Demographic and social changes in Australia

But small towns can make a difference too. Hyden, an area of just 600 people in Western Australia, asked young people what sort of accommodation they wanted.

The answer was not with Mum and Dad on the farm, nor in a rented house with the landlord hassling them to mow the lawn, but in low maintenance, single person units.

And so they built them, occupied them and have a waiting list.

Now this is not rocket science, but it is hard work. It is about inviting young people to be a valued part of the community, asking what they want and attempting to provide it. It sounds simple, but it is a very different mindset from writing letters in the local paper complaining about the behaviour of the town's youth.

I feel that one of the sources of great pain in rural Australia is the sense of cultural exclusion.

This happens on a practical level, with the refusal of workers to cross the very aptly named Great Dividing Range. Earlier this year I visited Narrabri in northern NSW. It is a very pretty town of 7,000 with an air of modest prosperity. It has a diversified agricultural base, several research institutes, a good hospital and twice daily flights to Sydney.

Last year, the local paper, the Narrabri Courier conducted a survey and found there was a shortage of 118 skilled people, ranging from truck drivers to hydraulic engineers. The Courier itself, after advertising Australia-wide for a printer, finally recruited one from South Africa.

What is happening here? Why are 1.3 million people willing to migrate to the coast where there is higher unemployment, and not to a town as attractive as Narrabri?

I think former Narrabri resident, Dave Anthony put his finger on it. He is deeply frustrated by what he calls the lacklustre, even patronising view of rural Australia from the city, that there has been a failure to talk about the prosperity in the bush, to focus on the country's vibrant communities.

I believe we are seeing a major cultural change in much of rural Australia.

It began with deregulation of the major commodities, the end of government support, and guaranteed minimum prices. Then drought became a business risk farmers must plan for, not an occasion to put their hand out.

Earlier this year then-Deputy Prime Minister, Tim Fischer told farmers to stop whingeing, things were pretty good on the land. He admitted it was a courageous thing for a National Party politician to say, but it was long overdue.