- From: The Australian
- April 10, 2010
Source: The Australian
MELBOURNE and Brisbane have accommodated more new residents, and at a faster rate, than Sydney since 2001 — leaving room for the nation’s largest city to take a greater share of Australia’s population increase over coming decades.
Sydney is ready to begin growing again as its property and employment markets recover after a decade of stagnation.
Research by The Weekend Australian challenges the urban myth that Sydney is full. On a city-wide basis, Melbourne has always been more densely populated, but the density gap between the two cities has increased over the past decade.
Brisbane, meanwhile, is closing the gap with Sydney on the people per square kilometre measure.
The changing nature of the national population will increasingly lend itself to higher-density living in the big cities, according to demographer Peter McDonald, meaning Sydney should be comfortably able to meet a projected seven million population by 2050.
New arrivals from Asia and ageing baby boomers will be comfortable in smaller housing, says Professor McDonald, director of the Australian Demographic and Social Research Institute. “Those coming here from Asia are already likely to be living in smaller units than we are accustomed to, and older people are likely to be looking for smaller dwellings with attached services, so these together suggest our cities of the future can be more compact,” he said.
Both sides of politics spent the week arguing over population policy and the immigration program, amid public unease over Treasury projections of a 35.9 million national population by 2050.
NSW Premier Kristina Keneally talked up Sydney’s growth potential yesterday, saying skilled migrants would “continue to contribute to increasing prosperity”.
“Population growth and immigration is particularly critical to NSW and Sydney’s future as a modern international city,” Ms Keneally said.
Sydney’s inner city remains the most densely populated part of the Australia, but NSW paid a heavy price for deliberately slowing its population growth after 2001.
NSW population and economic growth rates fell below the national average in each of the past eight years, a significant problem given the established link between population growth and prosperity.
Between 2001-02 and 2008-09, the NSW population grew by 1 per cent a year on average, compared with the national figure of 1.6 per cent. Slower population growth translated to a slower economy. NSW economic growth was just 1.7 per cent a year, compared with the national rate of 3.2 per cent.
Sydney accommodated an extra 31 people per square kilometre between 2001 and last year, bringing its total population density to 371 people per square kilometre.
Melbourne doubled the Sydney effort, with an extra 68 people per square kilometre