The Regional Population Report from the Regional Australia Institute argues that directing a greater share of Australia’s migration to the regions could help address workforce shortages, strengthen local economies and support more sustainable population growth.
According to the report, almost half of regional Australia’s population growth is now being driven by overseas migration, highlighting that migrants are essential to sustaining communities outside Australia’s overpopulated capital cities.
The largest arriving cohort is aged between 25 and 44, bringing workers, their families and new economic activity to regional communities.
RAI chief executive officer Liz Ritchie said the findings showed migration and internal movers were not simply adding to regional populations, but helping communities address some of their most pressing demographic and economic challenges.
“Current government projections assume that four in five of the 13.4 million additional Australians expected over the next 40 years will settle in our capital cities,” Ms Ritchie said.
“Rather than planning for ever-larger capital cities and a future dominated by megacities, we should be looking at the regional communities that are actively calling for more people and more investment,” she said.
Ms Ritchie said an ambitious nation building approach to regional development could raise the proportion of people living in regional Australia from between 38 to 40 per cent to 45 per cent.
“This means building more homes, more services and more infrastructure, the foundations regional communities need to grow sustainably and welcome the people who want to live, work and invest there,” Ms Ritchie said.
Committee for Greater Shepparton chief executive officer Linda Nieuwenhuizen welcomed the opportunity for more growth to support the Goulburn Valley region’s development.
Ms Nieuwenhuizen emphasised the need to have specific direction for Victoria’s different regional centres because they were all built on different histories with Shepparton’s being centred on the Goulburn River and irrigation farming.
“We need a clear vision for what the region can become and what we need to get there,” Ms Nieuwenhuizen said.
Any capacity for growth will have to be supported by investment in fundamental infrastructure such as roads, health and housing.
