The frustrated Victorian towns where population is going backwards

Updated

About four hours north-west of Melbourne, along the Silo Art Trail, is the Yarriambiack Shire in Victoria's wheat belt.

Like in Melbourne, population is a big issue here. But for a very different reason.

While the Victorian capital is struggling to cope with more than 120,000 new residents every year, western Victoria is losing residents faster than anywhere else in the state.

"We've got cheap housing, a tremendous community, you can see the stars at night, our crime rate is almost zero, there are no parking meters and no traffic lights — but people just don't want to come," Mayor Graeme Massey said.

"Our age demographic is changing. The semi-professional mums and dads that used to be around in banks and schools just don't exist in our areas anymore."

In 10 years, the West Wimmera Shire has lost 14 per cent of its population.

Yarriambiack was not far behind, losing 12 per cent, and the neighbouring shires of Buloke and Hindmarsh also saw their populations shrink.

Jobs unfilled as sporting teams dwindle

The acting principal of Warracknabeal Secondary School, John Richmond, has watched the local high school population shrink from 650 in the 1970s to 173 now.

"Pubs have shut down in the town over the last couple of years, two football leagues have disappeared, and rival cricket and netball teams have merged," he said.

"There are heaps of jobs here that can't be filled — trades, nursing, paramedical services, psychologists and teachers, just to name a few."

ABS data shows the average age in the Yarriambiack Shire is 50 years — compared to 30 years in Melbourne.

"Older people are moving to bigger regional centres to be closer to medical appointments and a lot of young people simply don't want to come home and work on the farm," said Cr Massey.

Every year, about 90 per cent of the 100,000 people who arrive in Victoria — mostly from overseas — settle in metropolitan areas.

Politicians dangle carrots for decentralisation

Opposition Leader Matthew Guy is pushing hard on decentralisation as the solution to Melbourne's growing pains — giving people incentives to live and work in regional Victoria.

Along with a $19 billion plan to bring high-speed rail to regional Victoria and return passenger trains to Hamilton, Horsham and Mildura, the Opposition has promised to establish a Population Commission to manage population levels and provide advice to Government.

It has also pledged to cap the population of booming Melbourne suburbs, and has called for "honest" conversations about forcing migrants to settle in regional areas.

Labor also wants some decentralisation.

The Government is building a GovHub for 1,000 public servants in Ballarat, moved the Transport Accident Commission headquarters from Melbourne to Geelong, pledged TAFE upgrades in regional centres, offered extra grants for first home buyers in regional Victoria, and promised more buses in western Victoria.

Yesterday, it unveiled its Western Rail Plan, including rail upgrades to cut travel times to Ballarat and Geelong.

"Transport is a start, but we need to be able to convince the people to stay and work in our communities," Buloke Mayor David Pollard said.

"One of our biggest problems is housing — the housing we've got is getting older and there's very little new stuff getting built.

"So what's going to happen is, when the houses get beyond repair, there's going to be another population decline."

Integration of whole families critical to success

The Victorian Farmers Federation said while decentralisation sounded good in theory, it was not always successful in practice.

"Decentralisation doesn't necessarily work when you're only providing one job for a family," said Emma Germano, the VFF's horticulture group president.

Matters of State Melbourne to become our biggest city

Melbourne is growing fast, but roads are clogged and services are lacking. So what's the city's plan to cope with its rapidly growing population? About



Melbourne is growing fast, but roads are clogged and services are lacking. So what's the city's plan to cope with its rapidly growing population?

"We need to make sure when we're decentralising, we are moving departments to areas that can cater for both members of the families and ensure they're part of the communities.

"Some people who are moving to areas outside satellite cities, they just go to work from those places, come home late at night and they're not actually part of that community."

One thing these rural towns have in common is they all reside in very safe conservative political seats.

"Being a safe seat means the need by political parties to pour money into the area is not as strong as it should be," Cr Massey said.

"We should be still getting the same services, but we don't.

"We're a conservative area and I don't think the people will change — even though you could tell them if you vote differently we would get more money coming in, it doesn't seem to make a difference when it comes to the ballot box."

Topics: states-and-territories, regional, community-and-society, population-and-demographics, government-and-politics, state-elections, elections, warracknabeal-3393, wycheproof-3527, edenhope-3318, kaniva-3419, horsham-3400, vic

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