The Riverina is emerging as a major growth area as people seek to leave the city, some because of the pandemic, with many towns including Hay halting population declines, and many growing in size.
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Although low housing stock is a problem, there are signs of change, with, for instance, Temora Shire Council just announcing 34 new housing lots.
Regional Development Australia (RDA) Riverina has seen a 75 per cent surge in people lodging inquiries with an interest to relocate to the Riverina, since the pandemic outbreak.
RDA Riverina chief executive Rachel Whiting is excited that people are seeing such promise in her area - and there is high demand for all kinds of skilled workers (the Riverina's unemployment rate is about 5 per cent - one of the lowest in the country).
"The exciting thing is the area offers so many opportunities in many varied areas for skilled workers, from the health sector to all kinds of agriculture," she said.
The Whitton Malt House is one of the new exciting businesses that has opened in the region, drawing on the produce and skills of the Riverina.
"In 2019-2020 Country Change (an RDA Riverina initiative which assists those seeking a tree change to southern NSW) experienced increased engagement, enquiries, and media, marketing the Riverina as a great place to live, work and play," Ms Whiting said.
"The COVID-19 pandemic forced many Australians to rethink their city-based lifestyles when they were ordered to stay at home to curb the spread of the virus.
"A veritable wave of city-dwellers began to explore their options - looking for a home with space for an office and a backyard for families."
She said housing was a major problem that all levels of government acknowledged and were working together on to find a solution. Existing housing has seen a surge in value. For instance, Coolamon's median house price was up 20pc in the April to June 2020 period, and Temora was up 19pc in the same period.
Ms Whiting said the RDA could help people moving to the area find work by registering with them and it provided a great follow-up service.
Hay has seen its fortunes change. Many residents have relied on pastoral and agricultural businesses to provide employment. But with changes in the dynamics of export commodity prices, all too often the reliance on one particular industry means the town suffers.
Places like Hay in the western Riverina have looked to rebrand their district advantages in order to survive.
The success of Hay was highlighted during a Regions Rising webinar which featured Professor Andrew Beer, executive dean of UniSA Business.
For mid-sized towns, often the difference between growth and non-growth is a relatively fine margin, according to Prof Beer.
"It could be the presence or absence of a general practitioner, for example; it could be the history of that place, it could be relative location to some other centre which is also growing at the same time," he said.
"What is really important is a shared vision; a crisis is not necessarily the path to success, the conversation of a shared vision is and that's where the journey starts and after that you have to do the hard work and walk the talk."
While Hay was not technically a mid-sized town, Prof Beer said it did have a shared vision.
"In detail what they have done is move out of the pastoral activities alone into such things as cotton and some irrigated annual crops (including orchards)."
Mid-sized towns are likely to have a better future if they build upon their strengths, Prof Beer said.
