In the Western Cape region of Cape York Peninsula in far north Queensland the then Queensland Government, which was led by Sir Frank Nicklin, razed the small coastal community of Mapoon to the ground. After forcibly removing residents at gunpoint they were shipped to different parts of the peninsula and Torres Strait Islands.

When your more unsympathetic, culturally insensitive or historically ignorant Australian pipes up with the [sadly] inevitable, "It was a hundred years ago, what more do you people want?", it's remarkable to learn that the Mapoon community closure took place in 1963 - well within living and enduring memory.

The people returned eventually and nowadays Mapoon is a story of survival and success however an official parliamentary apology is still outstanding.

The Stolen Generation tore families apart and the "Protection Act" segregated and de-humanised people, yet these policies were once lauded by mainstream society as "good ideas". Similarly, the repercussions of any community closures will be felt indefinitely.

While the discussions around closing remote Aboriginal communities in Western Australia has not yet eventuated in any actual closures, understandably the mere suggestion is going to strike fear into a people who are already wary and recovering from a great deal of destructive-paternalism. Western Australia's immediate neighbours in the Northern Territory are already living under a "protection-esque" policy- the Stronger Futures policy or Intervention.

The "Western Australia of the north", as Barry Humphries comically described on Q&A in 2012, also known as Queensland, have their own modern day variation of apartheid as well. These are the Welfare Reform Trials (WRTs) and Alcohol Management Plans (AMPs) which inhibit lifestyles without much in the way of alternatives, i.e. rehabilitation services and diversified economy based employment, being provided. However, debating the effectiveness or benefit of WRTs or AMPs can take people around in circles sparking much disagreement but not much compromise.

Let's leave the situation in Western Australia and the context of First Peoples to the side for now. Look at how many communities in rural and remote places across all of Australia suffer and face extinction.

Cloncurry and Ifracombe in Queensland are desperate for water yet the governments aren't desperate enough to provide long-term assistance such as dams and inland irrigation. These and similar places face extinction. The people living there are battlers and are relatively forgotten by the mainstream and urbanised populous. Carinda in New South Wales (the famous setting for David Bowie's Let's Dance film clip) is one very similar to some of the smaller Aboriginal communities in Western Australia. With a population of 40 Carinda has been crippled by drought.

While not receiving the help they desperately need, no government is calling on these towns to close in order to save cash. Regardless, it's clear that white or black, if you live in the bush you are going to cop the rough end of the deal when it comes to seeking aid and opportunity.

The proposition in Western Australia is not just "Aboriginal" related or fiscally geared, it is symptomatic of the broader disregard many in Australia have towards people outside of metropolis or city comfort. I have said it before and I will say it until I die, no advanced country can ever fully repay the debt they owe to their regional areas. Australia especially as it was born on the back of the bush and the people living there.

I hope we don't see another Mapoon style closure instead I hope we end up seeing some of the smaller Western Australian communities simply re-classified, thus finding funding via other funding models much like rural homesteads Australia wide do.

Tailor more cost-effective, fly-in/out, needs based services and push for economic revival for the Australian bush. Governments must be brave and release the strangle hold red tape has on rural opportunities and invest in agriculture, livestock and primary industries once again, facilitating home-grown industries, giving them a chance to thrive and workers a chance to do what Australians do best which is producing.

I call on the National Party of Australia to speak up more vocally on the needs of all the bush. Investing in sustainability is the way to go, not punitive savings strategies.

But more importantly, we need everybody living outside of population centres to band together in lobbying and to realise that their situation is not too different and just as dire as those living in the Western Australian communities that are at risk of closure.

* Jack Wilkie-Jans is an Aboriginal affairs advocate, artist and Traditional Owner from Cape York Peninsula, Queensland. He is the Deputy Chair of Cape York Sustainable Futures Inc. the Cape's peak body for economic, social and environmental development. He is also an Alumni of the National Gallery of Australia's Wesfarmer's Indigenous Art Leadership Program and Associate Fellow of the Royal Commonwealth Society.