Australian immigration could result in population of 35 million by 2049
October 26 2009 by Liam Clifford
Australia praises immigration in helping economic growth.
Australia’s federal treasury secretary, Ken Henry, has revealed
that he expects the Australian population to grow to 35 million by
2049.
The extra 13 million people are expected to come largely from immigration to Australia, with cities like Sydney and Melbourne growing to around 7 million
people by the same year.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has stated that he is
in favour of major population growth because of indirect and direct immigration to Australia. He said, “I actually believe in a big
Australia. I make no apology for that. I actually think it's good news that our
population is growing. I think it is good for us, it's good for our national
security long-term, it's good in terms of what we can sustain as a
nation."
Much of Australia’s economic strength comes from its popularity
with skilled immigrants, thousands of whom come to study and work in Australia
each year.
However, Henry said that the country needs to make changes in
order to ensure its environment can handle the influx of people. He stated that
the growth in the population would "test the limits of sustainability: economic,
social and environmental".
However, he added that he expects the
country’s economic boom to last with the help of immigration into Australia “for decades”. The treasury secretary added,
"with the right decisions, one can envisage a period of unprecedented
prosperity.”
See the latest Immigration News
