COUNCIL UPDATE: Councillors are asked about how to handle falling real income with exploding costs and service expectations; as locals are urged to comment on upcoming budget; with Macquarie Park closed for major events to assist its rehabilitation.
The federal budget was billed as the most ambitious and important in decades, but rural Australians say critical gaps outside the cities did not get a look-in.
Australia's treasured Medicare system is not fit-for-purpose outside major cities, with rural patients disadvantaged and "invisible", an inquiry has been told.
An ineffective and unchecked payment scheme for doctors who prop up the rural health system has led to a $1.3 billion budget blow out, an audit has found.
