December 17, 2017, by Peta Credlin, News Corp Australia Network
‘A couple of days ago, I spent the morning out in Sydney’s Chinese enclave of Bennelong because I don’t think you can ever judge a political campaign unless you get out and talk to real people.
(Bennelong is a federal political seat that incorporates Sydney’s northwest suburbs from Epping to Ryde. It’s become ‘Spot-the-Aussie – as.. you’d be lucky to find one.)
The issue of population has always been a political concern I’ve watched closely but even I was surprised by how potent this issue was locally: overcrowded streets, busy roads, nowhere to park, overdevelopment, unaffordable housing, cramped schools and too many high-rises (and slopes).
Self-centred politicians embrace the invading masses for votes, bribes, economic growth stats
Time and again this is what was raised with me and it’s all code for a level of population growth that ordinary people feel is out of step with their local community.
Now there are a number of factors that contribute to population. There’s the rate we replace ourselves — new births versus deaths, and there’s the number of people moving here each year, and the number who leave.
For many years, as a nation, we have accepted immigrants from around the world — it’s part of what makes Australia unique. If you’re not the child of an indigenous Australian, you’re the child of an immigrant. I am — my family came here in the mid 1800s — and I support continued immigration. (Australia First Party does not – we are more of a wake up and more forthright in defending Australia.)
But that’s not the issue.
“Should we keep taking immigrants?” is not the question.
Instead it’s “how many immigrants do we take”?
When working out an optimum population size for Australia, we should take into consideration matters such as our job market, housing supply, infrastructure and scarce resources like water.
I know I speak for many people when I say this is the conversation they want to see their leaders having — indeed their nation having — rather than being shouted down, as racists or worse.
Right now, as Australians, we’re not replacing ourselves — our fertility rate is only 1.79 births per woman — so our population increases are coming from immigration. How big we want our population in the future is determined by how many people we take from overseas every year.
Over the past 40 years, our net migration intake (calculated by number of people arriving to stay, less the number who permanently depart) has varied from around 68,000 per year, to as high as 315,700 under Kevin Rudd in 2008. In ABS data out last week, in the 12 months to July this year, Australia’s net migration intake was 245,400.
Whatever it takes for da Noodle Vote
One of the highest numbers in years, this increase is up 27 per cent from the previous year and took Australia’s total population to 24.6 million. Victorians are being hit hardest by population pressures with increases well above the national average. Indeed, with over 144,000 new residents, Victoria’s growth was the highest in the nation and almost seven times what was recorded in WA.
All of this in a state where Premier Dan Andrews charged the Victorian taxpayers $1 billion not to build a road at a time when new infrastructure is desperately needed.
Australia’s net migration intake was 245,400 in 2017!
Isn’t it about time we had a national conversation about how big we want our population in the future, with an eye to the standard of living we want all Australians to enjoy, and put in place immigration levels to deliver it — rather than pretending this issue doesn’t exist?
From what I know of Canberra, it’s treasurers who want to see higher and higher growth forecasts in the Budget, and bureaucrats who fight for increased levels of immigration, because it’s a lazy way to pump up the books.
Chinese Mount Epping
I recall plenty of battles in the Abbott government where the then PM wanted numbers brought down to better manage population increases in our big cities because we can say new arrivals should move to regional areas, but no government has ever been able to make that policy work and more and more, they live in our biggest cities.
If nothing else, I think we need to take a pause in Australia’s immigration intake, so we can settle the population here now, into affordable housing and secure jobs, and let the infrastructure that’s being built, catch-up.
Planning for Australia’s future is smart, it isn’t racist and it’s the national conversation we want our political leaders to lead.’
But they are corrupted by self interest and the growthist fettish, so every year expect another 245,000 unarmed invasion and for our country to be corroded by welfarists, crime and unarmed takeover.
Meanwhile, the number of White Australian children living in poverty is rising, with more than 730,000 children now below the breadline in what has been described as a “national shame” and a dismal reflection on the country’s politicians.
Single mother Jessica Russell with her two sons Ryan, almost three, and Andrew, one, at their home in St Clair (western Sydney)
One in six Australians aged under 15 are living in poverty. and the numbers are worsening as immigrants are favoured for welfare rights ahead of Australians.