Budget should recognise potential of rural Australia

Set out for a two minute walk in any small country town around Australia and you're likely to return two hours later.

The people of Kimba, in South Australia's Eyre Peninsula, are hoping the charm of a close-knit community where everyone is up for a chat will help attract their first GP in three years.

The town is doing more than spinning yarns to recruit a local doctor: they've fundraised for a slick new council-owned medical centre, made a catchy social media video and are offering rent-free accommodation.

"We're not a community that just stands with our hand out - we want to contribute and be part of a solution," Mayor Dean Johnson told AAP.

"But we do feel like we're double-taxed. A basic health service is provided to every metropolitan resident, no questions asked.

"The minimum application of our taxes should be for a decent health service, but we're just not getting that."

It's a sentiment felt across regional Australia, as rural voters look to Labor's first comprehensive federal budget to begin to address gaps in healthcare, infrastructure, housing and education.

Ben Lyons, from the University of Southern Queensland's Institute for Resilient Regions, said the government should take an aspirational approach to country Australia when it hands down the budget on May 9.

"Take metropolitan issues and put them in a regional context and they're much more acute: there's much less childcare, much less healthcare, very little aged care, housing is a big issue," Associate Professor Lyons said.

"It's challenging, but the government needs to work towards getting over this regional-metropolitan divide."

Making life better in the bush is more urgent than ever as regional Australia's vast landscape and its industries become the focus of the nation's energy shift.

"The transition from fossil fuels to renewables will only really happen at scale in the regions," Associate Professor Lyons said.

"The government can't take their eye off regional infrastructure projects, especially the large scale ones."

While regions transform into renewable energy hubs, some are building from the ground up as they recover from major floods and fires that ravaged housing, key infrastructure and roads.

The Australian Local Government Association is advocating for a significant boost to road funding, along with an extra $250 million per year over four years to support disaster-declared regional councils rebuild for greater climate resilience.

It is also calling on the government to deliver its election promise to increase financial assistance grants, which provide untied funding for councils.

"The grants are the key mechanism for the Labor Government to show confidence in regional Australia," the association's president Linda Scott said.

"For councils on the north coast it allows them to invest in communities to support rebuilding after the floods, or on the south coast it may allow them to retrofit surf clubs to serve as evacuation centres in the case of future bushfires.

"In Western Australia, it supports councils investing in housing to accommodate regional and remote populations."

The Regional Australia Institute, a country-focused think tank, is chasing a population policy that would see the regions grow to 11 million people by the end of 2032, a move it says would add $13.8 billion to the GDP.

To achieve balanced growth between the cities and regions, the institute says the government should expand migrant workforce programs, back regional innovation and fund localised vocational and university education models.

But as the regional population grows, those people will need quality care.

The Rural Doctors Association says measures to make general practices financially secure are essential for a sustainable medical workforce, as well as more junior doctor training places in rural areas.

Chief executive Peta Rutherford said Labor's commitment to $750 million to strengthen Medicare in its October mini budget was welcome, but it should address how and where that money is being spent.

"What we're looking for is not necessarily an announcement of massive reform, but some direction over the next two years and into the future," Ms Rutherford said.

"It's important for rural voters to understand this government has a vision beyond the next election."