Big Australia was a term used by former Australian Prime Minister

Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian diplomat and former politician who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and June to September 2013. He held office as the Leaders of the Australian Labo ...

to describe an increase in the

population of Australia The population of Australia is estimated to be as of . The population estimate shown is automatically calculated daily at 00:00 UTC and is based on data obtained from the population clock on the date shown in the citation. It is the 54th mos ...

from 22 million in 2010 to 36 million in 2050, along with the policies needed to react to it. In 2009, Rudd stated that he was in favour of a "big Australia" in response to a demographic projection in the Government's ''Intergenerational Report'', which showed that the

would increase from 22 million in 2010 to 35 million in 2050. A portion of the growth involved continued high rates of

immigration to Australia The Australian continent was first settled when ancestors of Indigenous Australians arrived via the islands of Maritime Southeast Asia and New Guinea over 50,000 years ago. European colonisation began in 1788 with the establishment of a B ...

, which proved controversial. In April 2010, Rudd appointed

Tony Burke Anthony Stephen Burke (born 4 November 1969) is an Australian politician serving as Leader of the House, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for the Arts. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), and has served as member of ...

to the position of Minister for Population and asked him to develop a population policy.

Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013. She held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), having previously served as the ...

, who ousted Rudd from office in June 2010, stated shortly after taking over that she did not support Rudd's position. In her opinion, a "big Australia" would be unsustainable. Gillard's position was "a sustainable Australia, not a big Australia". The Government released a "sustainable population strategy" in May 2011, which did not specify a target population. In October 2011 trade minister

Craig Emerson Craig Anthony Emerson (born 15 November 1954) is an Australian economist and former politician. A member of the Australian Labor Party, he served as the Australian House of Representatives Member for the Division of Rankin in Queensland from 1 ...

released a paper with Gillard's approval that advocated for continued rapid rates of population growth. Demographic projections released by the Queensland Centre for Population Research in 2011 found that there is a 50 per cent likelihood of Australia's population being larger than 35 million by 2050. Similarly, the latest ABS projections (3222.0) have a midpoint projection of 37.1 million for 2050. These projections always assume net migration of at least 175,000, a figure unknown to Australia before 2006, when John Howard achieved 182,000. Since the 2010s "big Australia" has sometimes been opted for disparagement as a

dog whistle A dog whistle (also known as silent whistle or Galton's whistle) is a type of whistle that emits sound in the ultrasonic range, which humans cannot hear but some other animals can, including dogs and domestic cats, and is used in their trainin ...

in racial ideologies. Following the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, "big Australia" made appearances as migration began to rebound from the re-opening of international borders. The debate surrounded a skills shortage, the housing crisis and a growing awareness among Australian people for the benefits of immigration. Despite the reduced population growth in 2020–21, housing prices continued to rise, with rises linked towards housing policies which suppress the number of homes which can be built, Australia's low population density, as well as changing household

demographics Demography () is the statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration. Demographic analysis examin ...

. Instead, immigration can be used to complement policy tools and

urban design Urban design is an approach to the design of buildings and the spaces between them that focuses on specific design processes and outcomes based on geographical location. In addition to designing and shaping the physical features of towns, city, ...

while reducing strain on infrastructure. The cost of living crisis led to the

Federal Government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

to signal changes to the immigration system in December 2023, with the

Opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comedy ...

arguing immigration leading to a "big Australia" was responsible for housing pressures. Migrants are a part of the housing construction sector, though the Government also wants to invest in domestic skills.

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

became the first state in Australia to respond to the housing crisis with supply-side policy levers by "upzoning" the number of homes allowed to meet demand where it is highest, accompanied by significant investment in infrastructure, a move similar to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

which resulted in increased rental stock and affordability.

References

Further reading