Regional cities

Education it would seem is a staple of a sustainable regional city. Toowoomba is a city that services an enormous catchment through southern and western Queensland and into northern New South Wales. For many people in these rural areas their preference for both education and specialist medical services is Toowoomba rather than Brisbane, whether you are in Inverell, Goondiwindi or Roma. It still services an agricultural industry base but much of this is financial rather than physical, with many rural service industries located in smaller rural towns closer to their customer base.

In this respect Toowoomba acts perhaps more like a capital city rather than just a regional centre and is the focus for many business, commercial, retail and community services. For those who live in south east Queensland, Brisbane may be the major centre but once you get over the 'range' Toowoomba is the capital. It seems the Great Dividing Range is as much a spiritual divide as a physical one.

Legacy is an important issue for places like Mackay. Toowoomba and Bendigo has an range of impressive range of character and heritage buildings and public spaces as a legacy of previous waves of prosperity. What sort of legacy the current resources boom leaves is an important question. It can't be just be a brand new airport.

Wealth generated in these regional towns – Ballarat, Bendigo etc was spent in the towns. Transport and technology at the time of these resource booms meant money was spent locally. Admittedly a good proportion of the wealth generated in Bendigo was spent in Melbourne. Nonetheless a great deal was still spent locally and its effects are felt today in the streets and spaces left behind.

With changes in technology and workforce mobility Mackay, Moranbah, Gladstone etc face a situation where the wealth generated in the region is not creating any sort of legacy for the benefit of the people who live there. Is this acceptable? Where should the money be spent, by whom and how? I am not here to debate this issue, I'm just planting a seed for further discussion. But it's a real issue for many regional towns and cities and it's a discussion we need to have.