Victoria's runaway population growth threatening state's liveability

From The Age:

Put brakes on runaway population, says Brumby

Paul Austin, Marc Moncrief and David Rood
August 1, 2008

PREMIER John Brumby has called for a pause in the growth of Australia's migrant intake, as Victoria struggles to cope with its population boom.

With the State Government seeking solutions to Melbourne's road and public transport congestion, as well as pressure on housing affordability, Mr Brumby said Victoria would now take a less aggressive attitude to attracting skilled migrants.

Victoria's population growth rate of 1.6% - or about 1500 people a week - was above the national average, he said, and "about as fast as we want to go".

"Five years ago, I think the number of migrants coming to Australia was about 100,000 a year. This year it will hit 200,000 a year," Mr Brumby told ABC radio.

"I'd say that number is about right. We wouldn't, at this point in time in our history, be wanting to go above that."

Mr Brumby emphasised that the State Government did not want to "stop population growth", and was proud of its record in making Victoria a magnet for migrants.

"Last year we added 80,000 people. In the 1990s, under the former (Kennett) government, the problem was the exodus. We were losing people - 40,000 a year. So we've had a dramatic turnaround because Victoria is a very popular place to live."

He said the Government did not want to "put a lid" on migration, but "we're not going to go out and look for extra population in the way in which we've done in the past".

Victoria has increased its share of Australia's skilled migrant intake from 17.6% in 1998-99 to about 27% now.

Government officials said last night that Mr Brumby wanted to keep skilled migration at about that level, but did not believe Victoria needed to keep accelerating its intake.

The director of Monash University's Centre for Population and Urban Research, Bob Birrell, said most previous premiers had seen the health of the Victorian economy as intimately linked to population growth because of the impact on housing, infrastructure and other industries.

"They (past premiers) have always in the past dismissed any of the downside to this - what it means to existing residents."

But Dr Birrell said the 1.6% growth the state was experiencing was too much, and "1.6 is what got us here".

Here, according to Dr Birrell, means an overcrowded state with too much pressure on infrastructure, housing and transport that threatens Melbourne's famed liveability.

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