And one of your less endearing features LB is to always be a pompous smart alec ex-CASA lawyer. Of course you went the lawyer path of asking a question that you already knew the answer to and of course you are alluding to the ability to charter an aircraft from anywhere to anywhere else. The evidence that you provided however,(from an authoritative source such as Wikipedia) simply stated Bourke as a destination for Air NSW but not that it had an airservice between Bourke and Bankstown. Your other source of evidence was a website to a blurb called the Liberal news, talking about a proposed airservice between Bourke and Dubbo from what I can tell.I have been around this industry long enough to know that there is always plenty of talk about airservices being provided but not a lot of shiny new aeroplanes actually doing the job. Don Kendell stated that the only reason he announced that his airline was getting the SAAB 2000 was for the publicity. So if you are going to put up evidence in the court of Pprune make sure it backs up the question that you are asking. So yes your question was and still is a stupid one.
On the issue of the tyranny of distance being able to support squadrons of light aircraft it never has and it never will. I agree with the statement that there is less activity than in the 80's but I think you will find that there is a lot less disposable income available and that a lot of people who might have taken up flying recreationaly simply don't have the money for it. Regulations and bureaucracy haven't helped but aviation is not unique in that. Don't forget that DS was railing against CASA and its predecessors 30 years ago for over-regulation. So if the burden of regulation existed then and it exists now what has changed that has led to the downturn in GA? In my view it is less demand for ad-hoc charter. The companies that did bank runs in the 80's also did charter. With technology bankruns are no longer required. Agribusiness is shrinking because of drought and rationalisation so there are less small landowners who might have used GA as a method of transport. Young pilots can get fee-help and learn to fly in the big schools in the cities. They then get instructing jobs and move onto bigger and better things. Very few young pilots that i come into contact with have had to go bush to get the hours to get into airlines. A lot of them go instructing then straight into regional where they get commands in 3-4 years then move to jets. Unheard of in the 80's and 90's. There is also the issue that has always been part of the Australian story is that most of the population lives within 50km of the coast. LCC have seen more of those people, including businessman simply hop on a jet to the Whitsundays or Cairns or the Gold Coast. Places that would have inspired people in the 80's to learn to fly and jump in a lighty.