Australia’s top public servants have admitted high immigration is pushing up house prices and making traffic congestion worse.
However, the Canberra bureaucrats concede population growth is needed to increase tax revenue.
Treasury and the Department of Home Affairs have released a 56-page report, ‘Population growth and immigration over time’ which expresses concern about Sydney and Melbourne coping wit hthe pressure of housing more people.
Australia’s top public servants have admitted high immigration is pushing up house prices and making traffic congestion worse
‘A growing population heightens existing pressure on infrastructure, housing, transport networks and our environment—especially in major cities,’ it said.
‘Australia must continue to explore and address these issues.’
The report, released on Tuesday, also blamed population growth for putting pressure on roads and sewage systems.
‘Without continuing action to find innovative solutions, high rates of growth may also intensify issues such as congestion and excessive waste production,’ it said.
Treasury and the Department of Home Affairs have released a report, which expresses concern about Sydney and Melbourne copping the pressure of housing more people
However, the federal departments argued skilled immigrants were needed so more people of working age could be taxed as the population aged.
‘This is because migrants are predominantly of working age,’ it said.
‘This makes them more likely to contribute to tax revenue and less likely to claim social services.’
While immigrants were regarded as less likely to be on government welfare, they were also more likely to be jobless, with 11 per cent of work-age immigrants earning no income compared with 7 per cent of equivalent Australians.
However, the federal departments argued skilled immigrants were needed so more people of working age could be taxed as the population aged
Australia accepts 190,000 permanent immigrants a year, which is substantially above the 20th century average of 70,000 per annum.
The report noted Australia’s 1.6 per cent population growth pace was significantly higher than the OECD average but below the level of the 1960s, when it expanded by 2 per cent a year.
Sydney’s population is expected to hit 7.4 million by 2046, having added one million people since 2000 now making the city home to five million people.
Melbourne’s population is forecast to climb to 7.3 million from 4.7 million.