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| 27 June 2006 |
| Population Shift |
| For many years young people from Perth in the west of Australia have moved to the bigger cities like Sydney and Melbourne to find work. But recently, something has changed and people are coming back to Perth. |
BERNARD SALT: There's a clear shift across Australia at the moment from the east to the west. There has been a complete turnaround between 2002 and 2004, and my view is that the trend has even improved further into 2005. DIANNE BAIN: Western Australia is experiencing a population shift that has not happened for years. BERNARD SALT: The kick-along in the resources industry at the moment is attracting people back from the eastern seaboard to the west. The net migration flow to Western Australia for the year ending 2004 was 1,300 people. Two years previous in the year ending June 2002, it was a net outflow of more than 4,000 people. DIANNE BAIN: For a long time, WA has said goodbye to people intent on moving to Sydney or Melbourne in search of better pay, better jobs and a dose of excitement and glitz a bigger city has to offer. Bernard Salt is one of the nation's leading demographers. He says that many people were drawn to bigger cities for work. BERNARD SALT: There was a major out-shift from Western Australia soon after the economic collapse of the early 1990s, and right throughout the 1990s there was a lure, if you like, of the eastern seaboard. This was as a consequence of a number of events and projects that were occurring in Melbourne and Sydney at the time. The issue is that all of those events, projects and programs ended in 2001, and those residents of Western Australia made a value judgment that the quality of life was actually better in Western Australia or in Perth, and you had a backflow, if you like, starting out around 2002 and 2003, and that is being augmented by the resources boom and job generation in the west leading to quite a hyped level of activity in terms of jobs and population now flooding into Western Australia. Job generation occurs right across the board in Western Australia. It may well be led by the resources sector and the miners out in the mines, but this has the effect of spinning off further demand for office workers down in Perth. DIANNE BAIN: While all this bodes well for the State, Bernard Salt warns the increased population growth is unlikely to last forever, but he believes its slowing is at least a few years away. BERNARD SALT: I think Western Australia is on the thin end of a quite significant wave of growth and development. |
story notes |
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complete turnaround A turnaround is a complete change something, or something that’s changed to the complete opposite. trend Trend refers to the general direction in which something moves. is experiencing Notice the use of the presesent continuous tense to descibe an action that is happening now and continuing into the future. Click on the link below to find out more and listen to some examples. more information: present continuous tense net migration Net means overall. It’s the final number after everything else has been taken into account. Migration refers to the movement of people from one place to another. The net migration, or overall number of people who moved to Western Australia in 2004 was 1,300. Two years previous two years before outflow Outflow refers to a flow out or a flow away from something. said Said is the past participle of the irregular verb say. Follow the link below to find out more and to listen to some examples. more information: say drawn Drawn is the past participle of the irregular verb draw. Follow the link below to find out more and to listen to some examples. more information: draw quality of life Quality of life refers to the level of enjoyment and satisfaction a person has. Perth Perth is the capital of Western Australia.  backflow Backflow means a flow back or a move back. People started coming back to Perth. augmented added to resources boom Resources are useful or valuable things. In this case, we’re talking about natural resources - like oil, gas or coal.  A boom is a sudden increase. The resources boom is an increase in the profitability of natural resources. job generation the creation of new jobs across the board Across the board mean over a whole range of things. Example: Prices have fallen across the board. Click here for more idioms and common expressions. led Led is the past participle of the irregular verb lead. Follow the link below to find out more and to listen to some examples. more information: lead bodes well If something bodes well it is a good sign. Example: This new project bodes well for the future of the town. Click here for more idioms and common expressions.
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