1. What do you think is meant by the terms sea change and tree change ? 2. FIFO is an acronym that refers to workers who ‘fly-in fly-out’ of locations. Look at the regions identified as FIFO on the map. What do you know about these regions? What is the focus industry for these regions that workers are employed within? 3. Do you personally know any FIFO workers or people who have been involved in a sea or tree change? What makes people move within Australia? People move for many reasons. The average Australian will live in 11 houses during their lifetime — this means that many people will live in more. You may move to live in a larger house or a smaller house as your family size or income changes. On retirement, you may want to live near the mountains or the sea. Forty per cent of Australians changed the place where they lived in the five years prior to 2020. There has also been a recent pattern of people internally migrating to regional centres, primarily because of housing costs. 15.4.1
FIGURE2 Net internal migration by capital city (2020)
20000
13779
15000 10000 5000
735
0
– 435
– 650
– 1864
– 2387
–5000
–10000 –15000 –20000
– 9266
–25000
–30000 –35000
– 30087
Brisbane
Perth
Hobart
Canberra
Darwin
Adelaide Melbourne Sydney
Net internal migration
It is important to note that internal migration refers to people already living within Australia and thus the figures discussed do not account for new migrants.
SkillBuilder discussion Communicating 1. Identify the two cities with increased populations because of internal migration. 2. Discuss why Melbourne and Sydney are losing the most people. 3. Propose how the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2021) may have impacted these figures.
The Great Australian Divide splits Australia into two regions: the Heartland and the Frontier. The Heartland has about 21 million people living in modern, urban areas. The Frontier is home to around 5 million people in remote, resource-rich areas. Sea change or tree change The expressions sea change and tree change refer to people moving from cities to coastal or rural areas, seeking a peaceful life and closer community. This trend affects coastal and mountain areas across Australia, with local communities often struggling to provide the necessary services and
TOPIC15 Changing nations – urbanisation and migration 435
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