Decentralisation measures miss mark

The department, using information from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, showed the population in western NSW towns such as Moree, Bourke and Broken Hill were all expected to fall by more than 20 per cent by 2031, while towns such as Wagga Wagga, Tamworth and Armidale would continue to grow.

The NSW government introduced the Regional Relocation grants in July 2011, giving incentives to metropolitan homeowners to move to regional areas.

By December 2013, however, most of the grants led to people moving to coastal centres like Port Macquarie, Shell Harbour and Shoalhaven, rather than rural centres.

Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner said changes were made in January to ensure people applying for the grants moved further away from major metropolitan areas, including a minimum moving distance requirement of 100 kilometres.

NSW Farmers policy director for economics and rural affairs, Angus Gidley-Baird, said incentives like the Rural Relocation Grant were important, but what the government really needed to do for rural areas with declining populations, was ensure adequate services and employment opportunities were in place.

"I can see why the government would spend more money on services somewhere like the North Coast, but it's a bit of a chicken and egg argument... if you don't have the services you won't get the people moving there," he said.

"Do you move your family because you can get a grant...or because you can get a job?" he asked.

Mr Gidley-Baird said the success of enough population growth in a rural centre to become self-sustaining could be seen in the examples of places like Orange, Wagga and Tamworth - but this created its own pressures on towns that were not so lucky with population growth.

"It can suck the life out of smaller towns...you need to find a balance," he said.

Mr Gidley-Baird attended a decentralisation taskforce in February, and welcomed the announcement of the government assisting families and businesses to move to regional areas.

"However we do note that providing people with assistance to relocate needs to be part of a broader picture to have greater economic prosperity in the regions where jobs are created and there are services to support the population."

Mr Stoner agreed jobs and infrastructure were vital for western NSW.

"The best thing we can do for western NSW is improve infrastructure and remove red tape (for producers and businesses to become more profitable)," he said.

"We have spent $1 million in Broken Hill for a bypass to help the mining industry there, and also funded regional tourism promotions so they can diversify their economy."

Mr Stoner said various infrastructure funding had also been allocated to Narrabri, Cobar, Nyngan and Wilcannia.

A total of 3123 Regional Relocation grants have been awarded since 2011.