A National University poll found that only 30% of Australians think Australia needs more people. (Web Photo)
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, a new survey by the National University of Australia (ANU) shows that support for population growth is falling sharply because of concerns about overcrowding in cities and housing prices are beyond the affordability of ordinary people.
Both the (Scott Morrison) government and (Bill Shorten) `s opposition party have hatched their population policy guidelines ahead of this year`s election. Meanwhile, an Australian National University poll found that only 3/10 of Australians think Australia needs more people. In a similar poll in 2010, the percentage of Australians who supported increasing the population was 45%.
The 15 percent drop was mainly due to a sharp drop in support for population growth among male voters. In 2010, the vast majority of male voters supported a "bigger Australia," and now their approval ratings have fallen to 38.4 percent.
At the same time, the proportion of female voters who support population growth fell to 28.2 percent from 38.5 percent in 2010.
Figures show that Australia added 390500 people last year, 61% of whom were net immigrants.
As Australians worry about receiving migrants, the government is considering cutting the current one hundred and ninety thousand quota ceiling. The number of immigration quotas for 20120 will be announced in April`s budget and is expected to be close to one hundred and sixty thousand.
Prime Minister Mok Suisse also signalled a cut in the number of immigrants to Australia, saying he heard clear and loud voices: city roads were jammed and buses and trains were full.
The problems in Australia`s major cities seem to have largely reduced support for population growth. Australia`s 2.5 million new people have flooded into these cities since 2010.
In addition, nearly 90 percent of respondents surveyed by the Australian National University said high housing prices were a major constraint on population growth in Australia. 85 percent said Australian cities were overcrowded and overcrowded. About 90 percent of Australians surveyed believe Australia should "train our own skilled people, not introduce them from other countries."
Lead researcher Biedel (Nicholas Biddle) said 2/3 of Australians think Australia already has enough residents. Many people`s life experiences are affecting their perception of immigrants. "they don`t want population growth to cause overcrowding, unaffordable housing, or job security, or at the expense of our natural environment," he said.
In this poll, the most unlikely to support population growth is the coalition voters. Green voters are most likely to be open-minded, but their approval ratings are less than 50%.
The survey also found that 25-34-year-old Australians had the highest support for increasing Australia`s population to 41 percent. The 45-54-year-old group had the lowest approval rating, at just 25%.
In addition, ethnic background also affects people`s choice. Only 1/4 Australian-born people support population growth, almost half of those born in non-English-speaking countries.
