MIRABELLA, BCA CALL FOR ACTION ON POPULATION GROWTH CHALLENGE

28-October-2009

Sophie Mirabella MP, Federal Member for Indi is calling on the Rudd Labor Government to make coherent development policy to ensure Australia is well placed to tackle future population challenges.

Last week, Treasury Secretary Ken Henry predicted Australia’s population is now projected to grow by 60 percent, over the next four decades, to more than 35 million by 2049.

Mrs Mirabella is concerned that the Rudd Labor Government is failing to prepare and strategically plan for the challenges associated with the predicted population growth – sentiment supported by a recent Business Council of Australia report.

“The Business Council of Australia shares the concerns held by the Coalition that Labor is currently not in a position to meet the needs of Australians that will be brought on by Treasury’s projected population growth,” Mrs Mirabella said.

Mrs Mirabella said “the Australian Government needs to address the big issues affecting our country: water shortages, energy demands, climate impacts, work and family dislocation, food security, land use pressures, access to key services and liveability. These are huge issues impacting on local people and need to be addressed by our Government.”

“At a time when we can’t even build more dams to service the current population and industry needs, lack of preparation for an even larger population is reckless and irresponsible,” Mrs Mirabella said.

“I am very concerned that there is a lack of any coherent, strategic planning to accommodate Australia’s rapidly expanding population in a sustainable way,” Mrs Mirabella continued, “we do not want to sacrifice the quality of life and current living standards that we as Australians value.”

Despite Mr Rudd’s pre-election promises, the Labor Government still has no coordinated plan on how our population will be settled, no accountable plan to fund much needed infrastructure to meet our future population’s demands and no coherent strategy on how to deal with the pressures we are facing in a considered sustainable manner.

“I call on the Prime Minister to show some real leadership on this issue – to take decisive action to address these problems – rather than regurgitating rhetoric and spin,” Mrs Mirabella said.