Smart planning, not immigration cuts- Australia’s answer to increasing population
by Guneet S - January 15, 2010
Australia, January 15: Australia can cope up with increasing population by smart planning and there is no need for any cuts in skilled migration into the country.
Kelvin Thomson, a senior Rudd Government MP, in his ’14-point plan for population reform’, had argued that the infrastructure and the environment will not be able to cope with 35 million population in the year 2050, as forecast by the Treasury.
The recent years have seen increased rates of natural growth and also of immigrants moving into Australia. And this increase in immigration rates is being seen as a positive trend for the country. Moreover, both the Opposition and the Government in Australia agree to the fact that the population growth in the country is inevitably for the good of the nation’s economy.
Hence, the proposal by Thomson to introduce sharp cuts in immigrants’ intake from the present 200,000 annually to 95,000 a year. Also, Thomson has proposed for a significant decline in the intake of recent graduates and skilled workers from the present figures of 130,000 a year to only 25,000 a year.
But , this proposal, if accepted, will result in a big decrease in the working-age population and will have serious economic results keeping in the view that even at present, Australia is facing a severe shortage of skilled migrants.
And the reduction in the immigration levels, as proposed by Thomson, would prove to be a costly affair as it will eat up nearly $600 million in the first year itself. On the other hand, Australia would be able to add nearly $800 million to its tax base from migration of a single year, that is, 2008.
Hence, it is strongly felt that instead of reducing the number of immigrants into the country, there is need for smart planning in the form of reduced water consumption, investment in desalination and modernization of irrigation in the country. The country needs to focus on such projects like upgrading of water treatment plants and increase in recycling to reduce the consumption of water.
So, Australia can become richer by investing in smart planning without any cuts in the number of migrants into the country.
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