Pop’n Decline: Regional + Country NSW

GREAT ARTICLE – A MUST READ. Another reason why I dont ahve any rural/regional properties.

Rural population decline is a trend across Australia and in many other countries.

Tony Sorensen, environmental expert at the University of New England, says the issue is beyond the control of governments and has more to do with technological developments, commodity prices, currency value, climate and lifestyle preferences.

Farmers are now so efficient they no longer employ nearly as many people as they once did.
“We continually hear the argument that all would be well in regional Australia if we reopened a few branch lines, brought back cottage hospitals, courthouses and bank branches and protected small businesses,” Dr Sorensen has said.

“A lot of that agenda is not going to happen, and it’s like a hallucinatory drug that prevents a clear vision for the future. We’re seeing the development of larger-scale rural enterprises, and that will entail the slow demise of many small communities unless they can find an alternative reason to exist.”