RURAL Victorians are moving to the city at alarming rates, while skilled migrants are turning their backs on rural areas and flocking to metropolitan areas.
This is according to figures from Regional Development Victoria, and the Victorian Population Bulletin 2008.
More than 95 per cent of new skilled migrants move to metropolitan areas.
Melbourne's rapid growth is putting severe pressure on the state's resources.
Rural and regional parliamentary committee chairman and Nationals MP Damian Drum said country communities faced unprecedented decline and disadvantage because of city-centric government policies that favoured cities over country, such as the north-south water pipeline.
Speaking at a rural development conference in Hamilton last week, Mr Drum called for more long-term investment into rural Australia.
He said Melbourne would "choke itself" if governments did not plan to decentralise and its growth continued unabated.
The population split between metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas of Victoria was 70.8 per cent versus 29.2 per cent. But the projected split of the next one million people to move to the state was predicted to be 86:14, he said.
"This will put enormous strain on water supplies and transport costs in Melbourne."
His committee is set to report its findings on the future of regional centres to the Victorian Government in September.
"We've gathered a great deal of evidence of the highest integrity. I hope the Government will take notice of what we've compiled."
Regional and rural development acting minister Gavin Jennings denied rural Victoria was in trouble.
He said growth in regional areas was "booming thanks to record investment" by the Government.
"Regional Victoria is projected to receive close to half a million new residents by 2036 with the major centres of Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo and the Latrobe Valley set to experience the greatest growth."
He said his government was the first in Australia to establish a dedicated fund for regional infrastructure.
