PHOTO: Lachlan Shire Council Mayor, John Metcalfe
In 2019, the Australian government introduced a policy that requires some skilled migrants to live and work in regional areas for at least five years as a condition of their visa.
This aims to keep pressure off capital cities and regenerate country areas with new residents.
In the decade between 2011 and 2021, the populations of all Western Plains LGA’s fell from between 4.7 per cent at Narromine and up to 20 per cent in Brewarrina and Bourke. Like many other regional Australian areas, new, skilled migrants would be welcomed to our area…