Policy makers have for generations attempted and failed to diversify Australia’s economic activity and settlement away from the cities.
However, according to Bernard Salt, COVID-19 might be the catalyst that finally reverses decades of centralisation:
Between the 1996 and 2016 censuses, the proportion of Australians who said they worked from home (not counting unpaid domestic work) never varied from 4-5 per cent. But with the mandated lockdown there has come an awakening of sorts, and it applies to workers and employers alike.