Plus a mother’s mission and a nurse you can trust. Welcome to Galah Weekly, our award-winning newsletter keeping you up to date with regional headlines that matter, plus other delightful things from life beyond the city. By Dean Southwell, who thinks we don’t value nurses enough.
Abortion is legal in every state yet GPs and reproductive rights advocates say it faces an “unspoken ban”, while opponents appear to be laying the groundwork for a new fight on the issue.
An ABC investigation has cited the case of a woman whose scheduled termination at Queanbeyan Hospital was cancelled, highlighting concerns of GPs about the provision of abortion services. The hospital has since stopped providing surgical abortions for fetal anomalies and medical reasons.
The investigation has found systemic failures or obstruction deny women access to legal reproductive healthcare across rural and regional centres.
Meanwhile, Women’s Health Victoria says regional women are almost twice as likely as their urban sisters to seek abortions after 12 weeks’ gestation, largely because they have to wait up to four weeks for a GP appointment.
Why does it matter now? The 2022 US Supreme Court decision to overturn the historic Roe v Wade decision opened the door for American states to ban abortions, and inspired abortion opponents here, too. The debate is front and centre of the US presidential campaign that reaches its conclusion next week.
Legal access in Australia is increasingly under siege politically, with a recent attempt to overturn late-term abortions in SA just an example.
The issue became a late hot topic in the recent Qld election. New Qld premier David Chrisafulli has repeatedly said he would not overturn the state’s laws, though that might be tested because he has previously said he wanted a conscience vote.
You probably hear enough from politicians, so Galah took one for the team and listened to a post-election interview with Katter’s Australian Party’s Rob Katter, who said he still wanted to see a repeal or amendments to the legislation tested in the new parliament.
Why else does the US election matter here? There’s a lot more at play than abortion rights. Regional Australia’s obvious stake in agriculture and exports alone is a good reason to keep an eye on the US result.
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A remote-area nurse showed the way to build trust during the Covid pandemic when all around her people were losing faith in leaders, experts and vaccines.
The anonymous nurse was singled out briefly as a lesson for future community engagement in a major report on Australia’s response to Covid released this week, which lamented a widespread breakdown of trust.
Authors of the 877-page federal government-commissioned report were told how the Royal Flying Doctors Service nurse built relationships with residents at an NT community event.
The nurse was quizzed by a man who later revealed he was a local football coach on a mission to learn about Covid vaccines on behalf of his players. The next day, apparently satisfied with the information he’d gathered, the coach returned with the whole football team ready to be vaccinated.
Trust in that nurse bucked the trend. The report said Australia’s response to Covid was one of the best in the world, yet questionable state lockdowns and a lack of consistency across borders caused a breakdown in community trust. This means it will be harder to fight the inevitable next pandemic.
The federal government will establish a Centre for Disease Control as part of its response.
The demand for beer is a reliable barometer of the success of the grain harvest in the tiny town of Mungindi, straddling the NSW-Qld border. This year is one of the best.
Ellie Christensen said her family’s pub usually sells about six kegs of beer a week. This year they’re going through more than 35 a week and have had to increase staff from the usual four to about 12.
The grain harvest is doing more than passing the beer test. NSW expects grain and oilseeds production to be up 30% this year, while the national harvest is also up slightly, although hit by frosts in the south.
Nancy Murdock believes she was put on Earth to help people: "That's my role and I just keep doing it." Last week the octogenarian cancer survivor took part in her 17th Cancer Council Relay For Life in the SA river town of Renmark.
She decided it would be her last after an involvement that has included serving on the Riverland relay’s organising committee for 13 years.
Not every organisation is as blessed with volunteers as the Cancer Council. A decline in the number of volunteers has triggered the demise of community events that are the lifeblood of regional towns. The Qld Banana Shire town of Theodore is one, and a lack of volunteers for the town’s annual show means there’ll be no 2025 event.
Volunteering Australia said the problem of declining volunteer numbers was largely a flow-on effect of the cost-of-living crunch.
It’s not an easy conversation, but we’d still like to hear your views on the abortion debate. It took decades to get laws changed to give women access to safe, legalised abortion, but do you think the system still works against it? Let us know your thoughts.
No, we’re not turning to clickbait to drive up numbers. Galah Issue 11 – the Pleasure issue – will land in subscribers’ mailboxes early this month, and in it we’re talking frankly about sex in country towns, sex when you’re older and sex where everyone knows everyone’s business.
If you prefer, we could just talk about the weather. There’s only one thing that animates farmers more than weather and that’s who forecasts it. Find out why Australian farmers are turning to Norway – of all places – for their weather reports.
