We set off early on our drive out from Adelaide to Murray Bridge, a town of 17,000 people near the mouth of the Murray River. Water - or the lack of it - is a hot topic in this area and the stresses on families are evident, and growing with the drought.

Warmly welcomed by the Deputy Major of Murray Bridge, Mr Bob England, I was offered his chair in Council Chambers as we gathered together with a group of active and committed local residents, from small business, government and health services and community organisations. Many issues and challenges were presented to me. So were solutions. A number of themes emerged.

Innovative programs to reskill workers who are losing their jobs because of the drought were drawn to our attention. One program called “Jobs Without Water” was proving successful. There was also a program called “mature worker” which was aimed at ensuring workplace culture was amenable to older workers.

The added difficulty people had in combining work and family in rural areas when no family support was available was also highlighted. Childcare was often not available because of geographic isolation. For many women with tertiary education, there was a conflict between supporting the work of the farm and using their education and skills off the farm. Opportunities to work off the farm where limited in some areas. For families fortunate enough to have grandparents nearby, the caring work could be shared around. However for many grandparents, this caused difficulty when they had to take on full time caring roles once again.

The pressure men feel in being the main breadwinner in the family, particularly when they are not in full time, permanent employment is a real emerging theme for me. Many men we met were working in casual employment or on contract where they had no certainty about the continuation of their employment from week to week. With small children and partners not in the paid workforce, they felt significant stress about being the only breadwinner.

With small businesses the main employers in the area, many pointed out that, whilst very supportive of a scheme of paid maternity leave as a basic workplace right, these businesses could not afford the payments themselves. Any scheme would need to be government funded.

The pressure on families is escalating with the impact of the drought - people moving off the land and attempting to retrain. This has lead to an increase in domestic and family violence which is increasing the demand on emergency and interim housing. The women’s shelter has been closed which limits the options for women and children escaping violence in this area. Typically, women are needing to travel to Adelaide, and are often pressured to return to their community because of the need for supports.

Visiting Murray Bridge demonstrated that in many ways the struggles of regional and rural Australia are in many ways greater than in metropolitan areas. Thanks to all the inspiring people who contributed to our learning today.

Liz