Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd shrugged off concerns from a top Treasury official that the country could not sustain a forecast population boom of 60 percent by 2049.
A top Treasury official’s prediction that the country will not be able to sustain a forecast population boom of 60 percent by 2049 has not been taken seriously by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
Rudd said he welcomed a "big Australia" as a sign the huge but sparsely peopled country was continuing to develop. Australia’s current population of 22 million is predicted to surge to 35 million in the next four decades."I actually believe in a big Australia, I make no apology for that. I actually think it’s good news that our population is growing," Rudd told public broadcaster ABC late Thursday.
"I think it’s good for us, it’s good for our national security long term, it’s good in terms of what we can sustain as a nation," he added.
Treasury Secretary Ken Henry earlier warned the rapid increase, predicted by the government last month, would "test the limits of sustainability".
"Our record has been poor, and in my view, we are not well placed to deal effectively with the environmental challenges posed by a population of 35 million," Henry said in an address Thursday.
Treasurer Wayne Swan has warned the economic threat of a booming and ageing population was as grave as that posed by climate change, driving up government spending and slowing growth.
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"But let’s be optimistic about the fact that this country is growing, so many around the world are heading the other way."
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Source-AFP
TAN