Concerns about the practical impact of an increased population dominate the reasons some people don't want a bigger Australian population. Australians need to be convinced that traffic and house prices won't increase unduly, that there will be limited effects on the environment, and that Australia’s existing workforce will still receive adequate training.
Nearly 90% of those who don’t want a bigger population are concerned about the cost of housing being too high.
85% of those who don’t support more people are concerned about cities already being too crowded.
More than half of those who think Australia needs more people say it would mean more cultural diversity.
There was broad support for a requirement that new migrants live outside capital cities for a period of time.
The cost of housing being too high and concerns cities are too crowded with too much traffic are the top two reasons cited for not increasing the number of people coming to Australia. Both had support over 80 per cent (89 per cent and 85 per cent respectively).
They also thought that increasing fertility or migration rates could help counteract the aging of the population.
On the other side of the debate, those who favour a bigger population cite needing more cultural diversity and the need for skilled migrants for the workforce as the top reasons. Interestingly, support for those two notions (at 58 per cent and 53 per cent) was not as strong as the top reasons for not increasing the population. Those who don't want more people also strongly thought (with 82 per cent support) that Australia should train its own skilled workers rather than importing them.
Concerns about the environmental impact of a bigger population were also supported by more than half of those who don't want more people. The reasons cover stress on the natural environment of the current population size, concerns about having enough water and the difficulty in cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
While the environmental pressures are still significant concerns, the numbers who are worried have actually fallen since the question was last asked in 2010. The biggest drop was in those who agree Australia might not have enough water for more people.
The largest increase over the eight years was in those who believe that the cities are already too crowded with too many people. While the number of people who want a bigger population did fall between 2010 and 2018, the reasons for wanting more people changed very little.
As to potential policy solutions to the concerns about increased population, 70 per cent of those surveyed agreed that new migrants be required to live in regional towns or cities for a period of time, although those who live outside capital cities were slightly less supportive of the idea than those who live in capital cities.