REGIONAL Victoria was always well-placed to quickly move out of COVID-19 restrictions, a La Trobe University expert says.
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The regions will move to step three of the roadmap to reopening from 11.59pm on Wednesday.
As a result, there will be no restrictions on travel within regional Victoria. There will also be an easing of restrictions around gatherings, outdoor recreation, and businesses.
La Trobe University Bendigo academic Dr Julie Rudner said there were a number of factors that benefited the regions.
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"We have the advantage in regional areas of having more space," she said. "We don't have the same density of people and people tend to socialise differently.
"There's more access to outdoor spaces, whether that's national parks or regular pocket parks. So there's that spacial difference.
"There's also a different type of virus spread. People in the city might be in contact with more people in the day so it makes it easier for the virus to spread."
Dr Rudner said while the COVID-19 pandemic had created challenges, there were also some positives to come out of it.
She said regional Victoria was expected to experience an "amenity migration" or an influx of new residents from metro areas.
"I think we will see an accelerating situation," Dr Rudner said. "There will be that initial group of people who will move out who already had the desire to do so.
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"Often those people were already considering it, but it wasn't until the more flexible working arrangements that they had the freedom to do it.
"I think depending on how successful they are on their move, that will probably act as a guide for other people.
"For some people, it will be about moving to areas where there is more land or closer to a national park or ocean.
"For other people, it will be about affordability. If they lost their job in the city, they might not be able to afford the high rent there."
Dr Rudner said local councils, as well as other levels of governments, needed to plan for potential increase in population.
"A part of the problem is that we still have this view of regional and rural areas," she said. "We still see metro areas as the place where people want to go and where all the action happens, which is not always the case.
"Time will tell if there is the right government policies and business investment. There are a lot of opportunities in regional and rural Australia."
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