REGIONAL CITIES PUT POPULATION GROWTH ON ELECTION AGENDA

Regional Cities New South Wales (RCNSW) has put regional population growth on the election agenda, saying that the current models used to forecast growth haven’t kept pace with the COVID-led migration boom.

Currently, the State Government forecasts regional growth using a top-down modelling approach and 2016-based assumptions regarding migration.

“Clearly the State Government’s current methods of projecting population growth haven’t kept up with the real experience of what is occurring in the regions” Cr Mathew Dickerson Chair of RCNSW and Mayor of Dubbo Regional Council said.

“This creates a real headache in terms of planning for housing, services, infrastructure and securing funding to support growing regional areas” Cr Dickerson explained.
 

RCNSW is advocating that the New South Wales (NSW) Government review its forecasting methodology to incorporate localised data that has been proven to provide a more accurate outcome on population.

“Addressing the population forecasting methodology would help regional cities to plan for the growth that is currently occurring across regional NSW” Cr Dickerson said.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics over the period 2011-22 regional NSW’s population grew by 224,500.This growth is the equivalent to creating a new regional city the size of Bathurst every two years.

RCNSW would also like the Government to develop a NSW population plan that allows for the planning and investment of a greater share of population growth across regional NSW.

“Regional cities are looking to the future and want to plan ahead but we have to have the right data backing that up” Cr Dickerson concluded.