Why this Sutherland Shire mother moved her family to Walgett

Amy Loomes along with her husband Casey and two young children moved from her childhood suburb in Sydney’s Shire to far-flung Walgett. They’re not the only ones fleeing the city.

Sydney police officer Amy Loomes along with her husband Casey and two young children moved from her childhood suburb in Sydney’s Shire to far-flung Walgett in western NSW.

The dream of owning their own home was getting further and further away as the cost of living and property prices in Sydney became unmanageable.

The mother-of-two is one of 511 essential workers who have been assisted by the NSW government to relocate to the bush.

Now the family have declared they’ll never return to the city and are hoping to buy a house regionally.

“We had moved in with my parents in the Shire to save and buy a house,” she said.

“Then I got pregnant and there went the house dream – all our savings went on buying baby stuff.”

“We love living in the country, we’ll never go back to Sydney … now we have a front and back yard, the kids have chickens and a swing set – we’re so much happier.”

Police officer Amy Loomes relocated with her husband Casey and their two sons Arthur, 5, and Hugo, 2 from Sydney’s Shire to Walgett

In an effort to get more frontline workers into the bush, the Minns government has funded the Welcome Experience program designed to help essential workers from Sydney move regionally by connecting them to housing, school and community services.

Under the program, Mr Loomes was also assisted to find a job as a carpenter in Walgett, in a town much in need of new homes.

Since the program’s inception in 2023 in eight regional locations, 511 essential workers have moved to the bush. Now the government is expanding it statewide to 52 LGAs.

Premier Chris Minns said programs are needed to help frontline workers make the leap to the regions to help stem the regional housing crisis and boost essential services with more nurses, police and teachers.

“We are so lucky to live in a state with such beautiful regions, from the beaches of the south coast to the bushes of the central west,” he said.

“But we need skilled and essential workers in our country towns – we’re working to make it easier than ever for people considering a tree change to make that leap.”

Regional NSW Minister Tara Moriarty said the since the program launched 12 months ago the government had received 1800 inquiries from essential workers who were considering moving or had made the move to the regions.

“The Welcome Experience is part of the $25.1 million Essential Worker Attraction Program, which aims to boost essential workforces in the regions,” she said.

Amy Loomes and her family say they will never return to Sydney.

Australians living in the bush desperately want cost of living, housing affordability, the lack of health services and rampant crime addressed – but are happier with their lives than their city counterparts.

The Daily Telegraph’s exclusive Mood of the Bush survey has revealed three quarters of regional Australians believe the spiralling cost of living is the biggest concern for those outside metropolitan areas, and almost one third believe housing is the next most critical issue.

However, eight in 10 regional Australians surveyed by SEC Newgate Australia say their overall quality of life is very good or good – a 5 per cent jump in just two years.

Regional Capitals Australia chair Kylie King said the more laid-back environment and easier commutes were a drawcards but the lack of affordable housing had left communities distressed and lower-than expected population growth meant key skills were lacking.

“Population growth in our regional cities haven’t kept up with what the forecasters in government potentially had expected,” she said.

“You feel like some of those population growth factors haven’t been recognised over a period of time, so it’s definitely a challenge.”

Amy Loomes is one of 511 essential workers who have been assisted by the NSW government to relocate to the bush.

The survey of 1,244 respondents found 75 per cent of regional Australians believed reducing cost increases for household bills was “extremely important”, followed by investing more in quality health care, reducing crime and strengthening our response to violence against women.

The survey also found the mood of regional Australians trumped that of metropolitan residents.

When asked to select emotions felt in recent weeks, 43 per cent reported feeling more positive emotions than negative ones, versus 39 per cent in metropolitan locations.

Eight in 10 rated their quality of life in regional Australia as being at least good with slightly higher ratings in Western Australia, Victoria and Queensland.

Amy Loomes said her family are much happier living in the country.

The study found 74 per cent of people unprompted said the cost of living was the issue of most concern, and four out of 10 of those living in regional Australia said they were experiencing financial difficulties.

This was followed by housing affordability from 28 per cent of regional respondents, reflecting the crippling state of the housing and cost of living crisis in the entire nation.

Regional Queenslanders were the most concerned with housing affordability, followed by WA and NSW, while Victorians were the least concerned.

Ms King, who is also the mayor of Albury City, said to address the housing shortfall the federal government must ensure migration to regional communities brings with it skills to meet the challenges in the construction sector.

“Also improving the availability of social housing to really ensure that the most vulnerable can get a home,” she said.

“We do recognise that the rental market is particularly tight due to the growth in our regional cities.

“In Queensland for example, we know that some of our regional cities like Bundaberg, Mackay, Rockhampton, Toowoomba, Cairns, all have less than 1% vacancy rates for rentals.”

The Property Council of Australia’s Jess Caire said regional areas can become part of a vicious housing cycle.

The Property Council of Australia’s Jess Caire.

The executive director of the Queensland division said many of the underlying factors that exacerbated affordability concerns were felt more heavily in the regions.

“Access to trades and materials is problematic in remote communities and this can have a flow on impact on the cost and time of building new housing,” Ms Caire said.

“Underemployment in regions leads to a lack of housing investment which in turn restricts a regional area’s ability to attract new skills and workers as there is simply nowhere for them to live.”

Ms Caire said regional and remote rental markets can face volatility due to a lack of housing supply, leaving these areas vulnerable if there is a sudden surge in demand for housing.

“To respond to this, we need to become more agile in how we deliver housing,” she said.

“Embracing modern methods of construction, prefabricated housing and modular homes will be a boon for regional areas and will help us deliver housing more cheaply, efficiently and flexibly.”

She also implored the government to pull every lever when it comes to creating new housing supply and to continue to expand funding for critical catalytic development infrastructure

“The provision of infrastructure to support population growth is a significant barrier to new housing development in our regions,” she said.

Ms King said the skills shortage was also negatively impacting regional communities’ access to health.

She cited National Skills Commission research, which found that of the 77 health professional occupations assessed for the skills priority list back in 2021, 29 per cent of those essential occupations were found to be in shortage.

“Also, sometimes the tyranny of distance can be an issue, the current problems we’re hearing with regional aviation exacerbates that, we do have our regional areas that really do rely on flights to connect patients to access specialists and also in return to infill some of those positions,” she said.

“Again, you’ve got that key worker housing issue, needing to find specialists and key workers into regions, the health problems links to the housing problems, and links to the migration issues and we hear the angst that people are feeling.”

Despite the challenges, Ms King was not surprised at the survey finding the mood in regional Australia was tracking better than in metropolitan communities.

“Having been someone who’s lived in a capital city who has moved to the regions, I think it’s that laid back atmosphere, dealing with less congestion and busyness that you often encounter in the major cities that seem to be growing at such a rapid rate and it can be overwhelming” she said.

“I hear from my regional friends and networks it’s that connectedness that we still have, that ability to still belong in service clubs, to commit behind fundraisers in your communities or be actively involved in sporting clubs and schools.”

“I think sometimes that connectedness can get lost a little bit in the capital cities and still in many of our regional towns and cities, the ability to just drop by, is still welcome.”

The mayor also said migration from major cities to the regions was bringing with it the cosmopolitan life that once was only available in metropolitan Australia.

“Regional cities do have those sporting facilities, those arts and cultural experiences as some of our capital city friends who might be chefs or baristas have also joined our regions,” she said.

“Once upon a time, you know, people may have questioned whether you could get a decent coffee, for example, or get a cultural experience out here, I think those myths have been well and truly busted and we’re really enjoying that in our regions.

Originally published as Why this Sutherland Shire mother moved her family to Walgett