Subhead:I travelled to regional Victoria and uncovered shocking conditions facing frontline responders.#
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I travelled to Mansfield in Victoria’s high country following tips that, once the bushfire spotlight fades, regional communities are once again left behind. What I found, alongside Mansfield Shire mayor Steve Rabie, was a confronting snapshot of what he describes as systemic neglect of rural Australia.
Our first stop was the local Ambulance Victoria branch — a completely inadequate facility that’s “supposed to be a station” but is, in reality, a converted two-bedroom flat built more than 60 years ago. Back then, Mansfield had a population of just 1,250. Today, around 30 paramedics service more than 11,000 residents across vast distances from the same cramped building.
Inside, staff described conditions that would be unthinkable in metropolitan Melbourne. “We don’t even have a training room,” one paramedic told me, explaining they’re forced to run sessions in a garage that is “freezing cold in winter and boiling hot in summer.” Sleeping arrangements are equally dire, with workers sometimes forced into makeshift spaces. “There’s often someone who has to sleep in the storeroom,” they said.
The most shocking discovery, however, was the state of the bathroom. Raw sewage had overflowed outside through a drain due to outdated plumbing. “That’s literally raw sewage toilet paper,” one worker said. “It’s horrendous.” Another added the plumber is called out “all the time” to deal with blockages.
