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Shrinking city: Is the exodus from Melbourne cause for concern?

Tom Elliott
Article image for Shrinking city: Is the exodus from Melbourne cause for concern?

Melbourne’s population declined by 8237 in the first three months of this year.

About 60 per cent of people leaving Melbourne went to regional parts of the city, while others went interstate, with Queensland the most popular destination for relocation.

It comes after Victoria’s net population grew by only 700 people last year, compared to 121,000 in 2019.

Planning Minister Richard Wynne acknowledged there are “issues” in relation to the CBD, which has been hardest hit by COVID-19.

But he’s not concerned by the population decline.

“We are still a destination of choice for many, many people,” Mr Wynne told Neil Mitchell.

“There’s been internal migration, particularly to regional cities, for really the last 5 years. Bendigo, Ballarat and Geelong have grown exponentially.

“This still remains a place to migrate to because of the excellent quality of life we have here.”

Press PLAY below to hear why Mr Wynne isn’t concerned by the Melbourne exodus

But the opposition spokesperson for finance, jobs and trade, Matthew Guy, says there’s a problem.

“The city is a mess … the City of Melbourne is a key problem to inhibiting the regeneration of our CBD. I think the lord mayor has had some uniquely ridiculous priorities,” he told Neil Mitchell.

Mr Guy called for rapid testing for COVID-19 to ensure more major Melbourne events can go ahead.

“That means you can still have things like the Spring Racing Carnival, the AFL Grand Final, hopefully,” he said.

Press PLAY below to hear why Mr Guy thinks Melbourne is “a mess”

Tom Elliott
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