POPULATION GROWTH

In reply to Mr GRIFFITHS (Goyder) (25 June 2009).

The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change): I have been advised of the following:

While the Commonwealth announced cuts to the 2008-09 and 2009-10 migration intakes—to 108,100 national skilled places—these levels remain at historical highs. The Commonwealth, through its long-term immigration planning framework, has indicated a continuation of strong skilled migration to ensure that Australia maintains growth in its labour supply. This should see South Australia continue its own strong migration.

The South Australian Government will continue to promote the benefits of South Australia as a migration destination and actively encourage those with the skills our labour market needs to settle in this State. In doing so, we will continue to work with the Commonwealth to ensure state and national policy settings facilitate South Australia receiving its share of the national annual intake.

Supplementary Question:

Achievement of the 2 million target by 2027 is above current Australian Bureau of Statistics projections. However, South Australia has a recent history of exceeding ABS projections, including in 2003 when the ABS predicted our population would head into decline before 2030. That risk has now been averted due to our strong population growth.

Predicting with certainty whether our national population share will be at its current rate at 2027 is difficult. Many states will experience peaks and troughs in their performance in the next 20 years. What is clear is that South Australia's economy is well placed for considerable growth in coming years and decades, and should encourage continued strong population growth.