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INNOVATION IN PRACTICE
Is geography a missing slice in the diversity pie?
By Julia Spicer OAM Australia is a known world leader in diversity and inclusion after decades of effort to achieve balance in how we run this country. Geographical representation for our regional-rural population, however, is one of the big final omissions.
its. Brisbane, for instance, has a very different cul- ture and set of priorities compared to Logan, only a 30-minute drive away. So why should it be any different in the country? As of 2024, nearly ten million people live outside our major cities - roughly 40 per cent of the nation. For such a vast and varied population, it’s risky - and frankly, lazy - to assume they all want the same thing, vote the same way, or live the same kind of life.
There’s a tendency in city circles to talk about “the regions” as if it’s one big, homogenous place - a single electorate with one shared set of values, one type of person, one predictable voting pattern. But anyone who’s spent more than five minutes west of the Great Dividing Range knows that couldn’t be further from the truth. We see this reality in the city, where suburbs just a few kilometres apart can have completely different values, income brackets, and voting hab-
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