South Australia starting to reverse enduring brain drain trend, latest ABS figures show
Migrants are helping SA arrest one of its most stubborn headaches, new population figures show.
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South Australia is on the cusp of reversing its brain drain, latest figures show, posting some of its best migration and population growth figures on record.
Buoyed by the promising results, the head of the Australian Industrial Transformation Institute, John Spoehr, and key business leaders say SA has a golden opportunity to stop the enduring trend of people leaving Adelaide for the eastern seaboard or overseas.
The latest Australian Bureau of Statistic figures, for the year to March, before the full effect of COVID-19 hit, show SA had its:
BEST quarterly interstate migration since September 2002 (-217), compared to a 10-year average loss of 1120 people;
BIGGEST quarterly growth in population since records were kept in 1981 (7454) – compared to a 10-year average of 3626;
HIGHEST quarterly overseas migration to SA on record (6255), up from a 10-year average of 3098.
Property Council of Australia SA executive director Daniel Gannon said the statistics showed the state was growing more than it ever had before.
“We’ve never had more migrants move to our state in a single quarter (and) we’ve retained more of our best and brightest young people than we have in 15 years,” he said.
“The latest quarterly data is from March this year, before COVID set in.
“This means our base settings are strong as we transition into a post-pandemic environment.”
Professor Spoehr said further population growth could be driven by SA’s shipbuilding boom.
“The state has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build an advanced manufacturing industry as a consequence of the investment into maritime shipbuilding projects,” he said.
“Done well, it will generate lots of well-paid jobs in all sorts of occupations and lead to a manufacturing renaissance on the back of that investment.”
Business Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott said population growth was an important component in attracting businesses to SA in the first place.
“If I want to relocate my business to South Australia, I’ve got to know that the population is going to be growing, there’s going to be that skilled workforce there, that kids are going to stay there, that people are going to invest there,” she said. “If you’re living now in Sydney or Melbourne and you’re sitting on a pretty expensive property, there are some very, very attractive lifestyle reasons why you think about going to SA.”
She did add, however, that South Australians needed to embrace the opportunity.