The purpose of this supplementary submission is to share research and analysis conducted by the Institute of Public Affairs (“the IPA”) on policies regarding population distribution with the Select Committee on Productivity in Australia.
In particular, this supplementary submission is directed towards item b) of the inquiry terms of reference, relating to:
objectives for a multi-decade national settlement strategy to achieve a more balanced distribution of population between cities and regional Australia, with a view to enhancing economic resilience, productivity and social cohesion.
We note that Australia has not had a meaningful debate about what Australia’s population ought to be in the future, nor about how the population ought to be increased or distributed over time.
Roughly 80 per cent of population growth has been due to net overseas migration, most of which has been concentrated in major urban centres, such as Sydney and Melbourne. The scale of the migration programme, currently at more than 400,000 net migrants per annum on average since 2023, does not enjoy community support. It is clear that the current approach is not achieving a more balanced distribution between regional and urban areas, and raising or keeping net overseas migration at historic levels will not help populate regional areas.
People choose to live in areas where there are greater opportunities. However, the current tax and regulatory policy settings at a state and federal level are curtailing opportunities in primary industries which induces people to move from regional areas to cities.
This is why the IPA has long recommended the establishment of special economic zones (SEZ), in particular in Northern Australia, to promote economic dynamism and unleash the potential of regional Australia.
Governments must abandon the lazy and short-sighted approach of achieving headline economic growth objectives through rapid migration-driven population growth, and address the regulatory factors holding back regional areas.
