'Insatiable growth' vanishes in big cities as workers move away

Jenny Wiggins, Mark Ludlow, Simon Evans and Andrew Tillett

Oct 14, 2020 – 7.17pm

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The plunge in migration due to COVID-19 will halt the "insatiable growth" of big cities like Sydney and Melbourne, forcing a major rethink of Australia's infrastructure planning towards the regions, The Australian Financial Review National Infrastructure Summit has been told.

Urban Infrastructure Minister Alan Tudge told the Summit that public transport may need to change to continue social distancing over the long term if no coronavirus vaccine is found, at least until a level of herd immunity is reached.

Jenny Wiggins writes on business, specialising in infrastructure, telecommunications and transport. Connect with Jenny on Bluesky: @jennywiggins.bsky.social

Mark Ludlow was Queensland bureau chief for The Australian Financial Review

Simon Evans writes on business specialising in retail, manufacturing, beverages, mining and M&A. He is based in Adelaide.

Andrew Tillett writes on politics, foreign affairs, defence and security from the Canberra press gallery.