WHEN it comes to Australia's long life lottery, Sunshine Coast residents won't come out with the winning ticket.

If you were born here, chances are you will die two years earlier than those raised in Australia's biggest city, Sydney.

People born in the Sydney suburb of Ryde can expect to reach 85.3 years old compared to 83.2 years if they grew up on the Sunshine Coast

Our region's median age of death is 82 - two years shorter than Ryde's, which is 84 years.

These surprising statistics reveal how regional and rural Australia is suffering thanks to successive governments failing to adequately fund our education, health and infrastructure systems.

Today, Australian Regional Media, publisher of this newspaper, launches its Fair Go for the Sunshine Coast campaign.

Australian Bureau of Statistics data for the Sunshine Coast also shows the average life expectancy for a boy born in the region is 80.9 years old, compared to 84 for Sydney lads.

Sunshine Coast baby girls have a life expectancy of 85.6 years while their Sydney counterparts - like little　12-week-old Sophia Milosevic, pictured with her mum Kate - can be expected to reach 86.7 years.

This is not good news for mum, Amanda Sawdy, who gave birth to her third child, a baby girl, Indiana, only two weeks ago.

Mrs Sawdy was also born and bred on the Sunshine Coast and she is frustated her children will not enjoy the same kind of services as those born somewhere else in the country.

"It's not really good enough," the Mountain Creek mum said.

"We pay the same amount as everywhere, else if not more

"To not have the same access to health care everyone else has is pretty disappointing."

Mrs Sawdy believes Sunshine Coast residents may be paying more than their Sydney counterparts for less in return.

"My sister-in-law is from Sydney and she believes the food prices and rent prices are the same here as they are down there.

"Yet our public transport is absolutely awful. We are entitled to the same services."

Public health policy expert Dr Rob Moodie said our life expectancy and median age of death would not improve until the Sunshine Coast matched its metropolitan cousins on income, education, employment and access to more top quality health services.

Dr Moodie said rates of smoking and drinking in low socio-economic communities also added to the problem.

"One of the biggest drivers around life expectancy is not whether you get treatment, it's around how wealthy you are, what your education level is and what your income levels are," the University of Melbourne School of Population and Global Health lecturer told ARM Newsdesk.

"Your risks of chronic diseases from smoking will be greater, the risk from dying from alcohol related diseases will be greater."

Dr Moodie said our nation could learn from the Scandinavian experience, where people are taxed at higher rates but more money was invested in public services.

Meanwhile, Kate said she knew her little girl had a better chance of a longer life because she was not being raised in regional Australia.

"You hear about regional areas in trouble all the time and one big thing I think is education and because people just don't seem to have the same opportunities," Ms Milosevic said. - ARM