Regional NSW towns have always bled their wealth to Greater Sydney for little return.
For instance, Broken Hill is essentially South Australian. Their kids go to SA schools, their medical services use Adelaide specialists, they have links to the heart of Adelaide that stretch back over a century.
But they had the misfortune to have resource wealth. So NSW made sure the gauge of their railroad tracks meant they they couldn't ship to Adelaide, their nearest port. Beat their workers to a pulp. Sent Sydney coppers to brutalise the town to ensure Sydney elites got all the dosh. Had the shock jocks in Sydney media, the precursor of Sky News in 1908, advocating mass internment or slaughter of Broken Hill miners. Unless the cash went to Sydney elites.
Same deal with Qld and Vic border towns. Very few NSW border towns have benefited from being in NSW. Apart from having pokies for a few decades.
