Melbourne is set to double it's population within the next 30 years and our governments of both political persuasions are continuing to push population growth through continually increasing immigration. In 2000/2001 our intake was 80,000 and it is now around 250,000 pa.
Our governments, both State and Federal, keep telling us that all this population growth feeds our economic growth, so do you really feel better off now than you did in 2000?
No, well the Productivity Commission tells that the actual benefit per head over the last 20 years is only around $380 in total. The Commission goes on to say that what benefits there are go mainly to the new arrivals. not to the existing citizens.
Its the record rate of our population growth that is causing all our problems with planning and development issues. And now Planning Minister Wynne wants you and I to move over to make more room for greater density in our residential suburbs by "unlocking the potential in the middle suburbs".
I suggest that the Minister is influenced by the development industry's political donations and influence from the developers' lobbyists. The effect will be to rejig the residential zones to accept multi-storey development in our residential areas to cope with all the growth in our population.
Will that benefit you? No, it certainly won't. Any benefit will all go to the new arrivals just as the Productivity Commission has said.
BRAG believes that the Minister's plan will result in increased pressure on our already overloaded infrastructure and we all know that our government cannot finance the infrastructure upgrades to cope with today's demands, let alone what will be required when our population doubles.
It is time for a public debate on these issues and a total re-think about immigration. population growth and infrastructure issues.
The attached item (above) "Population Growth can make us worse off", written by Ross Gittens, is worth reading.
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