Australia is a great place to live if you are white, you are employed in a well-paying job and you live in close proximity to the coast.

It ceases to be the lucky country if you are black – or a member of another marginalised demographic, live in an isolated and resource-starved small inland community and have major health or substances dependence issues or both.

There are, in fact, parts of this country where the very fabric of society has broken down, where women and children cannot go to sleep at night without the fear they will be woken to be assaulted, abused or interfered with.

The Howard Government’s Northern Territory intervention – which celebrated its first anniversary on the weekend – was launched to address some of these concerns.

The jury is still out with critics and supporters claiming very mixed results.

This paper still finds it interesting intervention chose to target the one area of Aboriginal health and well-being where it was possible to categroise indigenous people as the perpetrators as well as the victims.

That said, the issues being addressed are very real.

What some of our readers might not be aware of is that they are not just Northern Territory issues – they affect communities across the length and breadth of the country.

On page one today we tell the story of a Boggabilla Community Health worker who has had to move on because she could no longer cope with the burden of pain and despair.

Our informant makes the point, however, that abuse is not the only issue.

In 21st century Australia people who live within three hours drive of Tamworth do not have ready access to adequate dental, medical or mental health services.

We’re not talking the outback, we’re not talking the Sudan or Ethiopia. This is North West NSW – where we live.

Disgraceful isn’t it?