The WDC services the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia covering 44 local government authorities with a total population of around 70,000. It objectives include maximising job creation and improving career opportunities in the region developing and broadening the economic base of the region identifying infrastructure services to promote economic and social development within the region seeking to ensure that the general standard of government services and access to those services in the region is comparable to that in the metropolitan area. In this way the WDC provides the region with a voice in the development of government policy and legislation. Banking services Mr Morrison said that the WDC is very interested in communications technology and its potential for addressing some of the problems of access to services faced by rural communities. It has great potential in the area of banking.
Bank branches withdrawn from rural towns are unlikely to be replaced.
The WDC has decided that it would be counter-productive to put all of its energy and resources into lobbying for the retention of bank branches. It is also looking positively at ways of addressing the problems caused by the loss of these facilities. Resources also need to be committed to community education and support programs to help people become more comfortable with alternative forms of banking. Health services Many rural communities within the Wheatbelt region face the problem of scarcity of GPs. Many communities find themselves bidding against each other in their efforts to attract doctors to their area.