Australians not in favour of population growth
A majority of Australians believe that the country would be a worse place to live if there was large scale
and long-term population growth, according to research conducted by the Ipsos-Eureka Social Research
Institute.
The Ipsos-Eureka study was conducted in response to recent expert forecasts that up to 35 million people
will call Australia home in 2050 – a population increase of 60%.
Survey participants were asked whether they believe that Australia will be better or worse place to live
with an increased population, with similar questions related to their state and local area.
Sixty-four percent
of those surveyed believed Australia would be a worse place to live if we reached a
population of 35 million by the year 2050. Conversely, 14% believed Australia would be a better place to
live; 22% thought it would be same.
When asked about population growth in their state, 65%
of Australians surveyed believed their state
would
be a worse place to live; only 13% believing their state would
be a better place to live with a
population increase.
The research advises that people from New South Wales are the least accepting of population growth,
with three quarters (75%) saying that NSW would be a worse place to live with an increased population –
significantly more than any other state. Nearly two thirds of Victorians (65%) and 63% of Queenslanders
nominated that their state would be a worse place to live on the same measure.
When asked how they felt about population growth within their local area, regional Australians were more
accepting of population growth than urban dwellers.
People from regional Australia were the most accepting of population growth in their local area, with one
in five (19%) regional Australians surveyed saying they believe their local area would be a better place to
live. Just one in ten (11%) metropolitan Australians responded positively to the concept.
The research was conducted between 11 and 17 November and surveyed 812 adults across Australia
using fieldwork agency I-view and their Talk with Australia panel. This panel is a nationally representative
panel of 3,000 Australian residents.
NEWS 
