First, agriculture still has an important niche role in the economy; it still feeds us, with around 93% of Australia’s food grown here. Second, the one-third of Australians who live in regional Australia are our fellow citizens, and they should not suffer inferior services because of the expenses of distance. Third, there is our obligation to inhabit the land in order to care for it. Indigenous Australians have always known this, and so do many others who live on the land… The promise of federation was a nation for a continent.