Settle in for a long-haul migration debate on the journey to a Big Australia
Australia's population might reach 46 million, comparable to the size of Argentina's, by 2071.
Australia is getting bigger. To be more precise, it’s getting bigger by anywhere from 8.3 million to 19.9 million people by 2071 according to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released today.
The ABS makes it clear these aren’t predictions or forecasts but projections of current trends. Regardless of definition, the figures are going to fuel debate over whether a future 46 million-strong population is a good or a bad thing at a time when we have record property prices. For comparison, that would make the nation's population comparable to Argentina's today.
In a cost of living crisis, no one typically wants to publicly defend anything that might add to inflation in the short-term or be perceived as adding to it. So it was interesting to hear Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock attempt to bring some rationality to the issue in her two public appearances this week.
“The current surge in migration is a catch up [from COVID],” she explained, noting students in particular are coming back and not leaving but there will be a point where the outflow increases.
