Australia's population to hit 22 million
AAP October 1, 2009, 2:31 am
Original Article
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/mp/6129806/australia-population-to-hit-22-million/
At precisely 2.02pm (AEST) on Thursday Australia's population will hit 22 million with the milestone addition likely to be a new immigrant passing through customs.
Demographer Mark McCrindle says our population is growing faster than official predictions and is now expected to reach 40 million in 2050.
He says two thirds of the growth is from net immigration and the rest through natural increase.
On top of all that, people are living longer.
He says if our major cities absorb all the growth the population boom won't be sustainable, but the signs are that regional cities are benefiting from the growing pains.
Mr McCrindle told AAP that rural inland cities such as Ballarat, Bendigo, Albury Wodonga, Launceston and Toowoomba have passed the 100,000 population mark.
"As they grow they become a magnet for more people," Mr McCrindle said. "But we'll still have to develop new cities to cope with the strain - in the last century the only new cities built were Canberra and the Gold Coast."
The baby boom, fanned by generous baby grants from the Howard and Rudd governments, resulted in a record 300,000 new births last year.
"We're on track to beat it this year," Mr McCrindle said.