A long-haul outback bus service has been set up in northern western Australia to give rural communities access to food and healthcare.
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00:00Andrew Shandley starts the day early. He's got a 300 kilometre drive down rugged roads
00:12ahead of him.
00:13Well, actually I've got to start the bus up, just to get it up and then head out to Ngalangaji,
00:20pick them people up. Let's rock and roll.
00:24Today he'll be doing two return trips to the edge of the Great Sandy Desert, so that remote
00:29residents can spend the day in town. Each week, Mr Shandley visits 20 communities scattered
00:35around the Fitzroy Valley, dodging cattle and floodwaters as he goes.
00:39Being in this country for so long, I know west, east, north, south part of the country.
00:48The bus service was started late last year by the local Murrawarawara Corporation. It's
00:53something locals have been asking for for years.
00:56A lot of people don't have their own individual cars, fuel is only getting more and more expensive
01:02and these communities are really far away, they're really spread out.
01:09We're here at Ngalangaji at the moment, so the people want to get into town and the service
01:14is really good and the people love it.
01:17Ngalangaji is home to around 100 people.
01:20My family will be hopping on today for shopping. We don't have a shop here in this little community,
01:28that's why we all go to town. We get ready every Tuesday morning and wait for Andrew.
01:37The nearest shop is at another community a further 80 kilometres down the dusty road,
01:42so a trip to Fitzroy Crossing, where there's a cheaper supermarket, is the preferred option.
01:50When we get to town, there's groceries to be done and mail to collect, but also medical
01:55and Centrelink appointments, meaning the trip ticks a lot of boxes when it comes to closing
02:00the gap targets.
02:01This bus service isn't just convenient, it's really necessary, because it's not just people
02:06coming in to go to the shops, which is necessary, food is so necessary, it's going to the hospital
02:11as well, so we have a lot of people in communities and this could be their only ride into town
02:17for the whole week.
02:19Over the years there's been the occasional flare-up of political debate about whether
02:23it's worth the extra effort and money to sustain the hundreds of remote Aboriginal communities
02:27scattered across Australia, and there's no doubt the isolation can be challenging. But
02:32the reality is that the communities receive relatively little government funding, most
02:37is funnelled into townships, and residents insist that their families are healthier,
02:42happier and safer living out on country.
02:45They love this community, that's why they're out here. If they're in town, that's where
02:49the problem is, no? Sorry to say.
02:52After several hours of shopping and errands, it's home time.
02:56Andrew Shandley has been driving buses in this area for almost 30 years. He says there's
03:01no job he'd rather do, and no place he'd rather live.
03:06Where I stay, oh it's so peaceful. You know, you can see the dingoes coming past you, horses
03:12coming past you, cattle coming past you, which is good. And that's what it's all about, enjoying life.
03:19A simple bus ride, helping solve complex problems.