to keep providing the excellent care that we do but I worry about these 19 people; what’s going to happen to them,” she said.
“We run here so that the elderly in our community can stay here, so that they don’t have to go to the nearest town, which is 50 minutes away… My concern is where do they go if we shut our doors? “
Dr Bernoth said long-term strategies were needed to tackle the underlying problem of workforce shortages.
“In our smaller centers we need to think about reliability and certainty of employment, accommodation once they’re there, and a career pathway for them,” Dr Bernoth said.
“I would suggest we think of a another model … where a team of registered nurses might be able to move around a number of smaller facilities.”
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