Sydney, April 08: More than two-thirds of Australians are uncomfortable with a projected population surge of more than 50 percent by 2050, according to a poll released on Thursday.
Most were happy with a bigger population but did not want numbers to rise from 22 million to 36 million over the next four decades, as forecast by the treasury.
“The poll shows Australians are comfortable with some increase in population size,” said Michael Wesley, executive director of the Lowy Institute, which questioned 1,001 people last month.
“But (they) are not in full support of the 36 million projected in the government’s inter-generational report.”
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who is in favour of a “big Australia”, this month appointed the country’s first population minister to manage the expected rapid growth.
The rise is the subject of fierce debate, with Treasury Secretary Ken Henry warning in October that the growing and ageing population would “test the limits of sustainability”.
“Our record has been poor, and in my view, we are not well placed to deal effectively with the environmental challenges posed by a population of 35 million,” Henry said.
Australia, the world’s sixth-largest country by land mass, is the most sparsely populated developed nation with only 2.9 people per square kilometre (7.4 per square mile).
Parts of the country remain in the grip of a years-long drought and there are also concerns over housing supply and infrastructure such as roads and railways, experts say.
—Agencies