New OZ PM rejects population growth plan

SYDNEY – New Prime Minister Julia Gillard signalled a change in the government’s approach to population growth yesterday, saying she did not believe in a ‘big Australia’.

Gillard, a former lawyer who wrested leadership of the Labour Party and the government from Kevin Rudd on Thursday, said population policy needed to strike the right balance between growth and sustainability.’I don’t believe in a big Australia,’ Welsh-born Gillard said.’Kevin Rudd indicated that he had a view about a big Australia, I’m indicating a different approach. I think we want an Australia that is sustainable,’ she told the Nine Network.With 22 million residents, Rudd had expressed optimism about a ‘big Australia’ with a population of more than 36 million people by 2050, achieved through rising birth rates and immigration.But Gillard said such population growth could be problematic given Australia’s water shortages, the difficulty in providing services across the vast landscape and transport infrastructure.’I don’t believe in simply hurtling down a track to a 36 million or 40 million population, and I think if you talk to the people of western Sydney or western Melbourne, or the Gold Coast growth corridor in Queensland, people would look at you and say, ‘Where will all these people go?’,’ she said.’I think we want an Australia that is sustainable. This place is our sanctuary, our home.’Gillard, who came to Australia with her parents as a four-year-old, said immigration for skilled labour was still needed, adding that Canberra would continue to accept refugees.- Nampa-AFP