To add further....
Ask yourself when regional services started to decline...and then ask yourself, What policy change occured at the same time? And there is your answer....hints "User Pays" "Affordable Safety" Competition policy and that "S" word.
RFFS was a very small part that got chucked in the spotlight because of "Cost Recovery" How did Smith argue it...more expensive to supply RFFS at Broome than at Kingsford Smith or words to that effect.
Quite clever how a socialist government managed to remove a service and charge the occupents higher rent for less service and still take a huge dividend out of it.