By Olivia Condous
The number of people moving from Melbourne to Moorabool has continued to increase, defying the nationwide 16.5 per cent drop in migration to the regions.
The latest Regional Movers Index report from Commonwealth Bank and the Regional Australia Institute stated that net migration to regional areas of Australia had dropped 35 per cent since the March quarter this year.
The Moorabool Shire was the only municipality in Australia that had been named in the top five “regional movers” to experience a migration increase in the June quarter.
In the June 2022 quarter, Moorabool had a 10 per cent increase in the number of people moving into the region from a capital city, while other top LGAs such as Mount Gambier and Port Augusta saw a 40 per cent and 33 per cent decrease respectively.
The latest increase means Moorabool had a 54 per cent increase in the number of people migrating to the region in the 2021-22 financial year and migration in June 2022 quarter was 65 per cent higher than it was during the same period last year.
Moorabool Shire mayor Tom Sullivan said the council was not surprised to still be experiencing an increase in migration from the city.
“Moorabool Shire is so close to Melbourne and full of beautiful family-friendly towns and surrounded by several State Parks.
“It’s a very natural, green, lovely place to live and we expect it will continue to be in high demand,” Cr Sullivan said.
The mayor said that the council was aware of the increased pressure on services that the rising migration rate created, as the population increased.
“There is high demand for council services and services run by other agencies in areas such as aged care, children, health, recreation and education,” Cr Sullivan said.
“We will continue to advocate strongly to the state and federal governments to make sure we are adequately funded to cater for the growth we are experiencing.”