All subscribers to Galah magazine on 10 November 2024 will be in the running to win $1500 to put towards a rug of their choice from The Rug Shop. Located in Bangalow, NSW, The Rug Shop is Australia’s top family-owned online Persian rug dealer, focused on sourcing the most sustainable and durable handwoven rugs.
Editor-in-chief Annabelle says we’ll be ready to launch the 2025 Galah Regional Photography Prize this month, culminating in an eight-week exhibition at the New England Regional Art Museum in Armidale.
Galah created the prize, which awards $25,000 to the winner, to encourage excellence in contemporary photography from regional Australia.
We featured an image by inaugural prize winner Adam Ferguson in last week’s newsletter. Stand by for more details on the 2025 prize soon.
Bundanon Art Museum on the NSW south coast is hosting free events this weekend to celebrate its new exhibition. Bagan bariwariganya: echoes of country has been created by Walbunja/Ngarigo artist Aunty Cheryl Davison, Gweagal/Wandiwandian artist Aunty Julie Freeman and Wiradyuri/Kamilaroi artist Jonathan Jones. The collaboration celebrates local stories and upholds Aboriginal values and kinships. Bundanon Art Museum, Illaroo, until 9 February. Read more
Albury landscape artist Nat Ward’s draws on the Murray River and surrounds as inspiration for her work. She’s also an active member of the Murray region Alliance Francaise, an organisation that promotes French language and culture. This exhibition explores the connection between Noreuil Park in Albury and the village of Noreuil in France. Murray Art Museum Albury, until 19 January. Read more
Latrobe Regional Gallery is showcasing pastoral scenes from its permanent collection and in works by invited Gippsland artists. Pastoral Vistas: Colours of the Countryside celebrates rural landscapes as well as agricultural practices that take place on pastoral plains. Latrobe Regional Gallery, Morwell, Vic, 15 November-16 March. Read more
Three very Australian characters will spearhead the next stage of Kate Mitchell’s mission to support and improve health access for children and parents in the regions.
Mitchell is a teacher in WA with a background in health and physical education. Next Saturday, 9 November, she’ll be at Perth Zoo to launch Fangs on the Farm, a nine-minute animation aiming to teach children basic first-aid skills.
Mitchell established The Darcy Effect after her own near-tragic medical emergency two years ago on the family sheep farm at Narrikup, south-east of Albany. It aims to provide information, support first-aid training and develop a health-service hub. The Darcy Effect has been sending “care packs” to families as far away as Qld who have needed to travel to access health services away from home. Mitchell, her husband Matt and children Harry, Grace and Darcy, now four, moved off the farm to Albany to be closer to the health services that Darcy needs.
Why did you start The Darcy Effect?
In 2022 we found Darcy, who was then just 16 months old, on the floor. He was blue and frothing at the mouth from a seizure and I had to perform CPR. We eventually found Darcy had a form of epilepsy that caused the seizures. I was stuck in a hospital with him during Covid and realised there were so many other people like me who had no quick access to medical help. That experience and the fact I saw so many people who didn’t really have even a basic knowledge of first-aid inspired me to do something about it.
Tell us about Fangs On The Farm.
Fangs On The Farm is the pilot episode of an animated series featuring characters Darcy Dingo, Gracie Gecko, and Harry Hopperoo — they’re named after my children and their characters are reflected in them. These characters help children learn about first-aid and handle tricky situations in a relatable and relevant context.
Who did you work with on it?
I was lucky to collaborate with some great people. One was actor-director Bec Bignall. Both of us were in south-west WA. Bec grew up in Kojonup, I was in Hyden and we went to boarding school together in Perth.
What do you want to achieve with it?
This is just the pilot episode. Hopefully we can get someone to take it up and fund a full series. We think it’s the sort of thing that can help teach kids everywhere, even in the city, some pretty basic skills.
How is Darcy now?
Darcy has just turned four and has been seizure-free for 12 months, which is great. We have check-ups every three months and have a great neurologist here. He still asks to go “home” to the farm every day.
A miner and a farmer on opposite sides of the country have gone to enormous lengths to persuade their future brides to say “yes”.
Mount Isa miner Sean Clement dropped to the knee 1600m down Australia’s deepest copper mine to propose to his bride-to-be, Missy Rapana. The underground truck driver said she had no idea what was to come when she was asked to drive across the mine.
WA grain farmer Mitchell Thomson made a massive gesture to propose to partner Sharnee Weaver. The question "Will U marry me?" was sprayed across a 40ha paddock on his South Stirling property, visible only from the air, although it can be seen for kilometres. There was a part-failure on the first “test” run. A second paddock bearing the same message wasn’t used for the proposal because a couple of letters didn’t quite work.
We’d love to hear about the news, events and people that should be making the headlines in the Galah Weekly newsletter. Share what’s new(s) in your neck of the woods with us at newsie@galahpress.com
