In doing so she became the first prime minister in decades to question the notion that a growing population will drive economic growth and prosperity.
Asked on Sydney radio station 2UE today whether this meant she wanted to pare back the nation’s immigration intake, Ms Gillard, a Welsh migrant, refused to be drawn.
“I think that’s a question not just about numbers but where they are going,” she said.
Ms Gillard said the issue was not as simple as simply putting up the house full sign in western Sydney.
Instead, it was time for the nation to take pause and ensure communities had proper infrastructure and services and that growth happened where there were adequate services to cope with its impacts.
“Let’s just get it all right,” she said.
“Let’s have skilled migrants go where we need them.”
She said councils in western Sydney did not want “Just to see a rush to a big Australia” but that councils in other parts of the nation which suffered labour shortages were “crying out” for more people.
Ms Gillard also rejected concerns from business that her Fair Work Act, put in place to replace the Howard government’s Work Choices legislation, needed to be amended.
Asked about recurring concerns that the regime prevents teenagers from obtaining after-school jobs because of prohibitions on shifts of less than three hours, the Prime Minister, who as Industrial Relations Minister introduced the laws, said they were balanced and fair.
“I believe the Fair Work system is right,” she said.
“We worked hard to get the balance right and I believe the Fair Work Act is right.”
She also again warned that an Abbott government would reintroduce the worse aspects of Work Choices and erode basic entitlements.
Referring to a series of conflicting statements from Tony Abbott about his workplace law plans, Ms Gillard said: “He gets all his words mangled because the truth is he believes in Work Choices,” she said.
The Prime Minister will campaign in western Sydney again today, with a visit to a Blacktown car dealership, followed by a speech to a nurses’ conference in Randwick.
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