‘As part of post-war reconstruction, Australia adopted a 2% population growth target. Mass immigration was a defining feature, and couples were called on to populate or perish. Immigration was successful, but women were big losers in the push for births.
‘The 1975 National Population Inquiry proved a significant moment in Australian demography. The inquiry found that Australia should not seek to influence population, but should anticipate and respond.
‘Population policy was revisited in the 1990s with the National Population Council. Its 1994 report found no optimal population size for Australia, but again called for a responsive population policy of preparedness.
‘Interest in sustainable population policy was renewed in 2010 following Kevin Rudd’s infamous endorsement of a “big Australia”. We even had a minister for population, Tony Burke, for about six months until the portfolio was expanded. Population was subsequently dropped from any ministerial title.’
- Australia doesn’t have a population policy – why? »
- How many people can Australia feed? »
- Why a population of, say, 15 million makes sense for Australia »
- City planning suffers growth pains of Australia’s population boom »
- Five lessons from Tokyo, a city of 38m people, for Australia, a nation of 24m »
- How do we feel about a ‘big Australia’? That depends on the poll »
- Here’s what a population policy for Australia could look like »
- Why Canada’s immigration system has been a success, and what Australia can learn from it »
- Slimmed-down migration program has regional focus »
- Our population is expected to double in 80 years. We asked Australians where they want all these people to live »
- Forty years from now, an extra 13.8 million people will call Australia home, Intergenerational Report says
Bloom and boom: how babies and migrants have contributed to Australia’s population growth
As part of the same population series in The Conversation, Tom Wilson writes (4.7.17) that the latest statistics show Australia’s population growth in the last decade has been significantly higher than in other developed countries.
‘Population change has long been a topic of public debate in Australia, periodically escalating into controversy.
‘It is inextricably linked to debates about immigration levels, labour force needs, capital city congestion and housing costs, refugee intakes, economic growth in country areas and northern Australia, the “big versus smaller” Australia debate, and environmental pressures.
‘Views about the rate of population growth in Australia are numerous and mixed. At one end of the spectrum are those who are vehemently opposed to further population increases; at the other end are supporters of substantially higher population growth and a “very big” Australia.
‘Logically, population debates usually quote Australia’s demographic statistics. But there is value in comparing our population growth in the international context.’
- Bloom and boom: how babies and migrants have contributed to Australia’s population growth »
- Migrants are healthier than the average Australian, so they can’t be a burden on the health system »
- Suburbs ‘swamped’ by Asians and Muslims? The data show a different story »
- Migrants are stopping regional areas from shrinking »
- How migration affects housing affordability »
- Migration helps balance our ageing population – we don’t need a moratorium »
- Australia’s dangerous fantasy: diverting population growth to the regions »
- Migration by numbers »
- There’s one big problem with Australia’s skilled migration program: many employers don’t want new migrants »
- Cheaper housing in Australia under threat from return to pre-Covid migration levels – report »
- Australia’s population to grow at slowest rate since federation, intergenerational report forecasts
- The intergenerational report will prepare us for 2063 – but what exactly is it?