The " Population " question !

One of the most divisive issues confronting Australians concerns migration.   There is a wide range of views about how many people this vast continent can comfortably hold - and under what rules new arrivals should be processed.

We have come a long way.  Back in 1952 the Australian population was just 8.7 million.   Today we just ticked over 22.5 million - and we have an imbalance living along our eastern coastline.   It is worth noting that of that 22.5 million 7.3 million live in NSW, 5.6 million in Victoria and Queensland accounts for 4.5 million.

A small number of citizens opt for the " open slather " approach.   Open our doors to all comers - just as America did when it was an empty continent back in the 1700's.    With the level of discontent in many parts of the world we would probably have a population of over 300 million in less than a hundred years.

The question is ?   Could Australia sustain such a population ?

Certainly not with any degree of comfort.  When America opened it's doors a lot of people got incredibly rich - but an even bigger segment of the population got incredibly poor.    Even today, the less well off in Australia fare a lot better than their counterparts in the US.    We are more generous with unemployment benefits, public holidays and family support systems.

Unfortunately, our migration policy is probably going to be put to the test if some economists are correct in their prognosis of a coming food famine.   If the world population reaches ten billion by 2050 the need for food and water will send a migratory herd scrambling for a new home - and Australia is high on the list of desireable destinations.

We are seeing parts of Europe being overwhelmed by migrants fleeing fighting in north Africa and instability in the Middle East is sending a steady stream of people looking for a new home.   Famine in the horn of Africa is likely to kill hundreds of thousands - and this could be only the beginning of a world trend.

Time to make some firm decisions on our migration future - and to put in place the mechanism for controlling entry into this country - before a trickle becomes an unstoppable flood !