Sixty-four percent of respondents said the level of immigration over the past decade was too high.
A new poll by the Guardian commissioned by polling firm Essential Poll found that while most Australians still support social diversity, growing attention is being paid to population growth and immigration.
The poll, conducted in the last two weeks, surveyed 1026 voters across Australia. Poll results show that 54 percent of voters surveyed believe Australia`s population is growing too fast, up from 45 percent five years ago.
In addition, 64 percent of respondents said the level of immigration over the past decade was too high, compared with just 50 percent of voters in the October 2016 poll.
The change in the number of respondents highlighted the deepening concerns about immigration and population growth, which are widespread among voters in all major parties. With the exception of Greens, most voters think the population is growing too fast, and more than 60% of Union party and Labour believe they have taken in too many immigrants over the past decade.
In terms of age, more voters over the age of 45 are opposed to the current immigration level than those under the age of 45.
Voters have also expressed their views on Australia`s current temporary and permanent immigration programme. Forty-seven percent of those surveyed said they should reduce short-term work visas and 46 percent supported a reduction in permanent refugees. The vast majority (63%) believe that foreign workers on short-term visas weaken Australian employability.
The majority (61%) agreed that, overall, immigrants made a positive contribution to Australian society. However, the majority of voters (55%) also agreed with the idea of reducing immigration because they felt immigration had made too much change in Australian society.
The poll also showed voters were less concerned about short-term student visas, short-term holiday visas and short-term business visas, with only 39 percent, 38 percent and 36 percent expressing concern, respectively.
Even so, 55 percent of voters surveyed agreed that "multiculturalism and diversity of cultures enrich the social and economic lives of Australians."
However, 32 percent of respondents supported the theory of multicultural failure, agreeing that "multiculturalism divides Australian society and breeds dangerous extremism." On the issue of pluralism, 13% did not express any views.
Over the age of 35, college-educated people and green party supporters are more likely to identify with pluralism. Supporters of non-major parties over the age of 65 are more likely to disagree.
