Maranguka: how local leadership and social innovation are helping Bourke cut crime and improve lives

Having been dubbed through mainstream media one of the most dangerous communities in the world, a collaborative community effort led by Alistair Ferguson has made remarkable progress in reducing Bourke’s crime and incarceration rates, creating better-coordinated support for its vulnerable families and children, and reducing the number of its Aboriginal families experiencing high levels of social disadvantage.

The outback NSW town of Bourke has long been known as a place with a high crime rate and deep social disadvantage.

It’s one of the communities left behind in an increasingly safe and prosperous Australia — many of which, like Bourke, have a large Aboriginal population.