Castlemaine’s Issues
Australia combines several regional areas that represent a lot of rural territories that vary depending on their purposes. Some of them are focused on land management, others on information gathering, etc. Castlemaine is one of the well-known regions in Victoria, Australia. This small city is prominent for its history of the rich gold rush. However, today gold mines are not operating, and this place starts to attract people with its growing reputation as an eclectic art scene and a producer of wines and fresh foods.
Unfortunately, today many regional areas in Australia require improvement because of the issues they face, and Castlemaine is not an exception. This city has rather high housing prices, which has an adverse effect on the population. Mainly, this problem is critical for the youth and elderly because they are the most vulnerable population that does not earn enough money to afford a house they want without any financial support provided by relatives. Those individuals who obtain low-income often turn out to be not able to afford even a modest house (Bryant & Pini 2009). However, they are bought by those who come from Melbourne and other bigger cities, which makes Castlemaine’s population even more deprived and priced out.
Another issue faced by this regional territory is the lack of sporting facilities. They are not considered as one of the top priorities, so people are not encouraged to participate in them. As a result, they do not know how to spend their free time, and many of them ended up being unemployed and addicted to drugs. In addition to that, many individuals have health issues that may be overcome or at least prevented for some period of time if they get engaged in sports. However, those sporting facilities that already exist in the city are claimed to be its disgrace. In the majority of cases, young people are affected by this problem, as they have a lot of energy but are not sure what to do with it.
Tourism used to provide the city with large amounts of money, but it is not that expended already. Many sightseeing attractions require refurbishing that is not yet maintained (Hinchliffe 2016).
Ways to Improve Current Situation
Taking into consideration the information discussed earlier, it becomes clear that there is a necessity to implement a range of initiatives in order to improve regional Australia, and Castlemaine, in particular. First of all, the government should pay attention to housing issues because they are extremely critical for the population. The representatives of the general public should be able to afford appropriate apartments so that the quality of their life improves. In this framework, it can be rather advantageous to encourage those people who work in mining towns, such as Castlemaine, to bring their families with them. In this way, the city is likely to streamline its development, and the citizens can become more active. As a result, the enhancement of their participation in the local decision-making process should be observed (O’Toole & Burdess 2005, p. 242). Such alteration will be beneficial for the population because they will improve relations with the government, which tend to have a positive influence on the implementation of initiatives that meet people’s demands and desires.
It is vital to make healthcare services easy to obtain so that the health condition of the city improves. Along with the increased activity of citizens, issues connected with drug use are likely to be resolved. What is more, initiatives can be implemented to enhance the awareness of health issues and mental illnesses among the schoolchildren. As a result, the population will have a better knowledge of different diseases and ways to prevent them. They will also know the sights of critical illnesses, so they will be able to consult a doctor before it is too late. Money should be allocated to the construction of swimming pools and gymnasiums that can be used by the general public. In this way, people will have more opportunities to get engaged in sports, which will also have a positive influence on their health (Blood 2016). In order to increase the number of health professionals, Castlemaine should become an attractive place for newcomers.
Tourism is significant for Castlemaine because the money obtained with its help are spent on different areas, including rural ones. It will be advantageous for the country to consider the construction of new attractions and renovation of those that already exist so that they become interesting for foreigners again. It is possible to consider the different population in this framework, and prepare some sights for dark and wild-life tourism as well (Dufty-Jones & Connell 2014). What is more, attention can be paid to festivals. Many people travel to different countries just to attend various festivals in community settings. Considering the improvement of the International Troia Festival’s program can be rather beneficial in this perspective (Duran 2013).
Social benefits can be provided to increase opportunities for various populations (Blood 2016). Being involved in competitive sports, people can share a sense of integrity regardless of the fact that they represent a diverse population. The opportunities for the youth are likely to increase, and women can obtain a chance to get leadership roles that are mainly occupied by men. If children have a decent place for play and sport, they are likely to increase Castlemaine’s changes to develop high performing athletes and become known to more people.
As life in Castlemaine becomes better, the increased number of tourists is likely to have a desire to stay in the city (Laing & Frost 2013). It is rather advantageous because new arrivals are likely to give Castlemaine a change to streamline its development and enhance performance (Carrington & Marshall 2008). Focus on agricultural opportunities and other areas that become influenced nowadays (including foods and beverages) is expected to give the city a great chance to take a step forward (Lockie & Bourke 2001). The initiative can start with educational alterations. For instance, urban students can be encouraged to come to rural Australia to obtain an education that is connected with the professions, which is significant for the area. They can be ensured of a high possibility to get employed right after graduation due to the lack of workforce. Similar to this initiative can be the idea of keeping teachers in the city (Atkins 2012). As it develops, more professionals are needed to meet the needs of the population. Thus, it is critical to have enough experienced educators who can work with local learners and those who came from foreign countries. In this way, the opportunities for immigrants to become a part of the regional workforce should increase.
Reference List
Atkins, J 2012, Nine ways to improve regional Australia for young people. Web.
Blood, G 2016, Sport in Rural and Regional Australia. Web.
Bryant, L & Pini, B 2009, ‘Gender, class and rurality: Australian case studies’, Journal of Rural Studies, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 48-57.
Carrington, K & Marshall, N 2008, ‘Building multicultural social capital in regional Australia’, Rural Society, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 117-130.
Dufty-Jones, R & Connell, J 2014, Rural change in Australia, Ashgate, Farnham.
Duran, E 2013, ‘A SWOT analysis on sustainability of festivals: the case of International Troia Festival’, The Journal of International Social Research, vol. 6, no. 28, pp. 72-80.
Hinchliffe, J 2016, Housing affordability, lack of sporting facilities among top priorities in Castlemaine ahead of federal election. Web.
Laing, J & Frost, W 2013, ‘Food, wine… Heritage, identity? Two case studies of Italian diaspora festivals in regional Victoria’, Tourism Analysis, vol. 18, pp. 323-334.
Lockie, S & Bourke, L 2001, Rurality bites, Pluto Press, London.
O’Toole, K & Burdess, N 2005, ‘Governance at community level: small towns in rural Victoria’, Australian Journal of Political Science, vol. 40, no. 2, pp. 239-254.