There is a fantastic volunteer commitment in communities but this is slowly dying - some volunteers today should be clients. There is no base of young volunteers coming through as young people leave towns. There are problems with disability access to heritage buildings. Police will only attend major emergencies. For example, they refused to come to a problem last week at Wingen hall.
Mobile phones are also unreliable.
For example, there was an accident at Dingo Gate last week where help had to be called through the bushfire radio network. Concern was expressed about the amalgamation of local fire brigades. The 000 number is now centralised in 2 call centres, Sydney and Melbourne. The lack of police leaves people insecure, especially old people. The police station has been downgraded so that it only operates during the daytime.