Can there be too many Australians?

Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

PEOPLE are overwhelmingly against a bigger Australia, almost three-quarters of us hoping the population does not hit the 40 million mark projected by 2050.

In a Galaxy poll of 1000 people for News Limited, the majority of respondents nominated 30 million people as the preferred mark.

There are currently 23 million people living in Australia.

One quarter of people said they wanted things to stay the same while 8 per cent wanted the population to shrink.

Only 13 per cent voted for 40 million citizens - the mark likely to be hit by 2050 - and 70 per cent hoped that wouldn't happen. Less than five per cent hoped for 50 million countrymen.

But former Treasurer Peter Costello, who famously urged parents to have a child for Australia, said people weren't considering the makeup of the growing population.

"When I encouraged families to have one for mum, one for dad, and one for the country, what I was drawing attention to was the fact that we are an ageing population," he said.

"To me one question is whether it should be a big Australia or a small Australia.

"A more important question is should it be a young Australia or an old Australia."

He said having a high percentage of retirees meant fewer taxpayers paying crippling tax rates.

The country would not be able to afford all its services like healthcare and welfare and economic growth and living standards would decline, he said.

"Whether the population is 20, 30, 50 or 100 million, what we need to do is we need to get a higher proportion of younger people," he said.

"We've got to keep our birthrates up if we want to have a balanced population of young and old people."

Mr Costello said the problem had been on the Howard Government's agenda but had been forgotten by Labor.

A spokeswoman for Population and Communities Minister Tony Burke said the Gillard Government did not have a population target but was working toward a "sustainable Australia".

"Population change is not only about the growth and overall size of the Australian population," she said.

"It is also about the needs and skills of our population, how we live, and importantly, where we live."

The right mix of services, jobs and education opportunities, affordable housing, amenities in cities, outer suburbs and regional areas were all an important part of that, she said.