Australian Prime Minister credit Mok points out that there is no excessive immigration problem (photo by Australian news website)
Australia`s prime minister, Credit Mok Suisse (Scott Morrison), pointed to excessive public attention to population growth, saying it was a "fairly trivial statistic" and that Australia`s immigration policy was far more meticulous than anyone realized.
Australia`s population broke through the 25 million mark in August, making rapid population growth a top political issue, the Australian News Network reported. Prominent entrepreneurs such as Smith (Dick Smith) also warned that the lifestyle of Australians would be threatened unless there was a sharp drop in immigration.
In an exclusive interview with Australian News Network, Australia`s new prime minister, Credit Mosuisse, took a very different view.
Mr Mosuisse highlighted the central fallacy of the immigration debate that permanent immigration from abroad is the biggest source of infrastructure pressure in Australia.
Temporary immigration and natural population growth as a result of births among residents already living in Australia are more important factors, Mr Mok said.
"I never thought permanent immigration was a driver of rapid population growth because it was not supported by real numbers," Morrison said. According to the current trend of population growth, assume an increase of 10 people, of which 4 are temporary immigrants, 4 are natural population growth, and only 2 are permanent immigrants. "
The actual statistics also support Mok Suisse`s statement. Australia`s population grew 1.6 percent in 2017, or three hundred and eighty seven thousand nine hundred and ninety nine, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. A sizeable portion of this, or 38%, comes from the natural population growth category. In other categories, the number of temporary immigrants also far exceeds that of permanent immigrants.
Importantly, population growth varies widely in different parts of Australia. Morrison says this is often forgotten. In some areas, natural population growth, combined with interstate migration, is several times the number of international migrants. At the same time, small cities like Adelaide are desperately in need of more migrants, not fewer.
The fundamental problem facing the Australian government is that most migrants want to live in big cities, particularly Melbourne and Sydney, with little interest in local areas.
There is little the government can do but attach conditions to temporary visas or reward temporary immigrants who move to local areas. Mr Mosuisse says he is willing to step up these measures.
The key to addressing the problem is better planning, allowing local, state and federal governments to work together to ensure that Australian cities are able to cope with the growing population, Mr Mosuisse said. (he Rong)
