Both the rate and type of change occurring in rural areas of Australia has implications for older people living in those areas which are often poorly understood. There are many stereotypes about what it means to be an older person in a rural area. Policies, planning and service delivery in relation to older people living in small rural communities are often based on metropolitan or regional centre orientated models which are neither appropriate nor effective.

This paper explores a number of key issues using four case study communities based on Local Government Areas (LGA's) - two coastal areas - Maclean and Nambucca; and two inland areas - Glen Innes and Severn treated as one area (Severn is a 'doughnut' LGA surrounding Glen Innes municipality) and Gilgandra (Map 1).

Within Australia there is a wide variation amongst communities with differences in population size, demographic characteristics and service functions. Olfert and Weinand (1997) used 'Central Place Theory' to classify all the urban centres in NSW, with a 1991 Census population of more than 200 people, into six categories. In this paper small communities are considered to be those which Olfert and Weinand classified as the two lowest levels in their hierarchy, Level 5 - full convenience centres (40 centres in NSW) and Level 6 - minimum convenience centres (295 centres in NSW).

Olfert and Weinand (1997) identified important differences in the geographic distributions of communities between inland and coastal areas. In NSW the density of settlement is far greater in coastal areas than in inland areas. They found that overall in Level 5 and Level 6 communities:

Olfert and Weinand also noted the significant differences in population growth, population decline and numbers of communities in each category between inland and coastal areas.

The four sample areas incorporate urban areas classified as either Level 5 or Level 6 communities.

Figure 1 - Inland Communities

Figure 2 - Coastal Communities

It can be seen that in the two coastal areas there is higher than State average population growth and the proportion of the population in the 65+ age group is well above the State average. Both areas have become popular as retirement destinations. In contrast the two inland areas experienced population decline, yet the proportion of population in the 65+ age group is also above the State average. This is the result of out-migration from these communities of those in younger age categories.

The 1991 Population Census data on incomes in the four areas indicates that of the total population approximately half had incomes of $12 000 or less, however, for people aged 65 years and over three quarters had incomes of $12 000 or less. This suggests that as the proportion of older people in the total population increases in small rural communities the median income level within those communities is likely to decrease.

The reasons for the decline in many rural communities, particularly those inland, can be attributed to technological change and economic restructuring. This is not a recent trend but has been progressive,occurring over many decades. For example in the past 40 years the national farm population has fallen by around 32 000 (Taylor 1992). The improvement in communication, road infrastructure and vehicles has enabled the establishment and growth of regional centres. Regional centres are sometimes referred to as sponge cities as a major part of their growth is as a direct result of the decline of the smaller towns within their region of influence.

Collits and Gastin (1996) identified the "double whammy" economic restructuring had delivered to small towns.

When communities lose population, they lose service functions and, in turn, the lack of employment opportunities in the service sector in these communities means the further loss of population in the younger age groups. There are significant implications from these changes which flow on to the quality of life for older people. Family networks and support systems are disrupted when the young move away from the community.

These trends are accelerating at the same time as there is a move back to assumptions that 'the family' can take on responsibilities of care for its members. In reality in rural areas the burden on families for the care of frail older members is falling on the spouse and those few family members who may continue to live locally. Yet, even when they live locally, members of the extended family are often not as available to offer support as they may have been in the past (Stayner and Foskey 1997).

At the same time as family resources are decreasing in small communities, so are the resources to provide voluntary community based support. The phrase "loss of intellectual capital" (Collits and Gaston 1996) referred to the loss from the community of many of those people who performed important functions, not only in their paid professional roles, but also through their involvement in community organisations and personal networks. Small communities now have fewer 'spiralists' (Oxley, 1978) i.e. those people who may spend a few years in a small community as part of their career progression (bank staff, teachers, local government professionals, public servants, health professionals etc). Those spiralists who do remain are increasingly on short-term contracts which reduces the degree to which they become involved in the local community (Davies 1998).

There are multiplying and often competing demands on active members of the community to undertake multiple roles, including the maintenance of community functions crucial to information dissemination and community cohesion. Many services which are the responsibility of paid employees in larger centres are dependent on volunteers in small communities. In focus groups held with older people in four rural communities, Scone, Gilgandra, Glen Innes and Nambucca, many indicated that they were feeling overburdened with both the level and complexity of the demands associated with the maintenance of local volunteer dependent services (Stayner and Foskey 1997). At the same time younger community members, in particular, focus their community involvement increasingly upon 'communities of interest' rather than 'community in place' (Searle and Searle, 1997). In a recent survey of young farm leaders (Farm Journal, May 1998) a high proportion were unable to say if local community facilities were adequate, which suggests that the activities of these farm sector leaders' are less focussed more on 'communities of interest' than on 'communities in place'.

