Once upon a time, communities near the copper mines on Tasmania's west coast were thriving, with pubs, clubs, schools, businesses and sporting teams.

When the money stopped and jobs dried up, the people left — and never came back.

Economist Saul Eslake says the lesson to be learnt from ghost towns is that towns and communities "need to try, if they can, to have more than one string to their bow".

Subscribe: http://ab.co/1svxLVE
Read more here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-1...

ABC News provides around the clock coverage of news events as they break in Australia and abroad. It's news when you want it, from Australia's most trusted news organisation.

For more from ABC News, click here: https://ab.co/2kxYCZY
Watch more ABC News content ad-free on ABC iview: https://ab.co/2OB7Mk1

Go deeper on our ABC News In-depth channel: https://ab.co/2lNeBn2
Like ABC News on Facebook:   / abcnews.au  
Follow ABC News on Instagram:   / abcnews_au  
Follow ABC News on Twitter:   / abcnews  

Note: In most cases, our captions are auto-generated.

#ABCNews #ABCNewsAustralia