Sustainable Population Australia (SPA) considers
Australias population growth rate in 2022 too high and called on
the federal government to put a brake on
immigration. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
released the latest population figures today showing Australias
population grew by nearly half a million (496,800 or 1.9%) 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 Ms Jenny Goldie says 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 whats going on, says Ms Goldie.
Prime Minister Albanese knows this.
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 takes
no account of environmental and social factors.
And although immigration increases economic growth at the
national level, at the per capita level, growth does not
necessarily occur.
Our environment continues to decline with important habitats
threatened by urban expansion, not least the last remaining
Chlamydia-free koala habitat in Sydney.
And housing is simply not keeping up with the increased demand.
Nor can other infrastructure keep up with such unrelenting
immigration-fed population pressures.
Western Australia experienced the highest growth of 2.3% in the
country and, as a consequence, Perth is predicted to record the
biggest shortfall of 25,200 dwellings by 2027.
Ms Goldie notes 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,
she says.
Strategies to get people to move to the country have had limited
success. The only solution is to slow population growth
significantly by cutting immigration, given natural increase is
declining naturally at last.
I ask MPs to do the simple sums and answer this: Given the rate
of population increase and the much lower rate of building housing,
hospital and other infrastructure requirements, when if ever will
al...