Bush Summit 2022: 1m Sydneysiders plan move to country to escape the rat race, survey reveals

One in five city-slickers wants to move to the country in the next two years. But a Mood of the Bush report warns already-stretched bush services won’t cope with the influx unless investment keeps up.

One million Sydneysiders plan on trading the rat race of the city for the laid-back lifestyle of the bush in the next two years, an exclusive study for The Daily Telegraph’s Bush Summit has revealed.

A survey of nearly 2000 Aussies show one in five (20 per cent) living in metro areas would consider moving to a regional or rural area in the next two years, with around three in ten (28 per cent) considering the move within 10 years.

In Sydney this rises to 24 per cent of adults who would consider making the move, according to SEC Newgate’s ‘Mood of the Bush’ report, commissioned by NRMA Motoring Services for The Daily Telegraph’s Bush Summit, which will be held in Griffith on Friday.

New England MP, former Deputy Prime Minister and unapologetic bush champion Barnaby Joyce said city-slickers wanting more bang for their buck in the regions was a “natural thing” – but warned investment and infrastructure had to keep up.

“On a really bad day in Tamworth it probably takes you five to ten minutes to get into work … and on a really good day it takes five to ten minutes to get to work,” he said.

Griffith deputy mayor Glen and his wife Julie Andreazza, with their children, from left Teneeka, 20, Brendan, 23, and Daniel, 28. The family has been farming around Griffith since 1982. Picture: Jonathan Ng

“It’s the natural thing. People want more freedom, and they do that by being less enslaved to mortgages. They want to see their kids play sport and live in an area where they don’t have millions of people stacked on top of them.

“This is why we need to build the infrastructure – such as dams – and take into account regional cities are going to grow as people move to them.”

Deputy Premier and Regional NSW minister Paul Toole. Picture: NewsWire / Monique Harmer

Despite the mass migration foreshadowed for the bush, the Mood of the Bush survey also shows concerns in regional NSW remain high around key services and infrastructure like health, education and housing.

While 73 per cent of respondents in capital cities said they had “excellent”, “very good” or “good” access to appropriate healthcare, just 41 per cent in rural and remote areas did.

Just a quarter of city livers said they had good access to affordable housing – but that number plummeted to 18 per cent in regional towns and 13 per cent in rural and remote areas.

Deputy Premier and Regional NSW Minister Paul Toole said he knew the bush is “the best place to live”.

“I was born there, raised there, and have chosen to keep living, working and raising my own family there,” he said.

The Covid migration

“We saw a mass migration to the regions during Covid – and we’ve worked hard over the past decade to ensure we have the right infrastructure in place to support even more people making the move.

“We need roofs over heads, the best healthcare possible, kids and teachers in schools, jobs and training on the table so locals don’t have to move away to upskill, and road infrastructure that keeps us all connected.”

He added: “That’s why we are spending more money in the regions than ever before” – citing $3 billion in health infrastructure to be spent in the regions in the next four years, while $174m will be pumped into building hundreds of new homes for rural keyworkers.

Managing Partner of SEC Newgate Australia, Brian Tyson, said the surveys highlighted the opportunity currently facing regional Australia.

“This has unlocked a massive new opportunity for regional communities with the green shoots of growth evident in many country towns which had previously been shrinking for years,” Mr Tyson said.

NRMA CEO Rohan Lund. Picture: Monique Harmer

But NRMA Group CEO Rohan Lund warned it also highlighted the gaps between the bush and the city that remain for key services.

“There is a clear service gap between city and bush – especially in relation to the quality of roads, rail for freight and access to education and healthcare services. Unless these issues are proactively addressed, we risk losing the opportunity,” Mr Lund said.

Griffith Deputy Mayor and farmer Glen Andreazza, who has been farming since 1982, said the regional population boom provided “huge opportunities”.

“It needs affordable housing, road infrastructure … our schools need tro have money spent. It‘s upgrading everything to take that sort of influx of people,” he said.

“There‘s huge opportunities there … those things can be overcome.”

The Daily Telegraph’s 2022 Bush Summit will be streamed online live and free on Friday August 26. Register to watch here: https://bushsummit2022-dailytelegraph.splashthat.com/

Originally published as Bush Summit 2022: 1m Sydneysiders plan move to country to escape the rat race, survey reveals