For a country as large as Australia it is surprising to see the strength of opposition to the vision of a “Big Australia”, of our country supporting a population two or three times larger than the current 26 million.
It is not the total population of the future that should be the issue, rather it should be the settlement pattern of that population that is the focus of our national debate and planning.
Australia may never be as decentralised as the United States where 175 of the 300 largest urban centres are cities not much larger than Toowoomba, but we will be a much stronger and more productive nation if we grow a mix of regional cities, major hubs and rural centres – well beyond the commuter belt around the capital cities that self-identifies as “regional” for federal funding.
That’s why it is encouraging to see the Federal Government release a new migration strategy that at least gives recognition to the opportunity presented by regional Australia.
In response to an expert review which found a migration system “broken” and “not fit for purpose”, the Federal Government has rightly linked migration back to the ‘nation’-building’ function that framed immigration policy up until the 1990s.
The new strategy extends a three-decade old focus on regional skilled migration by simplifying and streamlining the visa system for businesses and emphasising the importance of states and regional stakeholders in migration planning.
Hopefully that means broad input into the framing of migration settings for regions which will be released next year.
Already the National Farmers Federation has warned of “worker mobility” provisions potentially leaving farmers high and dry mid-harvest.
Further tweaking of the Working Holiday Makers scheme could also see fewer backpackers picking up the slack in the demand for seasonal workforces.
These potentially impact negatively on a range of rural regions reminding of the risks attached to temporary migration strategies for workforce management.
A nation-building vision for regional Australia needs more than skilled and motivated short-term migrants.
Attracting and retaining people – Australian-born and migrants – is the crux issue for regional development beyond the lifestyle coastal centres.
And as the migration review noted, that means serious investment in housing, employment opportunities, infrastructure, education and health services, transport, and communications.
A Big Australia is a good idea, but only if many more of our migrant newcomers realise their dreams of a better life as part of a thriving region.
*This article first appeared in Queensland Country Life, Thursday 28 December p 25 in “View from the Paddock”
The map outlining Australian population density is drawn using statistical data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and is accessible at https://australiamap360.com/australia-population-map
Professor John Cole 