Sustainable Population Australia (SPA) considers Australia’s population growth rate in 2022 too high and has called on the federal government to put a brake on immigration.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released the latest population figures that show Australia’s population grew by nearly half a million (496,800 or 1.9 percent) in the year ending 31 December 2022. The two components of growth were net overseas migration (immigration minus emigration = NOM) at 387,000 and natural increase at 109,800.
SPA national president, Jenny Goldie, said nearly half a million added to a population of 25.8 million from the year before was simply unsustainable.
“As all recent and reliable surveys confirm, the Australian people are strongly opposed to what’s going on. Prime Minister Albanese knows this,” said Goldie.
“At 387,000, NOM is simply too high and must be cut, though Treasury is clearly planning to maintain these extremely high levels. Its rationale is to increase economic growth, yet it does not consider environmental and social factors.”
Although immigration increases economic growth at the national level, at the per capita level, growth does not necessarily occur. Goldie added that the Australian environment continues to decline, with important habitats threatened by urban expansion, not least the last remaining Chlamydia-free koala habitat in Sydney. Housing is also being pushed to the limits and cannot keep up with the increased demand.
Western Australia experienced the highest growth of 2.3 percent in the country, and as a consequence, Perth is predicted to record the biggest shortfall of 25,200 dwellings by 2027. Goldie noted that, historically, new migrants have understandably gravitated to the major cities because that is where they are more likely to find people of their own nationality.
“Our cities, however, are under immense strain with inadequate public transport and massive road congestion, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne, each with populations of over five million.”
Strategies to get people to move to the country have had limited success. Goldie has pointed out that the only solution is to slow population growth significantly by cutting immigration, given that natural increase is declining naturally.
Goldie is calling on Members of Parliament to do the calculations, given that the rate of population increase and the much lower rate of housing and hospital infrastructure requirements may not be accessible to all Australians.
