This report considers changes in country communities and how this effects policing services. It argues that if police are to be viewed by their community as the primary problem solvers, they must have the skills to fulfil the expectations of their community. This requires country police to be more skilled and professional than ever before.

This paper reviews the history of fire and bushfire in Australia, including the debate on bushfire hazard reduction burning. It outlines the provisions of the Rural Fire Service Act 1997, and provides a comprehensive summary of the fires which occurred in NSW during the 2001-2002 fire season. It is self evident that bushfires occur during...

Discussions of rural communities often attribute values or images to them that imply their intrinsic 'goodness'. Such attribution of value is reminiscent of the ideals which farming is often held to enshrine, and which has been called 'agricultural fundamentalism': the notion that the occupation and way of life of farming are inherently superior to other...

This was one of the first country-wide reports to recommend ways of improving access to high quality schooling in rural areas of Australia. Tabled in 1988, this is the first time a digitised version of this report, known as the 'Boomer report', has been made publically available. The report was produced by the now-abolished Commonwealth...