Along with the loss of employment in small communities is the loss of income into the community. Local business is lost when people travel outside the community to access government, medical and financial services once obtained locally. Businesses are often struggling to maintain commercial viability on a declining customer base. Local government authorities are often already struggling to maintain an adequate level of basic services on a declining ratepayer base. As highlighted in Section 1 (above) the income of small communities is likely to decrease where the proportion of those in retirement years (65 years and over) increases.

This loss of income into the community flows beyond the economic life of the community into other areas. For example many churches in small communities are losing their full time ministers as they can no longer afford to pay them because of declining and ageing local congregations who are on low incomes. In Glen Innes one church is expected to lose its minister once the incumbent minister retires, and this year another church has retained its minister only because he took a substantial pay cut. Religious leaders play a crucial role in small communities extending far beyond the Sunday sermon, particularly in provision of emotional support and counselling. The loss of full-time ministry in rural areas has significant long term implications for the social well-being of these small communities.

Structural and economic change, therefore, means that small communities in decline are going to have an greater dependence over time on outside resources for the provision of services. It also means that small communities will often have difficulty meeting imposed service standards, as is already occurring in the case of residential aged care services. The smaller residential care facilities are having great difficulty in maintaining financial viability under the recent changes in funding arrangements, and in undertaking the processes required for new accreditation standards with limited staff resources. A difficulty arises when funding for services is based on the assumption that communities can supplement from their own resources the funding and support provided from State or Commonwealth level.

At the same time the trend towards centralisation in regional centres and metropolitan areas rests on assumptions of improved mobility. Roads and vehicles have reduced travel times in many areas. The broader use of personal transport may have brought mobility to some but there is a group of people who are marginalised as a result - those without access to a private vehicle. If one considers the user of the vehicle being predominantly male and aged between 18 and 60 years there is little indication that access to the vehicle by the majority in the community risen to the degree often assumed. Engwicht (1992) calls those without access to a private vehicle 'Access to Exchange Disadvantaged', this group is likely to include disproportionate numbers of older people in rural areas.

The public transport infrastructure is minimal in most rural areas of Australia, and public transport is often not available to required destinations especially regional centres. The problems in accessing a regional centre by public transport from towns within a region is illustrated in relation to north-western NSW and the regional centre of Tamworth (Map 2).

Community transport may be available, but particularly in inland NSW, it is often limited to those who are eligible under the HACC guidelines (frail aged and people with disabilities); and limited in the type of services which are provided, the timing of services, and the purposes for which transport are provided. In smaller rural communities the provision of community transport is largely reliant on volunteers and these volunteers are usually older people.

In aged care discussions and policies there is rhetoric about enabling people to 'age in place'. In declining rural communities many older people often have both economic and emotional ties to place that make moving an unacceptable or unviable option. In some cases people are 'locked' in place as they cannot afford to move to a larger centre closer to services because of the declining value of property.

There is a high proportion of older people amongst Australian farmers. There has been some focus on assisting farmers with the transition from farming into retirement. However, to date the focus has been on financial aspects of retirement planning (e.g. the Retirement Assistance for Farmers Scheme) and on inter-generational family issues associated with succession planning. This focus has meant that insufficient attention has been given to important issues associated with farmers' fear and experience of ageing, change of identity, and attachment to place.

There is some evidence (e.g. Kaine, Crosby and Stayner, 1997 Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry New Zealand, 1998) that farmers associate retirement with assumptions of worthlessness and dependency. Many land holders centre their sense of identity around their land and working life on that land as illustrated by a quote from a farmer respondent in a study on succession by Kaine et al., (1997):

This point is reinforced by Read (1996) in a case study of an older couple leaving the farm which had been transferred on to their son. The couple described the sense of loss and grief associated with leaving the farm to move into a nearby urban centre, despite the fact that the farm was remaining within the family in a well planned succession process.

