2021 Census data has revealed there are 6930 people living in Moama, a population increase of 18.6 per cent.
Murray River Council director of planning and environment Rod Croft said although Moama had been experiencing steady growth for several years, population growth became particularly evident during the height of the pandemic.
“The 2021 financial year figures demonstrate that in 2021, there was almost a 50 per cent spike in the number of dwellings approved in Moama,” Mr Croft said.
As to why Moama had experienced such a population explosion, Mr Croft said these increases were largely due to residents from Melbourne seeking to purchase and build housing in the country.
“There has been a significant amount of land available in Moama for development into residential lots,” he said.
Mr Croft said the pandemic also demonstrated that many occupations and roles could be undertaken remotely, through the use of technology.
“We are certainly seeing new residents choosing to make Murray River Council their home so that they can achieve a better work-life balance. There’s less travel times to places, and great assets and conveniences on their doorsteps,” he said.
Over the past few years, MRC has made population forecasting and infrastructure planning a priority.
Through the use of an estimated residential population forecasting technique, council has predicted that the overall population of the Murray River Council is expected to increase to 16,177 by 2041, with the current population sitting at 12,817.
The data also predicts a spike in almost 2000 extra households by 2041.
Mr Croft said population growth could lead to positive results such as commercial and economic opportunities.
“Whilst we acknowledge population growth always brings a need for additional infrastructure planning, there’s always positives with regards to the ability to attract more services and retain services in the area,” he said.
Moama has experienced more than double the amount of population growth of Echuca.
According to the most recent Census results, there are currently 15,636 people living in Echuca — a 7.3 per cent increase from 2016.
Echuca has been listed at 172 out of 524 medium-sized areas in Victoria in terms of population growth.
