Many Queenslanders contribute to their communities by volunteering and caring for people with disabilities, according to a new snapshot of rural and regional Australia.

The 2008 Country Matters: Social Atlas of Rural and Regional Australia was released today by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Tony Burke.

The analysis shows that more than 40 per cent of people in Barcoo, in central Queensland, volunteer for their community. 

“The Atlas shows that many Queenslanders living in rural and regional areas are community-focused and very generous with their time to help others,” Mr Burke said.
 
“In the Pallarenda-Shelly Beach area, near Townsville, the proportion of people who donated time to caring for people with disabilities was more than triple the national average in 2006.

“Rural communities are the backbone of our primary industries and our economy and they are the most resilient in Australia.”

The Atlas also shows:

• the highest levels of labour force participation (more than 85 per cent) in rural Australia occurred in the remote areas of Weipa in north Queensland and Roxby Downs in central South Australia (both with strong mining industries)
• in Queensland, there were very high levels of dependence on agriculture in Taroom in central Queensland (54.7 per cent of total employment) and Waggamba in southern Queensland (50.1 per cent)
• Nebo, Cairns and Surfers Paradise had the highest levels of post-secondary school qualifications in Queensland – 53.8, 56.2 and 64.6 per cent respectively, compared with the Australian average of 52.5 per cent
• remote areas in Queensland with the highest levels of vocational qualifications were Seisia (39 per cent of the population), Kubin (37.2 per cent), Warraber (34.8 per cent) and Weipa (32.8 per cent) and
• Aramac in central western Queensland recorded 100 per cent retention of 16-year-olds in full-time education.

The Atlas, produced by the Bureau of Rural Sciences (BRS), is an online tool that primarily draws on data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ 2006, 2001 and 1996 Population Census.

The Bureau of Rural Sciences is part of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

To use the Atlas online visit www.brs.gov.au/socialatlas.