Despite both Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott claiming they favour a ‘Big Australia’ approach to population, public opinion suggests that many citizens are concerned about the 50% increase in total numbers current immigration levels will achieve by 2050.

As a result, Federal MP, Tony Burke, has been given the unenviable task of Minister for Population. I say unenviable, because whatever policy Mr Burke arrives at will be sure to upset some sections of the community. Yet a solution to his conundrum does in fact exist.

Leaving both the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition aside for the moment, groups generally in support of a substantially greater Australian population include the following:

- Business groups, both large and small, as more people equates to
more customers and greater economic growth;
- Migrant bodies, as those who arrived here relatively recently understandably want the same privilege (and living in Australia is indeed a great privilege) extended to others (particularly their families and friends); and
- ‘Defence of the Realm’ types who worry that this country’s future security relies on having more people willing to defend it from potential aggressors.
Unsurprisingly, those opposed to a big increase in the number of individuals resident here tend to consist of:
- Environmental groups who rightly worry about the impact on Australia’s flora and fauna from a larger human presence;
- First homebuyers who observe the price of an average home in our capital cities growing further and further out of reach; and
- Commuters who suffer from increased congestion on both our roads and within the public transport system.

Given the above, it’s clear why Minister Burke has such a tough brief to fill. There is no single population target which can possibly fulfil the diverse desires of such different concerned groups. Because politics consists largely of the art of compromise, however, a solution along the lines of the 1999 Republic Referendum does present itself.

At the next Federal election, all Australian voters should be polled on what population they’d like to see in their country within a reasonable timeframe – say every 20 years, ie 2030 when the bulk of today’s electorate will still be alive. As occurred with the Republic issue over a decade ago, the Australian Electoral Commission could be tasked with preparing a simple facts sheet that would spell out the potential pros and cons of different population levels – in, perhaps, five million increments – and the annual number of migrants we’d need to admit in order to achieve the various totals.

Once everyone has voted, an average could be taken of all the options selected, and lo and behold, there’s our nationally agreed population target for the next twenty years!

This being agreed, Minister Burke could get on with the much more difficult (yet little discussed) aspect of his portfolio, ie how to plan for the improvements in infrastructure, aged care, education and energy security that substantial increase in our numbers will inevitably require.

MME Capital: 03 9601 4515
www.mmecapital.com.au