4. Retirement communities

There are rural communities, particularly in coastal areas, which are popular retirement destinations. These areas, as in the case of Nambucca and Maclean LGA's (see Table 1) are experiencing population growth, however, this growth is highest among the older age groups. Even within local government areas there is often an imbalance in the growth which is occurring. As an example in Nambucca LGA, the town of Nambucca Heads located on the coast is growing, but at the same time the business and shopping centre in Macksville (located inland and previously the major centre within the LGA) is in decline. Contributing to and resulting from the growth in Nambucca Heads and decline in Macksville is some redistribution of services, particularly government services, within the local government area.

Change in these retirement communities also means that within local government areas the experience and expectations of older people will differ considerably between the long term and recent arrivals. The in-migration of people to communities in their retirement years means that extended family support is usually not available when the need arises for care and support. For an older couple this places the major burden of care on the other partner. It also means that there is a heavy demand on outside services for support and care.

In retirement areas decisions made on housing style and location when people are in their 'third age' or early retirement can result in greater dependence on services for care and support when people move to their 'fourth age' of dependency on others for care. Most coastal retirement communities in NSW are not well serviced by public transport. Whilst people have access to a private vehicle the absence of public transport and location of many services in the regional centre rather than local community do not present a major difficulty. However this does become a major problem when people can no longer drive.

There is a danger of 'aged ghettos' developing in areas with high concentrations of retired people and retirement villages, yet relatively poor access to higher level services. It is doubtful if the planning projections of many retirement destinations have adequately considered the growth in demand for existing services and need for currently non-existing services, as greater proportions of the population move from the 'third age' to the 'fourth age'. At present existing services in retirement areas such as Nambucca are able to draw on a volunteer resource of people in the third age of life, however, as the population ages over the coming years such volunteer resources may well decline at the same time as there is an increase in the level and range of demand for services.

There are important differences within the group classified as 'rural seniors'. The differences between people's economic and social circumstances and life experiences do not disappear on turning a certain age or experiencing certain disabilities, yet services and programs often treat people as if they do. There is also unacknowledged diversity within marginalised groups in rural areas. Convenient labels often serve to obscure these important differences.

Current trends in service delivery to people in rural areas are strengthening the level of disadvantage of many older people who live in these areas. Increasing reliance on communications technology as a primary means of interaction between government, businesses, health and community services and rural people assumes certain levels of literacy and information seeking skills within the community. It also assumes an interest in, and ability to undertake, new learning (eg automatic teller machines).

Reliance on telephone based services means that people without access to a telephone, or unable to use the increasingly complex telephone based information systems are further disadvantaged. Among older people the groups affected include Aboriginal people who have levels of access to a telephone in the home well below the Australian average. In a study of the care needs of older people in the Grafton area of NSW only 63% of the sample had access to a telephone in the home, one-third less than the Australian average of 96% (Foskey, 1997). Even where people on low incomes have access to a telephone in the home some have restricted access, for example local call only. This means that they may not even be able to call services based in the nearest regional centre. Other groups for whom telephone based information or service provision presents difficulties include older people with vision impairment, hearing impairment, people with certain physical disabilities (e.g. as a result of stroke or arthritis) and people with limited literacy skills.

Evaluation of the efficiency of telephone based systems appears to have ignored the consumer's perspective. Service and information providers have tended to overlook those consumers who have been excluded when the telephone is the only way in which services can be accessed. If such people need to access information or services they are forced to rely on formal and informal support networks to undertake contact on their behalf. This has implications for the ability of some older people in rural areas to maintain their independence (Stayner and Foskey, 1997). Information about non-standard telephone service options is not well diffused in rural areas. The Internet still has limited reach among rural seniors, and not all small communities have public access options (Stayner and Foskey 1997)

This paper has highlighted a number of important issues associated with the delivery of services to older people living in rural Australia. It needs to be considered what equity and universal access means in these circumstances. If all people in rural areas are treated equally the results can be inequitable as not all people have the same capacity to engage with systems. Greater attention needs to be given to how services can be effectively delivered to those older people who live outside regional and metropolitan centres.

The implications of a better informed rural client/consumer through access to information via new forms of communications technology, particularly the Internet, are also not well understood. Will such technology strengthen the already existing divisions between different groups and 'classes' of older rural consumers and result in a stark division between the skilled information-rich rural consumer and the information-poor rural consumer? Without adequate consideration and programs targeted to disadvantaged groups this will certainly be the case.

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