POPULATION projections released by a NSW government department are not all doom and gloom for small regional towns, according to the chairman of Regional Development Australia (Orana).
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John Walkom said recent predictions by the Department of Planning and environment suggested some small communities would face widespread population decline across the next 20 years, but those projections overlooked opportunities in emerging industries like mining and renewable energy.
The research was also based on trends across the past two decades, rather than analysis of those opportunities, Mr Walkom said. He believed mining and other industries would create many jobs over the next few years.
"Emerging industries like renewable energy and mines could employ hundreds of people in the Orana region," Mr Walkom said.
The recent projections also did not show current trends, he said, with figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics suggesting between 2012 and 2013, nearly every area in the Orana had seen easing of previous population decline or, in the case of Mid-Western Regional Council area, massive population growth.
The NSW 2014 population projections predicted the population of the Mudgee area would reach 23,560 people in 2016, but according to ABS Estimated Resident Population Data that number was exceeded in 2013 with a total population of 23,843 people.
"The report also doesn't even include Mid-Western as being in the Orana," Mr Walkom said.
While regional centres like Dubbo were projected to grow, they did not take into account many people in Dubbo were choosing smaller communities close by like Narromine as a good place to live, he said.
"The research we are currently undertaking will inform us a lot more about those smaller communities," Mr Walkom said.
While the results were disappointing, the federal government's commitment to improving regional infrastructure and creating jobs showed positive signs the region's population would continue to grow he said.
Recent jobs growth has been supported by a recent job vacancy report released by the federal government showing a 10 per cent increase in across the region since June 2013.
With the federal government's commitment to building stronger regional communities announced in the 2014-15 federal budget, Mr Walkom was confident the region would continue to prosper.
"The Australian government has made a commitment to investing in regional communities and infrastructure projects that will boost local economies, increase productivity and create jobs,' he said.
