Regions can accommodate more growth
Friday, 03 June 2011
Victoria's regions have the capacity to accommodate a larger share of the state's future growth, Acting Minister for Rural and Regional Development Peter Walsh said today.
Addressing a Committee for Economic Development of Australia conference in Creswick, Mr Walsh said the Victorian Government was committed to investing in regional Victoria to create prosperity, more job opportunities, economic and social resilience and better quality of life.
Regional Victoria's population has been growing by more than 1.2 per cent each year in the past decade – from 1.3 million in 2000 to 1.47 million in 2010. This growth rate has been exceeded by Melbourne's growth of 1.6 per cent per year over the same period - from 3.47 million to 4.08 million.
Between 2006 and 2036, Victoria's population is forecast to grow by 44 per cent - or 2.27 million people – but only 477,000 of these are expected to live in regional Victoria, with 1.8 million additional residents in Melbourne. "If these growth patterns could be evened out across the whole state, this would result in an additional 600,000 people in regional Victoria, over 120,000 more than current projections," Mr Walsh said
Mr Walsh said balanced growth would significantly reduce the growing demand for services and infrastructure in Melbourne. "In the current statewide context of strong population growth and rapid expansion of Melbourne, we need to plan for the whole of Victoria," Mr Walsh said.
