3.4 POPULATION DECLINE

The issue of population decline and sustainability in rural and remote areas was raised by nineteen RDA committees. For example, this is reported as being one of the key challenges in the RDA Far West (NSW), where Broken Hill’s population has been declining since the 1960s (RDA Far West NSW, 2011, p. 18). Where population decline was occurring, RDA committees reported that better strategies were needed to attract and retain residents and businesses to prevent the withdrawal of services and to ensure that these areas remained viable and economically productive.